Migrant workers, community members gather for tournament
Migrant workers, farm owners and community members gathered at the soccer pitch in Simcoe on Sunday.
Nine teams – each with 16 to 20 players – from farm operations through Norfolk played matches at the Norfolk County Youth Soccer Park on West Street in the annual Farms of Norfolk Football Association tournament.
“We only had (the tournament) for two years prior to COVID, so this is a rebuilding year,” said Carrie Sinkowski, community developer for the Community Legal Clinic Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk. “We tried to expand it this year beyond just having the soccer matches to having face-painting, food trucks and bouncy castles to encourage more folks to bring their families out for the day.”
She said the idea for the tournament came about after people who do outreach on farms or offer community services to migrant workers shared that many of the farm workers wanted more opportunities for community engagement.
Soccer was one of the ideas.
“For the workers, it’s a great thing to do and it’s nice seeing the community support,” said Brett Schuyler, who owns Schuyler Farms northeast of Simcoe. “The level of play is impressive. It’s just wicked.”
Schuyler built a soccer field on his farm operation for the enjoyment of his workers.
“This is my life,” he said. “I grew up on the farm with all the guys and women. You work hard and play hard.”
Cemore Gordon of Jamaica has been coming to Ontario to work on farms for nine years.
The 45-year-old supervisor at Schuyler Farms noted that while most of his co-workers are from Trinidad, Jamaica, or Barbados, they feel like one family.
“Mr. Brett is the best boss ever,” Gordon said. “And this tournament brings even more joy to us, and (the chance) to meet new people as well. It’s good to come out and have fun.”
Like many migrant workers, Gordon comes to work local farms each year to help pay bills and to provide food and medical coverage for his family back home.
He noted that he is paid more in one week than a nurse or police officer in Jamaica earns in one month.
“We consider ourselves lucky,” he shared. “For us, it is gold.”
Gordon said he and his colleagues don’t think of farm work as hard work, but rather, as fun, and physical exercise.
“I go home, and I feel good about it,” he said. “You’ve got to love what you do, put your mind and soul into it, with a good sense of humor too.
“They treat us with love and respect, and if we need any help, they are there for us.”