APARNA.B M.A, M.Phil., SLET
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF
ENGLISH,
VALLIAMMAL COLLEGE FOR WOMEN,
ANNANAGAR
ABSTRACT
Pollution
being a buzz word in the contemporary world, the hazards are analyzed
extensively in recent past. In spite of the awareness created, the environment
is at the threshold of catastrophe due to the practices of mankind in the name
of advancement. The perils of pollution wobble the whole ecosystem, contaminating
air, water and soil. Man started meddling with nature for his economic pursuit
placing the Mother Earth under serious threat. Literature reflecting the lives
of the people gives a clarion call for this burning issue. Writers take up the
role of educating people about the dangers to be faced and the ways to curtail
it through the works of art.
This
paper traces the perils of spraying pesticides in the agricultural fields in
San Joaquin Valley in California, through Cherrie Moraga’s play Heroes and
Saints. The play deals with the hazards faced by the Mexican farmers due to
spraying of pesticides. The chemicals turn the fields into cancer cluster areas
and the children are born with grave birth defects. The limp dead bodies of
children are crucified in the farms command immediate attention. People hatch
new ways of protest and become martyrs safeguarding nature as well as the
future generation. The agony and trauma of the Hispanic community is poignantly
portrayed by Cherrie Moraga. The rage and violent upsurge of the people goes to
an extent of burning the fields. This paper elaborates the ways to manage the
hazards of pollution and achieve environmental justice.
KEYWORDS: Pollution,
Pesticide poisoning, Environmental justice
“Earth
provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs but not every man’s greed”
–
Mahatma Gandhi
Clean green and hassle-free
environment is a vision of every human being on earth. Pollution-free planet is
a distant dream which remains as a yearning for a utopian world. Pollution has
become a global issue with the advancement of science and technology. Mankind
is meddling with nature spoiling its serenity and thereby falls a prey to the
hazards created by him. As an intruder of nature, man is the maker as well as the
victim of pollution. Man’s selfishness, negligence and indifference to nature
have blown the issue out of proportions. Pollution is a result of man’s lust
for comfort and money. Over population, urbanization, deforestation,
industrialization, technological development and huge unmanageable waste are
the main reasons for pollution. There is no clean air to breath, water to drink
and land to live, reinforcing the idea that humans must bear their own cross
for their deeds.
The environmental horrors have piled
up and the earth has become the most abused planet due to the massive amount of
pollutants in the atmosphere. The pollutants intervene into nature causing
imbalance in the eco-system. Even the layman would list out the effects of
pollution in the present world - ozone depletion, global warming, chemical
pollution, acid rain, extinction of some species of flora and fauna, and the
list is endless. The disaster of environmental pollution defiles the purity of
the environment leading to calamity:
Simply
put, it is this: that environmental degradation is a silent and inevitable
companion of industrialization – a caboose hitched on the train of progress
that no one can unshackle. If we want refrigerators, modern medicines, cars,
computer chips and polyester, then the price we pay is in toxic byproducts,
industrial waste, chemical effluent, environmental degradation and occasional
spectacular disasters. (Seager 70)
The problem which started as a tiny
speck has bundled up into a snow ball, craving immediate attention.
People do not appreciate the gift of
nature. They exploit it for their personal reasons. “‘Progress’ as defined by
our modern economic system rewards and perpetuates environmental deterioration”
(Seager 81). Technological and industrial advancement have pledged nature’s
purity disrupting the balance of eco-system. The culmination of environmental
pollution has health hazards in the living beings. The ecological changes
disrupt the eco-system, so ecological balance should be achieved for a stable
eco-system. Ecological praxis provides better understanding of the environment,
management of resource and safeguarding human health. Ecological realities
should be realized to curtail the thought of economical prominence. Ecological
preservation would prolong the sustenance of the species and the planet.
Water is the most vital thing for
living organisms to thrive. When water gets contaminated, it leads to many
diseases in human beings and contaminate the land making it harmful. Contaminating
water proves to be fatal for plants and animals. But water pollution gains
immediate attention, since it is visible to the eyes. When land gets polluted
it is not seen at hand. People do not anticipate the ill effects of land
pollution, so it is always a setback. Population explosion ushers need for more
food produce, which ingress extensive use of pesticides. The pesticides apart
from killing the weeds are absorbed by the plants and the animals which
consumes them. This pesticide poisoning proves to be dangerous, as the toxic
chemicals reach the humans. When the top soil is washed away, even the water
body gets polluted by pesticides. Pesticide poisoning leads to cancer and birth
defects in children. Man’s greed should be contained. There should be minimal
use of pesticides and consuming organic food should be encouraged.
Profit is the only motive of the big
wigs of the corporates and they disregard environmental safety. When monetary
benefits are brought to the forefront the environmentally destructive practices
are abound:
Profit-driven
companies are constantly trying to stay one step ahead of the competition
introducing continuously “never” and “improved” and “better” products. The
petrochemical industry, for example introduces hundreds of new pesticides and
other chemical products into market place each year, many of which are only
cursorily tested for environmental safety. The rapid journey from laboratory to
market place usually means that there is little time for realistic assessment
of the environmental impact of the new product, let alone a realistic
assessment of whether the new product is really needed in the first place.
(Seager 80)
The corporate leaders are
insensitive to environmental degradation and are least bothered about the
health hazards of people. Economic accounting is the primary concern and the
ill effects on nature are whittled away in the name of economic progress.
Nature strikes awe provoking sublime
thoughts for the humans, whose lives are enmeshed with the same. Literature
reflects lives of people and educates them giving a fresh outlook to the
mundane things. Writers explores the relationship of nature with mankind which
is always at conflict. Environmental concerns are propagated through the works
of art. The writers give a red alert demanding immediate attention by their eco-centric
perspectives in writings. Cherrie Lawrence Moraga is a Chicano writer, an
activist and a playwright. Her play Heroes
and Saints written in the year 1994, chronicles the lives of Hispanic
population working in the fields poisoned by the pesticides. The play is set in
San Joaquin Valley in California and focuses on the hazards faced by the
Mexican immigrant farmers due to spraying of harmful pesticides. The whole
community turns into a cancer cluster area and the children are born with grave
birth defects due to the pregnant mothers working in the pesticide stricken
fields.
Cerezita Valle is the pivotal
character of the play, who is a classic example of the ugly reality of pesticide
poisoning, with head and no body, as her pregnant mother worked in the contaminated
fields. She is seen as analogous to Virgin Mary by the people of community.
Moraga emulates Cerezita’s character from the reality of Mc Farland community
of Mexican farm workers in California. Pesticide poisoning took a strong toll
on people’s health causing a lot of birth defects which lead to the release of
a short documentary, The Wrath of Grapes,
depicting a child with no limbs, which formed the key for the central
character in Moraga’s play. Cerezita equips herself by reading medical books
about Neuroblastoma and Leukemia. She is independent. Inspite of her disability
she is positive and is willing to fight for her people. Cerezita’s mother Dolores
confines her daughter within the house and stops her from participating in the
protest. Cerezita remains positive and proves to be pioneer to overcome the
charity role model of disability that forces them to be the victims.
Religion
propagates a different thought regarding the people with disability. There is
superstitious belief that disability is the punishment given to the sins of the
past life or the sins committed by the parents. It is believed that the
disabled children are a symbol of punishment from God. People of San Jaquin valley
also believe this idea. Dolores believes that Cerezita is given as a punishment
for her husband’s sins. On the contrary, Cerezita oppose this view to Juan, the
priest of the pueblo. Cerezita neither blames her father nor God for her
disability, she accepts it without any regrets. Thus she proves to be a strong
women fighting for larger cause.
Cerezita’s sister Yolando has a baby
suffering from malignant tumor, when she undergoes the pain Dolores consoles
her daughter saying, “I know what you are feeling. I know what it feels like to
have a sick baby. When Cerezita comes out of me, I didn’t want to look at her,
I told the doctors to put a blanket over her head to suffocate her, but she
screams and screams so loud, the doctors couldn’t do it. They told me, the baby
wants to live with all its heart and soul” (HS 131). From birth Cerezita breaks
the prejudices of a disabled person and stands as a testimony of strength.
The agricultural sector in the name
of improving the yield exploit the water and land leading to misery. A strong
social change should be recommended by the people to change this grave
situation. Demonstrations, strikes and protests are organized by the social
activists to alleviate the distress of the people. Pleas to the notice of the
government and the media are achieved by different measures. People fight for a
cause and adopt different methods to achieve success. In Heroes and Saints, the affected farm workers’ device novel ways to
command the attention of the government. The dead limp bodies of dead children
are crucified in the farm as Amparo, the activist in the area says, “They
always dead first. If you put the children in the ground, the world forgets
about them who’s going to see them, buried in the dirt?” (HS 94). The crucifixion
of the dead bodies is a potential social protest drawing immediate attention. The
dramatic protest attracted media attention and Anaperez, the news reporter
covers the entire mishap.
The pesticides are sprinkled on the
fields by helicopters, the sound of which surges the anger of the women. The
parents protest against the school which denies free drinking water for the
school children. The reason for the disaster is given by Anaperez:
They
believe local tap water contaminated by pesticides to be the chief reason of
the high incidents of cancer among children in the area. They claim that the
extensive spraying causes toxic chemicals to mix into the public water system.
The majority of residents are from a nearby housing tract of federally
subsidized housing. It has been alleged that the house was built on what was
once a dump site for pesticides with the full knowledge of contractors. (HS
110)
The play is sprinkled throughout
with Spanish to create empathy among the people. The play has numerous layers
to be analyzed as the environmental and agriculture policies, public health,
poverty and illness, violation of human and civil rights and rule of church in
the issue.
The mothers who lost their children
lineup for a protest holding the picture of a dead child with a placard with
details of the child’s name, age, ailment and the date of death. The policeman
tries to stop the protest lead by Amparo, who is hurt. The demands of the
people are voiced by Anaperez thus:
They
believe that the federal government should pay for their families’ relocation
to an environmentally safe community, since federal moneys subsidized the
building of their housing tract. They further demanded that the well which
provides tap water for the area to be shut down and never again used for
drinking water. And finally they urge the governor to see the establishment of
a free health clinic for affected families and to monitor the growing incidents
of cancer in the region. (HS 132)
The protestors have a clarity about
their needs and strive hard to save their people especially the children, who
form the future. The play begins and ends with a political demonstration
achieving the required dramatic effects.
The bond between life and death is
exemplified throughout the play loaded with emotions of rage, fear and revenge.
Moraga informs the audience about the peaceful measures of protest with ethical
and moral responsibility. The idea violence begets only violence is suggested,
when the choppers start firing at the workers in the field. The whole community
is in a rage to retaliate against the violence imposed on them. They develop Topophobia,
a fear of the habitat which is no longer safe. Cerezita’s resilience paired up
with priest Juan, takes up new dimension in the protest when they become martyrs.
Death becomes centralized theme in the play and takes up different interpretations.
Cerezita’s words of wisdom in the final scene gives a clear picture about the
wounded souls of her Chicano community:
Put
your hand inside my wound, there is a people. A miracle people. In this pueblito
where valley people live, the river runs red with blood; but they are not
afraid because they are used to the color red. It is the same color as the sun
setting into the scerras, the same color of the pool of liquid they were born
into. They remember this in order to understand why their fields, like the rags
of the wounded, have soaked up the color and still bear no fruit. No lovely red
fruit that el pueblo could point to and say yes, for this we bleed, for this
our eyes go red with rage and sadness. They tell themselves red is a necessary
as bread. (HS 148)
Media brings visibility to a
subject. Though people speak volumes about an issue, the desired result is
achieved with the intervention of media. Media is the major catalyst in
creating a sea change in the society. Media should be authentic in staging the
problems and should be just enough without any bias. The play begins and closes
with the media coverage and the story unfolds with series of flashbacks. The
power of spectacle and media coverage brings the necessary changes in the publeo.
The crucifixion of dead bodies, the protest of Cerezita and Juan in the vineyards
knowing their destiny making the dead bodies as public commodities, make death
meaningful. A different means of ecoterrorism is applied towards the closing of
the play as the people burn the vineyards. Though ecoterrorism is not always
the answer in extreme condition, stringent measures are called for. In fact, ecocatastrophe
which dawned on people’s minds make them fight back by all means.
The persistent use of pesticides to
increase the yields of agricultural crops, contaminates the land in an adverse
way. The ecologist is concerned about the potential hazards these chemicals
could create in the environment as well as in the living organism. The residues
of the pesticides pose serious health issues in humans. Exploring the economic
and social conflict between the Hispanic community and the factory owners,
Moraga brings to light the grim reality of the situation. Moraga’s dramatic
vision voices the trauma of the Mexican farm workers and the need for
environmental justice which is to be attained so that people could prevent
apocalypse of the planet, providing a safer zone for the existence.
References
[1] Moraga, Cherrie. Heroes and Saints. Albuquerque, N.M:
WestEnd., 1994. Print.
[2] Seager, Joni. Earth Follies,
Coming to Feminist Terms with the Global Environmental Crisis. Newyork:
Routledge, 1993. 21 print.
