Day 3

Today’s experience was incredible. Our day started at 7:30 am on a bus to a batey. A batey is basically a small town where sugar cane workers live that is owned by the sugar cane company. We traveled to batey El Prado in the town of Seibo, where Haitians and Dominicans work on plantations cutting acres of sugar cane for a living. We drove through Veron, Higuey and other cities making the bus ride a little less than three hours. We were all anxious to reach our destination and to witness the lifestyle of the batey villagers.

Sugar cane fields at batey El Prado

When we arrived to the batey, the sun was beaming down on us like there was someone above us holding a magnifying glass. We quickly put on sunscreen and bug spray. Standing outside with us was Liz, a Peace Corps volunteer.  She was very nice and showed us where she lived. It was hard to digest her living conditions. I couldn’t imagine living in such a cluttered house. She also introduced us to her host family who she will be staying with for two years.

Liz sat us down at the side of her house to tell us about the men who work in the sugar cane fields. The labor the men put themselves through is unreal. They have limited resources to cut the sugar cane and they are out in the fields for hours sometimes with no food or water to keep them going.  The men earn about 300 pesos per day, which is equivalent to approximately $7.50 US dollars. The money they earn is only enough for them to purchase enough food for the day. There is no such thing as saving money in the batey since they familes live day-to-day.

Children of the batey giving our group a tour

The men work over 40 hours per week, no matter what the weather conditions, because they need to provide for their families. When the work is complete, the company who owns the plantation weighs the sugar cane and if it does not meet a specific weight, the worker won’t get paid. When Liz told us that I was shocked and I thought to myself,  if that was me I would drop to my knees crying.
                                                               
The kids at the batey were wonderful. In the community, everyone knows everyone else. When the kids saw us, they were intrigued and made us feel like we were Hollywood celebrities. We took them to the big field of grass to play games and they loved it. Some of the kids had no shoes, pants or shirts but found a way to look passed that to enjoy their time with us. The kids don’t have much at all, they find whatever they can use to seek enjoyment. Liz mentioned that one time they played with a cow that got loose for 6 hours. Our time at the batey was long but all worth the experience.

Ronny Vandyke