My contemplation in berry farm

Thursday, 21 December 2006

6.30am in the morning. I was sitting in the living room of our accommodation, together with other fruit pickers. The TV was on, showing the news on bush fire. No wonder we could smell the smoke from here, the raspberry farm in Silvan. The weather forecast showed it was gonna be hot today, with a top temperature of 35ºC. Quickly I finished up my breakfast, got myself ready, and headed up to the shed.

As always, we had briefing on our tasks for today: all of us will pick up raspberry. We prepared our equipment: a tray with punnets for us to put raspberries, a metal hand bar to carry the tray, a styrofoam box as a stand for the tray, and a white towel to cover the picked raspberries from the sun. Then we went to berry field and started picking the fruits. Standing, kneeling, squatting, reaching, I was looking for a red and ripe raspberry. Whenever I found ones, I picked and put them on the punnets, until I filled up all the punnets on my tray. Then I took another tray, set the punnets up, and repeated the picking process all over again. All of these raspberries will go to the shed to be packed & stored before they are distributed to supermarket, restaurants, and other places.

As I looked for & picked the ripe raspberries, my mind wondered. Subhanallah, this is a simple fruit that becomes my favourite in summer; especially when it is added to yoghurt or milk shake. But I never thought about the processes it has been through to reach my plate. For every piece of raspberry that I eat, I enjoy the hard work of the farmers –the fruit pickers, the lawn mowers, the packagers, the storage men, and the trimmers who looked after berry plants in winter time–, the farm owners, the distributors, the drivers who deliver packs of raspberries, the people in supermarkets/green groceries, and all other people who have their share in the processes.

Subhanallah, and what is more amazing, from this simple fruit, people can make a living. People like me, for example, who works here during my summer holiday as a fruit picker, so I can pay my airfare to Taiwan next year for the Asia Pacific Medical Students Symposium (APMSS) –where I will, God willing, meet other medical students from Asia Pacific region, learn about each other medical school, give my personal presentation, and discuss medical issues. Or, like my friend, another fruit picker who is saving up for her wedding; and all other people with their own plans with their earnings.

Subhanallah, Glory be to Allah, the Creator who created these fruits. Allah is Great!

"Then let man look at his food, (and how We provide it): For that We pour forth water in abundance, And We split the earth in fragments, And produce therein corn, And Grapes and nutritious plants, And Olives and Dates, And enclosed Gardens, dense with lofty trees, And fruits and fodder,-For use and convenience to you and your cattle." ('Abasa :24-32)