Logan Raju's Ireland Continued from last issue...
After a few hours of picking potatoes in that field in Donabate, the foreman came around checking the bags for stones, screaming at some for the added weight and shouting “Faster, faster!” The tractor was ploughing neat furrows that we had to get to ASAP. The foreman was a real taskmaster: all that he was missing was a whip. But then came the break for lunch – what a relief! Though it wouldn’t last long, and soon we were back in the trenches again.
There were some very fast ‘pickers’ in the fields, but some others slower than us. There was even a guy beside me who I’m sure was smoking weed! He was always looking out for the foreman with glazed, beady eyes. He was bagging the stones too, but I bet he was just as stoned!
Anyway, we managed the day fairly well, I think, and we finished around 4pm. On the way back Billy felt we shouldn’t return the next day as we hadn’t earned much and it was very laborious. I insisted we should work harder and pick more spuds.
That night we went out as we had arranged to meet friends at a disco. Tiredness was getting the better of us, though I did manage to dance a bit. However, I was more keen to tell our friends that we did have a job and got paid for an honest day’s work without cheating anybody by adding stones!
Now for the interesting part. The next morning, we had a problem getting out of bed. The muscles ached, the joints hurt, the legs were painful, the hands felt heavy and the feet were throbbing. I managed to drag myself out from the covers, had a hot shower and was ready. But Billy refused to get out of bed, and insisted he was never going to eat potatoes again. I must admit I wasn’t keen either, after a physically painful drive to north Dublin, but I guilted him into joining me.
Billy and I were a lot slower the second day. By noon I was kneeling on the ground picking those spuds. And after the lunch break I was actually squatting and picking them. The body was saying it couldn’t carry on, but my mind was determined.
I was tempted to add a few small stones at least, but my principles wouldn’t allow it. I had to respect the job, whether it was menial, lowly paid, casual, part-time or full-time. When I saw all the others, young and old, toiling away to make sure we have the humble spud on our dining table, it made me think: aren’t we fortunate today? Think of the potato famine and its implications: mass exploitation, oppression, suppression, disease and emigration.
So remember, dear friends, that we must cherish what we have and not take too much for granted. Respect your fellow man, irrespective of who we are and where we come from. We are fortunate enough now, so let’s contribute positively to society.
Oh, I hear you ask, did we go back on the third day? I really wanted to, but poor Billy gave up. I couldn’t even wake him. I decided not to go myself anyway as I couldn’t walk properly. I’m sure you must have seen a duck waddle. Well, I was more like a constipated duck!
Logan Raju is a Malaysian-Indian entrepreneur living in Ireland for 30 years.
