Health: In Nicaraguan Sugarcane Communities, Workers stare Death in the Face

His loved ones gather at his bedside --some in tears, others unable to even look at his body -- as the family patriarch, who spent more than three decades in the sugarcane fields, writhes in unconscious pain, with no morphine to ease his suffering.

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Health: What is killing sugar-cane workers across Central America?

As I toured the villages I heard many accounts of barbaric suffering beneath the equatorial heat. Héctor García, 33, a stage-two patient, told me: "It's very hot; we suffer. People sometimes collapse. More often they vomit, especially when the heat is worse. They do two shifts to earn more money." Ismael Ramos, 40, who is at stage five, said: "In those cane fields, I can't stand it. I'm dizzy and sweating like crazy. I've vomited. I've fainted. I drown in sweat. When I come home, I feel surrendered. Sick. Headache. I can't shower because the water [from the roof-mounted tank] is too hot."

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