Through immersive fieldwork, Holmes brings to light several aspects of the migrant experience that are profound and unsettling. He highlights that the systemic injustices faced by the Triqui people are not merely abstract concepts but are physically embodied in their daily lives. This embodiment of suffering manifests in chronic pain, injury, and illness directly tied to their laborious work. For example, the constant bending and lifting in the fields lead to severe back pain, a condition almost normalized among the workers. This physical embodiment of structural violence demonstrates how deeply ingrained these injustices are. Holmes' participation in the labor allows him to experience and describe this pain in a personal and immediate way.
Holmes examines how identity—particularly race, ethnicity, and citizenship status—intersects with labor in the agricultural sector. The Triqui workers' indigenous identity places them at the bottom of the social and economic hierarchy. It affects their working conditions and treatment by supervisors, healthcare providers, and society. This intersectionality reveals the compounded layers of discrimination and exploitation. For instance, Holmes describes how indigenous language speakers face additional barriers in healthcare settings where Spanish or English are predominantly spoken. This further marginalizes them and limits their access to necessary services.
A critical analysis within the book is the role of perception—how the farmworkers are viewed by others and themselves. Holmes describes how the public and even those who interact with the farmworkers daily perceive them through a lens of prejudice and stereotype. This perception justifies and perpetuates their exploitation. For instance, workers are seen as inherently suited for hard labor—a perception that dehumanizes them and rationalizes their harsh working conditions. Holmes' account of a supervisor dismissing complaints about working conditions with the assertion that "these people are used to it" encapsulates this dehumanizing perception.
Holmes challenges the notion that migrant workers have a choice in their situation. He argues that the supposed "choice" to migrate and work in harsh conditions is a coerced decision. In that, it is driven by structural inequalities and a lack of viable alternatives in their home countries. This coercion is a form of structural violence that forces individuals into situations where their well-being is severely compromised. Holmes illustrates this with the stories of individual workers who describe the desperation and lack of opportunities that led them to undertake the dangerous journey to the United States.
The author's position as both a researcher and a participant-observer raises important questions about ethical responsibility and the role of the observer in ethnographic research. His decision to live and work alongside the Triqui people is a conscious effort to minimize the distance between the observer and the observed. This method enriches his understanding of their experiences and challenges traditional power dynamics in anthropological research.
