Tanya is not receiving sick pay or medical care because she was employed, like most workers, on temporary contracts, which do not include benefits. For nine years, Marianne, now 34, was one of the 70,000 women workers in the industry. Then I started vomiting and losing my vision and had to stop. In 1994, the Colombian Ministry of Health banned seven organochloride pesticides, including lindane and endo-sullen. But workers say these pesticides are still used illegally on some farms.
Scientists agree that there is no proven link between many insecticides and fatal human diseases.
However, malnutrition, which is also endemic to slum life, is known to aggravate the harmful effects of pesticides. With new markets opening up in Russia and Japan, Colombian flower growers are worried about their international image. Isabel Patino, president of the Association of Colombian Flower Growers, encourages visits to showcase farms. But she admits that not all farms are law-abiding and says the problems of child labor and pesticide usage are alarming. We are aware that conditions are awful in some farms and good in others.