Zugvögel (Migratory Birds)
Every year, around 300,000 seasonal workers, mainly from Eastern Europe come to Germany to work on our farms. Many have come for several years, and they often come in groups. Like migratory birds they find their way here, stay a while and after some time they take off.
They pick our strawberries, and grapes, harvest our asparagus and dig up our potatoes. They harvest tomatoes, courgettes and cucumbers and they even cut our Christmas trees. We eat the fruits of their labour on a daily basis and still, hardly anyone ever meets them. They are hidden away on farms, often share sleep containers with the doors hidden behind curtains to keep the flies out.
They seem to live in a parallel world, hidden from our sight and still just down the road from us.
I went to meet the people behind the curtains and behind our food.
They pick our strawberries, and grapes, harvest our asparagus and dig up our potatoes. They harvest tomatoes, courgettes and cucumbers and they even cut our Christmas trees. We eat the fruits of their labour on a daily basis and still, hardly anyone ever meets them. They are hidden away on farms, often share sleep containers with the doors hidden behind curtains to keep the flies out.
They seem to live in a parallel world, hidden from our sight and still just down the road from us.
I went to meet the people behind the curtains and behind our food.