Jean Ziegler, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, appears in the film stating: "If you go to the market in Senegal you can buy European produce for a third of the local prices. So the Senegalese peasant farmer no longer has any chance of earning a living."
And he wonders: "So what can he do? If he's still got the energy he risks his life as an illegal immigrant via the Strait of Gibraltar and has to hire himself out in southern Spain in inhumane conditions [as a labourer in the greenhouses]".
Our Daily Bread (2005), a documentary film of German director Nikolaus Geyrhalter, portraits for more than 90 minutes the world of European industrial food production and farming - without any words. A truly stunning film to look at, the official website describes it perfectly: "Monumental spaces, surreal landscapes and bizarre sounds - a cool, industrial environment which leaves little space for individualism. People, animals, crops and machines play a supporting role in the logistics of this system which provides our society’s standard of living". There is also footage taken in Almería consisting in aerial views and the work inside the greenhouses.
In the documentary film El Ejido, la loi du profit (2007) Moroccan born Jawad Rhalib "points out the mechanism of an industrial system that exploits human beings and the environment. [It] is the story of degradation of human rights, environment and ethic values in Europe that are being imposed by globalization". However the most remarkable quality of this film is that Jawad fully focuses on the people employed in the greenhouse industry of Campo de Dalías and gathers their personal stories, opinions and perspectives. The director, a witness himself of the racist events of 2000 as a journalist working for the Radio Télévision Marocaine, also explores how the local population interacts with the migrant community.
I would also like to mention Elina Hirvonen's Paradise - Three Journeys in this World (2007). This film documents the difficult working and living conditions that the seasonal workers of Almeria have to endure. Concentrating in the person of Malian Bakary Fofana, Hirvonen also connects with his family in his country of origin. Besides, Hirvonen explores the quest of those still trapped in Moroccan soil trying to reach Europe.
Another outstanding film to watch, even though not a documentary, is Heremakono, Waiting for Happiness (2002) of Mauritanian born director Abderrahmane Sissako. The movie is set in Nouadhibou, Mauritania, the departure point for many migrants trying to reach the EU through the Canary Islands. Upon release from detention centers in the islands or mainland Spain, many will end up working in the greenhouse fields of Almeria. Here, Abdallah (Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed), visits this town, where his mother lives, before emigrating to Europe. The film is a delicate, evocative and subtle examination of the overwhelming urge to emigrate. Awarded in several festivals, the film received critical acclaim at Cannes in 2002. Sissako observes that "exile is something that happens prior to a trip, which is to say that all those who are gone have already left, even before making the geographic trip. To go is a generous act, (...) and in any case, humanity is the fruit of all travel and encounters".
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