In Italy, according to the Caritas organisation, there are more than 4.5 million agricultural workers of which some 700,000 are irregular migrants. Each year, in a sort of pilgrimage, undocumented seasonal workers travel for miles from east to west and from south to north of the country following the harvests for melons, tomatoes, grapes, olives and oranges. The season lasts for up to 7 months.

There are about 3,000 of the so called Basilicata who are willing to work an arduous 12 hours a day for just 25 €. They live, or rather survive, in abandoned field houses without electricity or water, in extreme poverty. The Basilicata do not have any right in Italy or any form of assistance, instead they are at the mercy of the, mostly Italian, “corporals”; local deputies who control more than just the jobs.

Photo&Video: Alessandro Penso e Michele Palazzi
Editing: Massimo Bui
http://www.alessandropenso.com/