Photos: Farm work, a return to the land in Spain
July 3, 2013
Labourer Jorge Ibanez, 20, (C) harvests potatoes, working with a group of day labourers, most of whom come from Morocco, in the southern Spanish region of Murcia, June 7, 2013. Ibanez quit school at the age of 16 to help pay the bills at home and did various different jobs before going back to complete his secondary education. Recently, he decided to start working as a day labourer. "I know for sure this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but this is all I can find now," he says. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Day labourers collect potatoes in a field belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez in the southern Spanish region of Cartagena, Murcia June 6, 2013. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Farm worker Mustapha El-Mezroui closes a sack filled with potatoes during the harvest in a field belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez in the southern Spanish region of Cartagena, Murcia, June 6, 2013. El-Mezroui left his native Morocco for Spain on a makeshift boat in the mid-1990s, and now works as a keeper and farm hand on a farm outside La Puebla, Cartagena, where he lives with his wife and three-year-old son. He supervises day labourers, does maintenance work and performs other jobs, helping to keep the farm secure. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Farm worker Mustapha El-Mezroui gives directions to day labourers as he waits to load a sack filled with potatoes onto a truck during the harvest in a field belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez in the southern Spanish region of Cartagena, Murcia, June 6, 2013. El-Mezroui left his native Morocco for Spain on a makeshift boat in the mid-1990s, and now works as a keeper and farm hand on a farm outside La Puebla, Cartagena, where he lives with his wife and three-year-old son. He supervises day labourers, does maintenance work and performs other jobs, helping to keep the farm secure. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Farm worker Mustapha El-Mezroui (C) helps load a sack filled with potatoes onto a truck during the harvest in a field belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez in the southern Spanish region of Murcia June 6, 2013. El-Mezroui left his native Morocco for Spain on a makeshift boat in the mid-1990s, and now works as a keeper and farm hand on a farm outside La Puebla, Cartagena, where he lives with his wife and three-year-old son. He supervises day labourers, does maintenance work and performs other jobs, helping to keep the farm secure. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years Picture taken June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Farm worker Mustapha El-Mezroui (R) helps load a sack filled with potatoes onto a truck during the harvest in a field belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez in the southern Spanish region of Murcia, June 6, 2013. El-Mezroui left his native Morocco for Spain on a makeshift boat in the mid-1990s, and now works as a keeper and farm hand on a farm outside La Puebla, Cartagena, where he lives with his wife and three-year-old son. He supervises day labourers, does maintenance work and performs other jobs, helping to keep the farm secure. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years Picture taken June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Farm worker Mustapha El-Mezroui waits to load a sack filled with potatoes onto a truck during the harvest in a field belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez in the southern Spanish region of Murcia, June 6, 2013. El-Mezroui left his native Morocco for Spain on a makeshift boat in the mid-1990s, and now works as a keeper and farm hand on a farm outside La Puebla, Cartagena, where he lives with his wife and three-year-old son. He supervises day labourers, does maintenance work and performs other jobs, helping to keep the farm secure. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Spanish farmer Santiago Perez watches as 'rebuscadores' (gleaners) prepare to leave with a sack of potatoes they collected from one of his harvested fields in the southern Spanish region of Murcia June 5, 2013. Gleaning, or gathering leftover produce after a harvest, is a traditional practice in rural areas, but has become more common since the economic crisis hit. "As long as they do it once we have harvested, we don't care. The discarded produce is fit to eat, it just didn't meet our standards for our clients" Perez explains. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
A 'rebuscador' (gleaner) digs for potatoes at a field that has already been harvested in the southern Spanish region of Murcia June 7, 2013. Gleaning, or gathering leftover produce after a harvest, is a traditional practice in rural areas, but has become more common since the economic crisis hit. "As long as they do it once we have harvested, we don't care. The discarded produce is fit to eat, it just didn't meet our standards for our clients" Spanish farmer Santiago Perez explains. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Farmer Santiago Perez (R) walks away, as farm worker Mustapha El-Mezroui's three-year-old son Bilal looks on, at his farm house outside La Puebla, in the southern Spanish region of Murcia June 5, 2013. El-Mezroui left his native Morocco for Spain on a makeshift boat in the mid-1990s, and now works as a keeper and farm hand on a farm outside La Puebla, Cartagena, where he lives with his wife and three-year-old son. He supervises day labourers, does maintenance work and performs other jobs, helping to keep the farm secure. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years Picture taken June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Farm worker Mustapha El-Mezroui holds his three-year-old son Bilal outside their home on a farm belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez, in the southern Spanish region of Murcia, June 6, 2013. El-Mezroui left his native Morocco for Spain on a makeshift boat in the mid-1990s, and now works as a keeper and farm hand on a farm outside La Puebla, Cartagena, where he lives with his wife and three-year-old son. He supervises day labourers, does maintenance work and performs other jobs, helping to keep the farm secure. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Farm worker Mustapha El-Mezroui does his evening prayers at his home on a farm belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez outside La Puebla, in the southern Spanish region of Murcia June 5, 2013. El-Mezroui left his native Morocco for Spain on a makeshift boat in the mid-1990s, and now works as a keeper and farm hand on a farm outside La Puebla, Cartagena, where he lives with his wife and three-year-old son. He supervises day labourers, does maintenance work and performs other jobs, helping to keep the farm secure. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Farm worker Mustapha El-Mezroui's wife, Mahjouba, embraces their three-year-old son Bilal, in the living room of their home on a farm belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez in the southern Spanish region of Murcia June 5, 2013. El-Mezroui left his native Morocco for Spain on a makeshift boat in the mid-1990s, and now works as a keeper and farm hand on a farm outside La Puebla, Cartagena, where he lives with his wife and three-year-old son. He supervises day labourers, does maintenance work and performs other jobs, helping to keep the farm secure. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Farm worker Mustapha El-Mezroui high fives his three-year-old son Bilal in the living room of their home on a farm belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez outside La Puebla, in the southern Spanish region of Murcia June 5, 2013. El-Mezroui left his native Morocco for Spain on a makeshift boat in the mid-1990s, and now works as a keeper and farm hand on a farm outside La Puebla, Cartagena, where he lives with his wife and three-year-old son. He supervises day labourers, does maintenance work and performs other jobs, helping to keep the farm secure. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years Picture taken June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Farm worker Mustapha El-Mezroui's three-year-old son Bilal is reflected in a mirror as he plays with water while he takes a bath at their home on a farm belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez outside La Puebla, in the southern Spanish region of Murcia June 5, 2013. El-Mezroui left his native Morocco for Spain on a makeshift boat in the mid-1990s, and now works as a keeper and farm hand on a farm outside La Puebla, Cartagena, where he lives with his wife and three-year-old son. He supervises day labourers, does maintenance work and performs other jobs, helping to keep the farm secure. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Farm worker Mustapha El-Mezroui puts on his boots as he prepares to leave home to oversee the potato harvest on a farm belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez outside La Puebla, in the southern Spanish region of Murcia, June 6, 2013. El-Mezroui left his native Morocco for Spain on a makeshift boat in the mid-1990s, and now works as a keeper and farm hand on a farm outside La Puebla, Cartagena, where he lives with his wife and three-year-old son. He supervises day labourers, does maintenance work and performs other jobs, helping to keep the farm secure. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Day labourer Jorge Ibanez, 20, (L) waits to be picked up for a day's work harvesting potatoes in Pozo Estrecho, in the southern Spanish region of Murcia June 7, 2013. Ibanez quit school at the age of 16 to help pay the bills at home and did various different jobs before going back to complete his secondary education. Recently, he decided to start working as a day labourer. "I know for sure this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but this is all I can find now," he says. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Labourer Jorge Ibanez, 20, (R) harvests potatoes, working with a group of day labourers, most of whom come from Morocco, in the southern Spanish region of Murcia, June 7, 2013. Ibanez quit school at the age of 16 to help pay the bills at home and did various different jobs before going back to complete his secondary education. Recently, he decided to start working as a day labourer. "I know for sure this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but this is all I can find now," he says. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Day labourers carry baskets of potatoes in a field in the southern Spanish region of Murcia June 7, 2013. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Day labourer Jorge Ibanez, 20, harvests potatoes in the southern Spanish region of Cartagena, Murcia, June 7, 2013. Ibanez quit school at the age of 16 to help pay the bills at home and did various different jobs before going back to complete his secondary education. Recently, he decided to start working as a day labourer. "I know for sure this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but this is all I can find now," he says. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Day labourer Jorge Ibanez, 20, throws potatoes into a 1250-kg (2755 lbs) sack as he harvests potatoes in the southern Spanish region of Cartagena, Murcia, June 7, 2013. Ibanez quit school at the age of 16 to help pay the bills at home and did various different jobs before going back to complete his secondary education. Recently, he decided to start working as a day labourer. "I know for sure this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but this is all I can find now," he says. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Day labourer Jorge Ibanez, 20, smokes as he helps load a sack filled with potatoes onto a truck while he harvests potatoes in the southern Spanish region of Cartagena, Murcia, June 7, 2013. Ibanez quit school at the age of 16 to help pay the bills at home and did various different jobs before going back to complete his secondary education. Recently, he decided to start working as a day labourer. "I know for sure this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but this is all I can find now," he says. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Food lies at the bottom of Jorge Ibanez's cooler as he takes a break from working in the southern Spanish region of Cartagena, Murcia, June 7, 2013. Ibanez quit school at the age of 16 to help pay the bills at home and did various different jobs before going back to complete his secondary education. Recently, he decided to start working as a day labourer. "I know for sure this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but this is all I can find now," he says. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Day labourer Jorge Ibanez, 20, drinks water as he takes a break from harvesting potatoes in the southern Spanish region of Cartagena, Murcia, June 7, 2013. Ibanez quit school at the age of 16 to help pay the bills at home and did various different jobs before going back to complete his secondary education. Recently, he decided to start working as a day labourer. "I know for sure this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but this is all I can find now," he says. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
A day labourer pours potatoes into a sack during the harvest in a field belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez in the southern Spanish region of Cartagena, Murcia June 6, 2013. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera ( SPAIN/ )
Farm worker Mustapha El-Mezroui walks past sacks filled with potatoes during the harvest in a field belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez in the southern Spanish region of Murcia, June 6, 2013. El-Mezroui left his native Morocco for Spain on a makeshift boat in the mid-1990s, and now works as a keeper and farm hand on a farm outside La Puebla, Cartagena, where he lives with his wife and three-year-old son. He supervises day labourers, does maintenance work and performs other jobs, helping to keep the farm secure. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera (SPAIN - Tags: AGRICULTURE BUSINESS SOCIETY EMPLOYMENT)ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 03 OF 30 FOR PACKAGE 'A RETURN TO THE LAND'. SEARCH 'JORGE IBANEZ' FOR ALL PICTURES ( SPAIN/ )
Day labourers carry baskets of potatoes in a field belonging to Spanish farmer Santiago Perez in the southern Spanish region of Murcia June 6, 2013. The majority of day labourers in the region come from Morocco and Ecuador, and it can be rare to see Spanish labourers in the fields. Nevertheless, as Spain wrestles with economic crisis and youth unemployment levels above 50 percent, some young Spaniards are starting to consider the kinds of jobs mostly performed by immigrants during the boom years. Picture taken June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera (SPAIN - Tags: AGRICULTURE BUSINESS SOCIETY EMPLOYMENT)ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 01 OF 30 FOR PACKAGE 'A RETURN TO THE LAND'. SEARCH 'JORGE IBANEZ' FOR ALL PICTURES ( SPAIN/ )
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