Immokalee-lujah!

Before leaving New York, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) called us. They saw that their traveling "Slavery Museum" would visit the Massachusetts headquarters of "Ahold," owner of Stop & Shop, Giant and other firms... which sell tomatoes picked in Florida by workers who are not adequately paid and protected. Florida area field employees of big food retailers have been convicted of modern-day slavery every two years since the 90's. The CIW has - impressively - brought Taco Bell and Burger King to the table.

We flew to Amsterdam on July 31st. For us (Savi, Billy, and Lena) the journey to the Netherlands was to be our family vacation. But also the musical "Crazyshopping" premiered on August 1st as well. We contributed songs and the character of an anti-consumerist preacher to the show, and shared this glorious song-fest with the people of Amsterdarm at the Royal Carre Theater. The play, with its cast of 40, continues through the fall and to our knowledge is the first big-budget stage play to express opposition to excessive shopping.  

Friday this past week, at the invitation of local justice groups, we preached at the Ahold-owned grocery chain Albert Heijn, and then marched through thousands of tourists to Ahold's head offices, chanting and handing out info-sheets. CIW wants an increase of pay by "one penny per pound," which would bring education and medical coverage on a dignified level to the Immokalee families. We finally reached the glassy office building, out, located far out on the edge of the harbor. About 25 of us walked all the way there, praying and performing holy communion with tomato juice and sun-dried tomatoes. The event was picked up by the Holland AP and appeared in media throughout this beautiful country.



Our overall feeling about the 3 hour action is that it was a good one. Of course we missed our choir, but brought robes with - to some visual effect. The Dutch are so suspicious of religious symbols - we had trouble recruiting worshippers for our tomato juice communion at headquarters. And doubtless there were thousands of people who saw us marching by at a distance who must have thought we were religious fundamentalists of some kind, but that is not new for us. The trade-off is that a white-clad preacher is a shock in Holland. Into this drawing of attention we stepped with our chants and info-sheets.

Then also, slavery is a powerful phrase here. The Ahold headquarters is on the water of the Amsterdam harbor, where slave ships docked and set sail for Africa. The Ahold company, some of whose employees were at the windows as we carried on below, must be sensitive to this public relations dynamite. They sent out a communications official, who patiently (and paternalistically) listened to the speech of our leader Marijke Bijl. Then he walked over to me and extended his hand, "Thank you, Reverend."

Well, this company must register that they cannot keep sending press releases, and announce new investigations and so forth. They have been stalling for two years. Now is the time to concede and work directly with the Immokalee, who have, after all, special moral authority. Our Immokalee friends are Haitians, and Mayans, and displaced people from the American hemisphere to the south, entrapped by the financial whims of the globalized economy. Ahold investors cannot squeeze profits out of this super-cheap labor. Consumers must expect to pay for dignified and healthy living all along the supply line of their food. Immokalee-lujah!