going to turn east offered them some hope. they came to visit five or six times two attorneys and two or three doctors. they were all from the united states . and they spoke english. they talked about money that would come from the u.s. three million dollars just for a well you know. they told us others would receive compensation they said there'd be even more money and i should start thinking about what i was going to do with her. parents believed the attorneys promises five years ago they signed an agreement not to talk in public about their case and they kept to that nondisclosure agreement until now. they say they haven't seen the attorneys since they signed and no money either. they kept telling us that we shouldn't

talk to anyone about this. they said it would invalidate the agreement and we'd have to pay all their fees. you know so just a few people went public. but we've had enough. those people know exactly how many disabled children are being born. but they want us to keep growing tobacco. i mean i thank you for coming thanks for talking to us. stop by any time that we've got to think about you stay strong. tobacco farming is by far the largest source of income here in san jacinto

a province once a year all the farmers come here to sell their harvest to the philip morris company this is the most important day of the year for them because they'll find out how much money they'll get for twelve months of work this year for the first time there's a labor union representative here. but. this is the moment they've all been waiting for. believe to be happy with what they get or they'll be disappointed. but if everything goes all right. we'll be able to purchase what they have spent the entire year working for them. it's a really important day for through. the tobacco bales are examined for texture aroma and color the farmers say that without the herbicides there tobacco would not be able to meet the buyers high

standards. to do with. the prices based on the quality of the crop this bale for example isn't quite up to standard so i've got to take it out. and actually the whole harvest was poor this year i'll buy it but at a lower price. the . company representatives determine what price they will pay to each farmer. it takes them about thirty seconds to decide there are no negotiations. so how to go. to tell you the truth that's a really low price for so much tobacco really low. apparently the quality wasn't very good. and. this farmer got the

equivalent of about one thousand euros for his entire crop. of nine hundred forty seven kilos eleven thousand five hundred seventy five pesos let me see how much that is pretty low. that's nothing but he felt that that. was the worst price ever. that. way under the recent average. backhoe back of. the farmers are angry but there's nothing they can do there's no other work around here. after the sale the farmers head off to buy supplies for next year we'll go with them and so will union representative emilio. if it was we've got everything they need right here. the fertilizer herbicide

seeings. up and that's your. promise come by themselves or we can deliver it to. come to. no one seems to be watching us so we take a look around the warehouse these are poisonous chemicals but the workers seem to be handling them without any special safety precautions. we find supplies of monsanto's round up here and bears confident and insecticide some critics. say that confidence or maybe killing off the v. population. then. stop filming. ok like you think get out. soon some of the bosses turn up one of them confronts us i don't know who they were

going to get is about them there are hardcore tobacco opponents around here they want to shut us down. stop filming. them if. there's one of them over there. look listen. to back oh people just want to take pictures of our warehouse while we work. but you don't seem to understand that that's going to cause us all kinds of trouble . we decide to leave. and i think. you know. i think they're nervous because they haven't given their workers protective clothing. even though the law says they have to do that. if it

is this. and they're also nervous because they have chemicals there that are prohibited in tobacco production. and. no one knows what long term impact this rather careless approach to handling these agro chemicals might have. on this is the city of posada's the capital of miss eunice province doctors here say that the use of toxic chemicals in local agriculture could cause. damage to human d.n.a. over time. the ones. who go to my o. is the chief neurosurgeon at a pediatric clinic here he was the first to notice the increase in serious birth defects among children nearly all of these children come from areas where agro

chemicals were used. after we'll go to my retired mario barrera took his place. and you know he had this child has ten minutes on the head. and on the stomach. these wounds are related in a very unusual way. these are not normal hours so he was not the new warning today if we don't do anything here these children will die sometime in the next five years the moment those who you know when he made a scene going if he had. these two girls suffer from medical problems caused by a genetic mutation in their x. chromosome their mothers were exposed to herbicides while they were pregnant. and.