African tea workers, who were seen intensively in the tea harvest in the Eastern Black Sea Region in the past years, started to be seen in the tea gardens again. Senegalese tea workers, who receive a daily wage of at least 2 thousand TL and attract attention with their hard work, are loved by everyone in the region.
With the start of the first shoot period of the wet tea season in the Eastern Black Sea Region, producers entered the tea gardens in recent days. In the past years, in the tea collection processes carried out with workers from Georgia, workers from Africa and mostly from Senegal have started to be preferred due to their hard work in recent years. It was learned that the daily wage of Senegalese workers entering the garden in the early hours of the morning was at least 2 thousand TL.
“When there is a ton of work, it is 5,500 TL per day”
Senegalese Süleyman Akbay, who has been collecting tea in Trabzon’s Of district for 3 years, said that he started collecting tea 3 years ago. Akbay said, “In my first year, we had an uncle in Of. I worked with them for 2 years. This year was my 3rd year. In my first year in Turkey, I was in Istanbul, and when the tea season came, I came to Trabzon. I am here now. I first started picking tea with scissors. Then I realized that everyone was cutting with a motor, so I went and bought a motor. My friends from Senegal came last year. I taught them how to pick tea. This year we have new friends too. We don’t have much difficulty in the tea gardens here because we are used to it from our hometown. In hot weather, we see that the citizens who live here are sitting but we are working. There are people from Senegal who want to come here to collect tea. Unfortunately, they cannot come easily. We work in tons here. Prices vary. When it is a ton of work, it is 5,500 TL. I collect at least one ton a day. After the tea season is over, I stay in Trabzon. I work in the ports here. I am from Of now.”
“Everywhere Trabzon for us”
Stating that he came to Turkey 2 years ago, Isa Bah from Senegal said, “I started picking tea for the first time this year. Our friend Süleyman is teaching me how to pick tea. It is very nice to collect tea. Thank God, the people here are very good. After the tea season is over, I will go to Istanbul again. I work in the factory. We cut about 500 kilograms of tea a day. I will collect tea here for 3 more weeks. I am a Trabzonian now. Everywhere is Trabzon for us.”
Senegalese Mustafa Lo, on the other hand, noted that he started to collect tea last year and said, “Inshallah, we will be here this year until the tea collection work is over. We are very pleased with the people here. Everyone treats us well. We feel like we are in our own hometown here,” he said.
Ibrahim Yello from Guinea said that he was very happy in Trabzon and that he started tea picking for the first time this year.
“Those who heard about the daily wage started to come here”
Erkan Karamustafa from Trabzon, who came to his hometown to collect tea from Istanbul, stated that the season has started but it is tiring and said, “We continue to break tea. Since there was a little drought this year, the yield dropped. The sprouts did not grow much. May God bless us with abundance. Those who heard about the wage started to come here. We are not bothered at all. Not everyone can break it. There are old and sick people. Young people have stopped coming to the villages. In the past years, they used to come from Georgia and collect tea here. Now they don’t come because our money is worthless to them. Previously, a doctor from Georgia used to come and say, ‘I earn what I earn here in 3 months for 1 year’. Now they have stopped collecting tea,” he said.
Source: İHA
