Listen to the Hecklers!

We were at the Ministry of Equality in Spain. It was probably the biggest opportunity we would have as the Strawberry Girls to present our project and to tell their stories.

Everything went well, the art exhibit, the speaking presentation, the flamenco music.

Applause and affirmation.

Then, she stood up.

Someone called her a “heckler.”

I’m not sure what the correct word is to describe someone like her.

The Oxford Dictionary defines a heckler as: “a person who interrupts a performer or public speaker with derisive or aggressive comments or abuse.”

I guess that is what she was.

The representative of the Ministry of Equality was speaking, thanking everyone for coming, thanking the speakers and performers for their incredible work and message. She was inviting everyone to walk through the art and poetry exhibit.

This woman stood up and interrupted her.

“I have a question for the Strawberry Girls.”

“This is not the time and place for this. We don’t have time. It’s time for the walk-through of the exhibit.”

The woman refused to be silenced.

Just as we had spoken on behalf of “The Silent Ones,” the Strawberry Girls, this woman wanted to be seen, heard, and known.

She wanted to use her voice and tell her story too.

“I’m a Strawberry Girl. I work in the fields, and this is not at all an accurate representation of what happens.”

The Ministry of Equality representative offered to meet with her privately if she wanted to schedule an appointment.

The woman refused to be silenced.

She refused to sit down.

This woman was from Spain. 

We don’t know what happens to the Spanish women who work in the strawberry fields of Spain. However, we do know what happens to some of the Moroccan women who work in the strawberry fields of Spain. 

That is the story we are telling.

We have testimonies, research, documentation that this is true.

The representative of the Ministry of Equality opened the inauguration by sharing that she was a lawyer who had worked in Huelva. She had seen with her own eyes what happens to the Strawberry Girls. It is true. 

We had her endorsement.

She had even written a poem about it that she read in her introduction.

We spoke with the Chief of Security of Spain that day who told us he had worked in La Guardia Civil in Huelva. He had seen this. It was true.

We had his endorsement.

We had been invited to present the story of the Strawberry Girls and to do a full art and poetry exhibit in the Ministry of Equality. We had the endorsement of the Spanish government and the European Union.

We didn’t personally talk to this woman, this heckler. We were advised not to approach her because of her aggressive and violent tone and attitude. However, others spoke to her.

We would like to hear her. We would like to talk to her. We would like to have a healthy dialogue with her, listen to her words, her message, her experience.

We hope that it’s good.

We want to believe that there are good and ethical strawberry camps out there.

We want to believe that there are owners who want to treat their workers well, care for them with humane living and working conditions, and honor their human rights with fair work wages and work hours.

We want to believe that there is still good in the world.

If you are a good and ethical strawberry camp owner and worker . . . If you read this and you are out there, please reach out. We want to talk to you. We want to hear you. We want to see you. We want to respect you. We want to work together to bring back the good of the strawberry industry of Spain.