Authors: Jacopo Anderlini
Published in: Cartografie sociali (2023)
The text takes into account mechanisms of harnessing and practices of escape within the spaces of mobility generated by the circulations of seasonal migrant labour in agriculture, considering the case of Sicily. In particular, the harvesting of new potatoes in Cassibile will be analysed, building on the ethnographic fieldwork I have conducted since 2021. This harvesting is one of the stops of the circular mobility linked to seasonal agricultural labour in Southern Europe. From March to June, between 400 and 500 migrant workers arrive and stay in Cassibile, living in temporary makeshift camps, being subject to harsh work conditions. However, in 2021, many workers refused to join the harvesting or left before time, causing a delay in the potato production. Hence, the article aims to answer the following questions: how can we frame and analyse the practice of subtraction from labour in the context of seasonal agricultural work? To which extent escape practices produce a fracture in mechanisms of harnessing of the labour force?
This ethnographic study analyzes the mechanisms of control and practices of escape within seasonal agricultural labor mobility in Sicily, focusing on the potato harvest in Cassibile and examining how workers’ refusal and departure practices create fractures in labor harnessing mechanisms.