Essential or Dispensable
One family's struggle through a JBS meatpacking plant outbreak
I had first met Tin Aye and her husband Aung Kyaw Toe back in my days of working at a refugee resettlement agency in Denver. I was one of the first Americans they had formed a relationship with and we stayed in touch ever since.
I started photographing Tin Aye and Aung in early March of 2020 as they began building up a long-term supply of food, mainly rice, in preparation for the spread of the coronavirus. At the time I had no way of knowing Tin Aye would eventually contract Covid-19 and die from complications of the virus.
Tin Aye, worked at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, CO which, during the pandemic was deemed critical infrastructure and ordered to stay open to protect the nation’s food supply. While businesses throughout the country closed or switched to remote operations, Tin Aye, like many essential workers, continued to work during the lockdown until she became sick.
A day before Tin Aye was admitted to the hospital, her daughter, San Twin, checked into a different hospital but not because she was sick. San Twin was about to give birth to Tin Aye’s first grandchild, whom unfortunately Tin Aye would never meet. Tin Aye died on May 17, 2020.
By the end of May 2020, more than 16,200 workers in meat and poultry processing plants in 23 states across the U.S had contracted Covid-19 and 86 had died.
Tin Aye, right, and her husband Aung Kyaw Toe head home after shopping at several stores in order to stockpile food in preparation for the spread of the coronavirus in Aurora, CO, March 7, 2020. Food security will ultimately impact Tin Aye in multiple ways since she works at a meatpacking plant that, in the coming weeks, will be ordered to stay open to protect the nation’s food supply. (The Denver Post under “Amid coronavirus threat, Coloradans nix church handshakes, rethink trips and take other precautions”)
Tin Aye rinses rice while preparing to cook at her home in Aurora, CO, March 7, 2020. She and her husband shopped at numerous stores throughout the week and have stockpiled more than 700 pounds of rice because they worry imports from China, where most of their preferred rice originates, could be disrupted with the coming pandemic. (The Denver Post under “Amid coronavirus threat, Coloradans nix church handshakes, rethink trips and take other precautions”)
Aung Kyaw Toe holds up a picture of his wife Tin Aye receiving treatment in a hospital due to complications with Covid, Aurora, Colorado, U.S. March 28, 2021. Tin Aye worked in a JBS meatpacking plant, until she became sick. While many businesses were shutting down or moving to remote work, meatpacking plants were deemed critical infrastructure and required to stay open through an executive order signed by President Trump. Aung shows this picture on his grandson’s first birthday as he reflected on a conflicting time when his first grandson was being born while his wife’s health was deteriorating. (Reuters)
A mortuary worker dressed in personal protective equipment walks out of the sanctuary where the funeral for Tin Aye, who died from complications of Covid-19, is being held in Denver, CO, May 21, 2020. (The Denver Post under “How coronavirus spread through JBS’s Greeley beef plant”)
Aung Kyaw Toe holds his grandson, Felix San Soe, on his shoulders while his daughter San Twin watches in his home in Aurora, CO, February 18, 2021. Aung had been struggling after his wife died, so San Twin and Felix, along with her husband (not pictured), moved in with Aung in order to provide mutual support. Aung was used to having his wife Tin Aye cook all of their meals, a responsibility that San Twin took over in addition to cleaning the house. (The Denver Post under “Worn out, isolated and sad — grief of all kinds mounts for Coloradans a year into pandemic”)
San Twin carries a load of laundry from the basement of her father’s house in Aurora, CO, February 18, 2021. After her mother died, San Twin stepped up to the role of managing the house. (The Denver Post under “Worn out, isolated and sad — grief of all kinds mounts for Coloradans a year into pandemic”)
Aung Kyaw Toe, left, switches the light in their meditation room while his daughter, San Twin bathes her son, Felix, at their home in Aurora, CO, February 18, 2021. Aung’s daughter, son-in-law (not pictured) and grandson all moved in with him so they could help support one another after his wife died from complications with COVID-19. (The Denver Post under “Worn out, isolated and sad — grief of all kinds mounts for Coloradans a year into pandemic”)
Aung Kyaw Toe prays in a room dedicated to meditation at his home in Aurora, CO, February 18, 2021. Throughout the room are images in memory of deceased family members including a framed photo of his wife Tin Aye. (The Denver Post under “Worn out, isolated and sad — grief of all kinds mounts for Coloradans a year into pandemic”)
San Twin feeds her son, Felix, while he sits on his father’s shoulders as they celebrate Felix’s one-year birthday, who was born the day before his grandmother was admitted to the hospital, Aurora, Colorado, March 28, 2021. (Reuters)
San Twin takes a picture of her son Felix while he plays with his new toy car, a birthday gift from his grandfather, Aung Kyaw Toe outside their home in Aurora, Colorado, U.S. March 28, 2021. Though tragic he never met his grandmother, the family feels blessed to have Felix who is a welcomed distraction from their grief. (Reuters)
Aung Kyaw Toe prays alongside family and friends during a memorial on the one-year anniversary of the death of his wife Tin Aye in Aurora, Colorado, U.S., May 22, 2021. (Reuters)
1. San Twin prepares an offering of food during a memorial for her mother, Tin Aye, who died a year ago from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Aurora, Colorado, U.S., May 22, 2021. (Reuters)
2. San Twin serves up a meal with family and friends during a memorial for the one-year anniversary of the death of her mother Tin Aye in Aurora, Colorado, May 22, 2021. It is tradition in her culture for the family to cook a meal for the community during the one-year celebration of life of a loved one. This responsibility falls solely on San Twin who prepares food for more than two dozen people. (Reuters)
San Twin provides an offering of food and some flowers at the grave site of her mother as they recognize the one-year anniversary of her death in Denver, Colorado, May 22, 2021. San Twin brings her son to visit her mother’s grave on special occasions including his birthday several weeks prior. (Reuters)
A friend blesses Tin Aye’s gravestone using a flower dipped in water during a memorial for the one-year anniversary of her death. Tin Aye died on May 17, 2020 and is survived by her husband, son, daughter, son-in-law and grandson. (Reuters)
Tin Aye was originally from the Karen state of Myanmar and fled her homeland after her first husband was murdered by soldiers from Rangoon. She and Aung later met at a refugee camp in Thailand where they married and eventually resettled in Aurora, CO in 2008.