|
FSU NEWS (
Music for migrant workers
Festival raises money
for migrant workers
Grace Norberg
The second annual Harvest of Hope Festival is being held on
Some of the headliners are Billy Bragg, Broken Social Scene, Senses
Fail, Anti-Flag,
“Really, I just kind of convince them, like hey, come here, you can
camp, we’ll feed you, you should play this event, it means a lot to this
foundation, kind of explain it to them,” said Murphy. “It really strikes
a chord with a lot of people.”
This three-day music festival is being held to raise money for the
Harvest of Hope Foundation, which is based in
“Over the last 13 to 14 years, the Harvest of Hope Foundation has pretty
much given out about $800,000 worth of emergency relief, education
support and all kinds of other aid to migrant farm workers and their
families,” said Murphy.
Kellerman runs a hotline that migrant workers in need can call to get
help. The foundation will give migrant workers money if, perhaps, their
car breaks down on the way to their next job, their children need dental
care or they can’t pay their rent. The people from the Harvest of Hope
Foundation will get in touch with others in the area that the migrant
workers called from and set up a system to help them. One-hundred
percent of the money that is raised at the Harvest of Hope Festival will
go to helping migrant workers and their families.
“One of the things that’s terrible about this population is they’re
completely invisible, they are definitely underappreciated,
under-funded, definitely taken advantage of a lot of times,” said
Murphy.
Many people do not realize the important role that migrant workers play
in American society. They are the people who fill niche labor positions
such as construction and agriculture. They are the people who pick much
of the food found in Publix and any other grocery store. Migrant workers
are called this because part of their job is traveling. They always have
to move on to where the next job is. This causes a lot of hardship,
especially for children who are of school age.
“The kids move from place to place and a lot of times lose track of
their schooling and are having to work in the fields to help support the
family,” said Murphy. “So the kids are suffering just as much.”
Murphy works with the children of migrant workers, and doing this is
actually how he met the founder of the Harvest of Hope Foundation and
got involved with it.
The migrant workers population is one of the most misunderstood and
underappreciated groups of people in
“A lot of people who are working these jobs don’t speak English or are
having a hard time adjusting to the society we live in, and so a lot of
the time they get taken advantage of,” said Murphy.
The Harvest of Hope Festival is trying to raise awareness about the
hardships of the migrant worker population and tries to help them get on
their feet. Like last year’s festival, there will be four stages for
bands to play on, sort of like Warped Tour. In addition, this year there
will be a bonus fifth stage for acoustic acts. On Saturday there will be
a kid’s matinee, with special games, activities, and songs for kids.
“This year we’re going to have a general store,” said Murphy. “Also what
we didn’t have last year is
The campgrounds are quite primitive, so attendees should plan on being
dirty and perhaps not sleeping much. There are, however, shower trailers
and bathrooms accessible to everyone and there will also be food
vendors.
Last year, about 12,000 people from all over
“The event is for a really good cause; it’s raising money for a very
important foundation that helps a very overlooked population,” said
Murphy. “And it’s not all about clunking people over the head about the
benefit of it, but it’s also saying hey, come see some live bands, camp,
have some beers and food, but also get to learn a little bit while
you’re here.”
|