Health promoters protect by informing people in Mixteco and Zapotec about COVID-19.

OXNARD – When the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic began, many indigenous workers in Ventura County doubted that the virus was real, primarily because they had no access to information in their language.

Indigenous farmworkers and their families are often unaware of the health services available or fear risking a visit to the clinic, usually because of the isolation that comes from a lack of fluency in English or Spanish and, sometimes, a lack of legal status in the country.

That is a challenge in normal times. During the coronavirus pandemic, it can be fatal. These barriers — shared with other immigrants who primarily speak less common languages, such as Hmong, African languages ​​such as Ibo or Yoruba, and lesser-known dialects around the world — are a poorly understood contributor to the COVID-19 results.

In Ventura County, workers benefit from the help of health promoters who provide vital information in their language. But this has been more difficult during the pandemic. However, those who serve this community are still deeply committed to spreading the word.

Almost every day, Rosita López and Lidia López used to walk the streets of Oxnard City, Ventura County to inform low-income residents about free or low-cost health services in their area.

The two women, with the same last name but who are not related, are health promoters focused mainly on the considerable indigenous community of Ventura. This community speaks several native languages, including Mixtec and Zapotec. The workers are mainly from the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Hidalgo, Michoacán and Guerrero.

There are an estimated 20,000 people in Oxnard who speak primarily an indigenous language. Most are agricultural workers.

COVID-19 has a higher cost in working-class communities where there is less access to health insurance or regular medical care, said Odilia Romero, an indigenous language interpreter and executive director of the nonprofit organization Indigenous Communities in Leadership ( SKY).

He added that undocumented immigrants who fear deportation are much less likely to risk a visit to the doctor, even if they have symptoms of COVID-19.

This is why promotoras play such an important role in low-income and indigenous communities.

Before the outbreak, with a notebook in her hand and a shirt and a name tag that identifies them as health promoters of the Mixteco Indigenous Project of Community Organization (MICOP), Rosita and Lidia focused their reach in some familiar places in the city . They were heading to some laundry, a public park, or other places in the neighborhoods where indigenous residents congregate. Lidia speaks Mixtec and Spanish, while Rosita speaks Zapotec, Spanish and English.

"I feel good helping because there are people who only speak Mixtec," said Lidia, who found herself in the same situation when she arrived in the United States in 1993.

Lidia worked 12 years in the field picking blackberries and another nine years picking strawberries. In those jobs, farmworkers work hunched over for hours. At the end of the day, when they try to straighten up, the pain can be excruciating, he recalled.

"In addition, in the blackberry field we breathed a lot of chemical dust and at around noon, the throat felt as if it were burning," said Lidia. “Years later I found out that health is important and that there are discount programs; Plus, the county clinics have programs, but sometimes you hesitate. "

To prevent other people from losing available resources, Lidia and Rosita take pride in sharing information about health options tailored to the needs of each family.

Lidia and Rosita López are health promoters in Ventura County. (MICOP)

However, now with the pandemic, the promoters of the “Camino a la Salud” program have been unable to walk the streets. In return, Lidia said, MICOP staff created options to reach people in other ways, while working remotely. This includes public service announcements broadcast on local radio stations and phone calls to past and current members of MICOP.

"They are in Mixtec, Zapotec and other languages ​​spoken by the community," said Lidia. "There, we explain how they can keep themselves safe, for example by washing their hands."

The promoters also constantly answer questions posted on the MICOP Facebook page and recently offered a session to subscribe to Medi-Cal on Facebook Live.

They discuss discount programs offered through MICOP, including charity programs and the Ability to Pay (ATP) program that Ventura County offers to pay for doctor visits. For those who qualify for Medi-Cal, they share information on how to apply for this California program for low-income families and individuals.

During the pandemic, Rosita said that some people understand what is happening with COVID-19 and others think that the coronavirus epidemic is a political trick, a pre-election campaign tactic to confuse people who to vote for.

"But those who do believe take care of themselves and have told me that when they return from work, they take off their clothes and bathe immediately," Rosita explained. By doing this, they believe they are removing any viruses they may carry from work.

But sometimes social distance is difficult to maintain, as these workers tend to live in crowded homes shared by multiple families, said Arcenio J. López, executive director of MICOP.

He said that risks arise when workers share a raitera, a trip to the fields in exchange for money for gasoline, and not everyone knows the health condition or hygiene habits of others.

MICOP organizers said the companies have made some changes to prevent infection among farmworkers during the pandemic. Juvenal Solano, one of the community organizers, estimates that around 70% of the area's strawberry fields are applying some rules.

"They allow them to work keeping their distance and at lunchtime they are told to eat separately," he said. However, we do not believe that any of them provide masks. They give them bandanas or bandanas that are not very safe because they can still breathe the dust. ”

Solano said that farmworkers tend to speak their native language when they are working and expressing themselves with others of a different language is difficult. Only when it is necessary to speak to the foreman does the worker who speaks the most Spanish approach.

The defenders of MICOP and CIELO, aware of the vulnerability of their clients, say they feel an enormous urgency. Field work has not stopped during the pandemic, making it vital to bring information to agricultural workers.

Health Promoter and Medi-Cal Enrollment Specialist, Juana Zaragoza registering a Mixteca family. (MICOP)

Advocates are currently working on a campaign to persuade employers to offer more widespread coronavirus testing, to find ways for farmworkers to wash their hands in the field more easily, and to provide them with face masks.

"We are concerned that (the virus) has already arrived and we have to identify those infected so that they can receive adequate care and prevent them from continuing to infect more people," said Arcenio.

Knowing the help available

Before the pandemic, developers had seen some fruitful results. Among the beneficiaries of her outreach efforts were Rosa Perea, 30, and her husband Demetrio Salvador, 34. The farmworker couple have five children, ranging from 5 to 14 years old.

The promoters met the couple when they faced a big problem. Perea had received a $ 2,200 hospital bill for medical services due to a miscarriage, when the couple was expecting a sixth child.

Perea, an indigenous woman from Oaxaca, speaks Mixtec and some conversational Spanish. Salvador understands Spanish, but speaks very little, and none of them speak English.

After receiving advice from MICOP and helping to complete documentation for a health care discount program, Perea's bills dropped to $ 150.

Statistics from a 2017 study showed that around 250,000 Mexican indigenous agricultural workers and their families live in California.

Mixtecs and Zapotecs originate from some of the poorest areas of Mexico. Many cannot read or write, not even at a basic level, and some do not speak Spanish or English, but only their native oral language. And many are undocumented.

With all these barriers, most are uninsured.

Other studies find that immigrants who have limited English proficiency are also less likely to have a regular source of primary care, receive preventive care, or be satisfied with the care they receive. And they may be at increased risk of experiencing medical errors.

Juana Zaragoza, a specialist in enrollment for Medi-Cal and the Ventura County discount program at MICOP, said that before the pandemic, people who went to the doctor and received a high bill generally came to the organization for help such as case of Perea and her husband Salvador.

Advocates say it is a more difficult battle to convince clients in indigenous communities to go to the doctor when they feel sick, which has proven so important with the spread of COVID-19.

Before the pandemic, Salvador was proud to say that he had never been to the doctor for a medical check-up and said he did not think he needed it.

"When I feel sick, I take some pills and drink tea," said Salvador. "I don't remember going to the doctor in Oaxaca. I grew up with the mentality of not going to the doctor ”.

Perea said that this mentality is very common among indigenous men. Her two brothers do not go to the doctor either.

Advocating for the health of essential workers

Rosita said they continually receive updates from local health and political officials about COVID-19 so they can share it with the community. "Many words cannot be translated into the indigenous language, but we try to explain as well as possible," said Rosita.

Panorama of presentation to the Mixteca indigenous community presented by MICOP and a representative of the Ventura County Department of Public Health. (MICOP)

MICOP also requests that the state of California expand eligibility for unemployment insurance (UI) and other public benefits for undocumented immigrants and mixed-status families.

"(People) need to understand all of these different intersections that our community struggles with like immigration, economic, social status, housing, and a lack of trust in those who provide services that they have been excluded from for many years," Arcenio said.

Agricultural workers cannot stay at home because their work does not allow it. "They are considered essential workers, but they are excluded from the basic essential benefits they require," Arcenio concluded.

To view the health prevention videos in indigenous languages, visit:

COVID-19 Resources in Indigenous Languages from Southern Mexico

A second video can be seen at:

https://docs.google.com/document/u/2/d/1HMRXQ0pAY9-o62C3uPPDckHmVpunz31zsPhWE_hsMno/mobilebasic

This project is the result of a groundbreaking journalism endeavor — The USC Center for Health Journalism Collaborative — that includes a variety of media outlets from across the state of California dedicated to reporting jointly on the state's uninsured individuals. Media outlets include newspapers from Gannett Co., McClatchy Corp., La Opinion, and Southern California News Group, as well as broadcasters Capital Public Radio and Univision.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here