Our first interviewee is Ruben Canales. Ruben lives in Costa Rica. He is a Focal Point for the MGCY’s South America Region. Ruben has aimed to support refugees’s rights in Costa Rica. We spoke with Ruben about the role and rights of migrant workers in the Costa Rican agricultural sector.

How long have you worked in social work, human rights, protection, and advocacy sector? 

I studied migration studies in 2018 when the political crisis started in Nicaraqua. I also founded the migration support migration network in Costa Rica. Since 2018, I have been working actively in the field. The network is based in Costa Rica and aims to support Nicaraquan migrants in the country.

Where do you work now? 

I am a volunteer for a network which aims to support youth refugees in Brasil. I am also a Focal Point for the MGCY’ South America Region. 

Can you briefly give information about Costa Rica? 

Costa Rica is not known very well. Costa Rica is not a island. Costa Rica is the middle of the region. So we can say that Costa Rica is a located in the Central America Region. Costa Rica is one of the most developed countries in the Latin America Region, but it is not a developed country. You cannot compare it with Canada and European countries. Compared against Peru, Mexico, or other Latin American countries, Costa Rica is more developed. For example you don’t see child workers in Costa Rica. But of course you can see and find inequalities in Costa Rica. 20% of the population is below the poverty line, and marginalised groups face serious challenges. 

Costa Rica hosts a large migrant and refugee community – 10% of the population. This poses new challenges. The largest population of migrants is from Nicaraqua, followed by migrants from Guatemala, Houndras, and El Salvador.  This community is only able to access primary care services. You can find many rich and poor settlements in Costa Rica. It is less known by the international community. For example, we have a ‘La Carpio ‘ settlement. This settlement was the largest refugee settlement in the country before the Venezuelan Crisis. 

Can you briefly give information about the migrant workers in Costa Rica? (nationality, their working conditions, regulations, in which sectors they work  generally?)

Generally, migrant workers are employed in the agricultural sector. They are generally irregular migrants. They can not meet requirements of being regular migrants in Costa Rica. We have a huge problem in the country with the exploitation of migrant labour. Everybody knows, up to and including the President. Almost 90% of the migrant population is Nicaraquan. People who are from Nicaragua have came to Costa Rica by bus, foot etc – or are trafficked. Migrants generally work in pineapple production. But they are exploited – arguably enslaved. They often lack the economic resources to go home, and get stuck in poor conditions. 

European Union has to do a lot with this issue. The pineapples are exported to Europe from Costa Rica. You can buy a pineapple cheaper than 1 Euro in many countries. It means, you only pay 2 or 3 cents for workers. They also face other challenges such as being poisoned by pesticides. It is a very common problem because these migrants are irregular. They have to work long hours and they can not access shelters. Working conditions are very bad, with long hours and little sleep. There is little serious regulation which could combat this. 

Child labor problem also exists in Costa Rica, especially in coffee production. We can not find the child labor in the pineapple production, because you need to be strong while working in pineapple production. It is very tiring job. But in coffee production, workers do not need to be strong. It is easier to work in coffee production. We can see children have been working in coffeee production. We need to implement supply chain program in order to combat cheap and child labor. DW produced a documentary about this topic. I am pretty sure that many companies are aware of this problem.

In Costa Rica, almost 90% percent domestic workers are migrants from Nicaragua, most of them women. They are also irregular migrants, struggle to access basic rights, and are dependent on their landlords. They are kept working 24/7, on a low salary and often without private accomodation. The president knows about this problem. Everybody knows this problem. But it doesn’t change. Because it is good for the country system. It is good for landlords and field owners. 

Irregular migration  problem is good for companies, owners, and bosses. They can exploite migrant and earn much money. Irregular migrants do not have any right to increase their voices. Because they can be deported. They only have two options, being exploited or being deported, which one is better for them. They of course choose being exploited. 

How has COVID-19 affected migrant workers’s life there? 

The government has implemented many restrictions against migrants because of COVID-19. It has closed the border, both with Nicaragua and Panama. This is not possible to enforce, and migrants are still moving, but it presents new challenges to migrant populations. Now the government also requires a negative PCR test result from migrants in order to work in pineapple  and coffee productions. PCR tests are very expensive – 100 dollars, two weeks salary for migrant workers in pineapple production. As a consequence, migrants unable to pay up are turning to trafficking and irregular migration to find work. 

How civil society organizations and government provide services to migrant workers? What they should do? 

Private sector is a guilty in  the agriculture sector. Most of NGOs, civil society organizations have been working in main cities and city centers. They mainly focus on social integration, regularization of refugees. But we don’t see organizations which worked in rural settlements especially in exploited areas. They don’t provide shelter, other programs in eliminating labor exploitation in rural areas. In rural areas, there are not action plans for supporting migrant workers. Costa Rica has 80,000 refugees and 400,000 migrants out of a population of 5 million. Such a plan is therefore urgently needed.  

What is your suggestion to youths if they want to work in migrant workers’ rights area?   

Please get engaged in any iniative, any project. 

Asli Saban has been involved in human rights for 6 years. She is interested in human rights, advocacy, social policy areas. She aims to increase voices of grassroot organizations and activists from different parts of the world. She is a social worker, a civil society practitioner, and an officer of the MGCY MENA region. Get in touch on Twitter @AslSaban4, or by email - aslisaban@gmail.com.