Moussa - JeS

Moussa,undocumented

I’ve never been at peace

You never know….

This story is about Moussa, an undocumented man working in Paris, France. Every morning, Moussa heads to work with fear in his stomach. Despite working for 10 years in France, he remains undocumented.

“Given my situation, I’ve never been at peace, never since I’ve been here. You never know in case of a check… As long as you don’t have the documents, you are always in fear… Always.“

Constant fear

The constant fear of being deported to Mali, his native country that he fled in 2013. “I felt in danger. The jihadists came and wanted to impose their Sharia; the situation was catastrophic. So, I told my mother that I had to leave the country to help them financially and seek a better life.“

During these 10 years, he has always worked. First in cleaning, then in construction, and now in garbage collection.

A job at the bottom of the food chain

“People don’t want to do this job. Some with certain mentalities will say, ‘You come to pick up other people’s dirt.’ In their minds, too, it’s a job at the bottom of the food chain.“

To get hired, he borrowed the papers of a relative. This is called working under an alias.

Four aliases

“I’ve had 4 aliases since I’ve been here. Four aliases to get work and avoid resorting to theft. So, I have no choice. You have to take someone else’s papers. It’s a person I know. So, he tells you there’s no problem. And he gave me his papers. I pay for that 10% of my salary, sometimes it goes up to 30%. He lent me his papers for that.“

Not alone

For Moussa, he is far from being the only one in this situation, especially in his company. ‘“About fifteen people out of thirty. That’s half.“ His company relies on temporary garbage collectors to overcome the lack of workforce.

“They can’t find anyone to do this job. When you’re undocumented, not only do you not go on vacation, but you can work more. Instead of 7 hours, you can work up to 10 hours a day. For them, it’s advantages.“

Not a lawyer

Moussa has been a garbage collector for 3 years now, a profession far from the one he intended: a lawyer. When he arrived in France, his asylum request was rejected. For him, it was the beginning of a life without papers.

“It’s so humiliating. There are so many difficulties living in this situation that it’s not easy. You are abandoned by people in your community. It’s tough; some will say, ‘You’re a coward, you’re good for nothing, why did you come to France? You can’t get your papers done.’”

Essential documents

At home, Moussa carefully keeps evidence of his presence in France. Essential documents for his regularization.

“Taxes, public transportation, state medical aid… It’s the concordance that I lack to be regularized.“

I dream…

His company must indeed provide a concordance certificate certifying that he has worked under another identity. But making the request to his employer could cost him his job.

Despite the wait, Moussa still hopes that his situation will be regularized.

”I dream of being regularized, and I dream of being French, to be able to work legally and work in my name.”

JeS Story by Dorine

All names have been changed to maintain anonymity.

This story has been published with the story owner’s permission,