THE BANANA TRADE...

A LATINO MAN LIES NAKED on the hospital mattress. His name is Mauro Romero and he is stretched out on an old, metal-framed bed. A sheet is pulled up to cover his groin; his left buttock is supported by an orange cushion. Romero has been given morphine to alleviate his pain and wears a dazed expression as he tells concerned friends, family and the film-maker gathered at his bedside how he was shot in the leg. The bullet caused so much damage that doctors had to amputate his right leg above the knee in order to save his life. He stares disbelievingly at the bulky turquoise and white dressing that covers his stump. The previous day, his leg was there.

Romero's only crime was to be part of a peaceful occupation of the banana farm owned by Alvaro Noboa, Ecuador's richest man. He's the owner of Noboa Corporation, a firm trading as Bonita Brands, which is the world's fourth-largest banana company.

Read the full article on The Scotsman website