2024-08-28
KATHMANDU - Nepal’s leading think tanks Social Science Baha and Martin Chautari jointly organized the screening of the cross-border documentary The Pickers in Kathmandu on Wednesday (21st August). Despite the heavy rainis, more than 30 people, which included students, filmmakers, journalists, migrant rights activists and migration researchers came to watch the film.
The Pickers is a cross-border investigation about the failing food system in Europe. It documents the precarious living and working conditions of migrants, including from Nepal, who work harvesting the fruit and vegetables in Europe’s fields. The film uncovers a system that allows the systematic exploitation of these migrant workers.
The Pickers is directed by award-winning filmmaker Elke Sasse and has been screened at film festivals across Europe since its premiere in March 2024. The screening was followed by discussion with Josef Neubaurer, PhD Scholar at the University of Continuing Education Krems, Austria, who has been researching about Nepali migrant workers in Malta, and Nepali journalist Bhrikuti Rai, who reported about the Nepal–Europe migration corridor for the documentary.
Afterwards, during the nearly hour long lively discussion, members from the audience raised questions about supply chain laws in the European Union, and how agriculture sector seemed to be getting away despite the clear violation of labour rights in the continent. People were also curious to know more about how the cross-border collaboration came about and how the film crew received permission to shoot inside farms and factories across Europe.
This investigation received support from Journalismfund Europe’s Modern Slavery Unveiled Grant Programme.
© Bhrikuti Rai
