Moussa is still undocumented after ten years of working in France
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In France, undocumented workers occupy a large number of jobs, mainly in the hotel, catering, building and cleaning sectors. All are considering deportation, despite having jobs that make up for a lack of manpower. France 24 went to meet Moussa, an undocumented garbage collector who has been working in France for ten years.
Every morning, Moussa* goes to work with a lump in his stomach. Although he has worked for ten years in France, he remains undocumented.
“Given my situation, I’ve never been quiet since I’ve been here, he testifies anonymously on his way to work. You never know, in the event of a check … As long as you don’t have of documents, you are still in fear.”
The constant fear of being deported to Mali, his native country which he fled in 2013. “I felt in danger, he explains. The jihadists came and should establish sharia, the situation was catastrophic. I told my mother that I had to leave the country to help them financially and seek a better life.”
In ten years of presence in France, he has always worked. First in cleaning, then in construction, and now in garbage collection. To get hired, he took the papers of a relative, an “alias”, which he pays 10% of his salary.
Moussa is far from being the only one in his case in his company: half are in the same situation as him. The company is struggling to recruit and has resorted to temporary garbage collectors to make up for the lack of personnel.
“When you are undocumented, you do not go on vacation, describes Moussa. You can work ten hours a day, instead of seven. For them, these are advantages”.
Fr
