Press Release: Screening of film “Richelieu” in Guatemala
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2023
(Halifax City/Guatemala City)
International film premiere at La Casa Del Rio (@lacasadelriogt) in Guatemala
Film: Richelieu
Director: Pier-Philippe Chevigny
Address: Calle del Hermano Pedro Prolongación numero 6 in Antigua, Guatemala
Duration: 1h 30min
Dates: November 8 and 15. 7:00 p.m.
English and Spanish subtitles
Cinema forum and conversation with actor Marvin Coroy (Hector)
Tickets
Pre-sale: Q20
Door: Q30
Richelieu or “Temporaires”
Premiere in Guatemala with Actor, Migrant workers and Activists
The film "Richelieu" exposes the dark and hidden side of Canada's Temporary Worker Program, which is fact not fiction.
Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) generates abuse and exploitation of people, and the systematic violation of migrant worker rights, as has been demonstrated throughout its existence in hundreds of cases have been investigated and analyzed by university academics, human rights defenders, NGOs, etc. This is possible because of the combination of two factors, first, the labor deregulation faced by migrants that increasingly tends to increase labor precariousness, and second, a labor precariousness that is spreading not only among migrant workers and immigrants, but also among Canadian citizens themselves. Recently Tomoya Obokata, UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery visited Canada and stated that: “Employer-specific work permit regimes, including certain Temporary Foreign Worker Programmes, make migrant workers vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery, as they cannot report abuses without fear of deportation.” There’s a false discourse that that the TFWP helps "poor people" in "developing" countries, which is convenient for Canadian businesses and corporations, as well as the Canadian and Guatemalan governments, however, the repugnant exploitation of workers challenges Canadian democracy.
Previously, several Guatemalan workers have denounced the lack of cooperation from the Guatemalan consulate, for example, in the repatriation of deceased temporary foreign workers in Canada, lack of assistance in workplace accidents, and medical or family emergencies. Many temporary foreign workers have died during the history of TFWP and most of them are linked to workplace accidents, where they suffered severe injuries and amputations, were struck by lighting as they were forced to work even when there was a storm, or were poisoned due to prolonged exposure to pesticides; etc. In many cases the companies have not wanted to take responsibility, even with the providing compensation and covering medical expenses.
The screening of the film takes place as part of the El Aguacaton de Oro festival at La Casa del Rio, and will be presented on November 8 and 15 at 7:00 pm at Calle del Hermano Pedro Prolongación number 6, (pre-sale 20 quetzales at Gate 30). Actor Marvin Coroy will attend the screening and there will be a Q&A at the end of the film.
Noe Arteaga (member of No One Is Illegal Nova Scotia, Migrant Workers Support Program) states: "This film shows that migrant workers are seen simply as cheap labor, and that this country that considers itself cultured and democratic makes use of "modern slaves" with the consent and indifference of sending governments who do not assume the responsibility of defending the most basic human rights of their compatriots to whom they owe much more than the remittances that are received with so much enthusiasm."
Noé Arteaga, a former temporary foreign worker living in Halifax/Kjipuktuk, Nova Scotia, expresses his outrage as follows: "I am angry that workers are treated this way in a country that claims to be democratic and respectful of human rights. In the end, the basic rights of Guatemalan workers are not protected and respected as shown in the film to be screened in Antigua, Guatemala."
Jose Sicajau, a former Guatemalan temporary foreign worker and member of AGUND (the Civil Association of Guatemalans United for our Rights), adds that the TFWP dehumanizes, deceives and exploits migrant workers who have virtually no help and information in their own language, since most of them, brought mainly from countries such as Guatemala or Mexico, do not know French or English.
These workers, in many cases, must pay exorbitant amounts to agencies in Guatemala to have a minimum wage job packaging and producing the fruits and vegetables consumed daily in Canadian homes under working conditions that amount to modern-day slavery.
Jose Sicajau states that the situation of workers coming from Guatemala has been worsening in recent years. However, most of these workers have normalized labor exploitation as a defense mechanism against the fear of not having a job in Guatemala. Immigration law has not contemplated permanent residency for these workers despite the many years they have been working in the country, and they all travel with a closed work permit which does not allow them labor mobility.
This is the sad plight of temporary foreign workers in Canada, but the recruiting agencies which scam workers claim that there is compliance with the labor laws of both countries.
