Exploited And Abused: A Case Of Desperate Migrants

GREG KELEBONYE
Staff Writer | Monday February 1, 2010 00:00

 

It is because they do not only provide cheap labour, but they can also be ripped-off by some unscrupulous employers who take advantage of the collapsed economy back home.

Take the case of Solomon Vambe, a Zimbabwean who worked for a certain garage owner (named withheld) who specialises in various car models. Vambe has worked for the man since 2006. Vambe, and many others in his situation, could never be prepared for the cruel treatment that would be unleashed upon him as events conspired against him last Wednesday. No man could. First he got to work as usual but was immediately told to leave the premises by his employer. Then as he was leaving, he got a telephone call from home in Zimbabwe: his father was dead and would be buried in two days. Even as he turned back into the yard where he had just been chased, he did not get any sympathy from the man who had just dismissed him from work. He should not have expected any. A tearful Vambe narrated his misery: 'I got to work yesterday and the guy just told me that I am fired without even giving me the opportunity to defend myself from whatever charge. All he said was that I was 'stealing parts from the workshop.'

Seemingly, having beforehand made a decision to dismiss Vambe, the 'boss' turned a deaf ear to Vambe's protestations and request for his house to be searched for any stolen items.

' I should have seen the dismissal as some bad omen, for no sooner had I left the workshop then I got a call from home informing me that my father had passed on and that he would be buried in two days. I went back and pleaded with the boss to at least give me some of the salary that was due to me. He was not even bothered by the fact that I had just lost my father, expect to say that he would think about it, and that he will only make a decision on Saturday,'

Vambe senior will be buried on Saturday - and unless his son found some money from friends, he will not be able to attend his funeral.

On the same day that the master sacked Vambe, he allegedly also beat the workshop's security guard. The security guard is also a foreigner from Zimbabwe.

' He just came over to me and started raining blows on me, claiming I was responsible for the loss of some items from the workshop. As he was beating me he kept telling me that I was just a dog and that he would call the police and tell them that I am an illegal immigrant so that I would be deported. As he was beating me up, the other guys just looked on, frozen because most do not have papers and are afraid they would suffer the same fate,' said Alex Phili.  He sustained bruises on his face and got a loose tooth from the beating. He has worked for the 'big boss' for over a year.

Prior to the beating, the master had, with the aid of a 'police officer' known to the workshop staff only as Aveloni interrogated Phili. In typical mafia style Aveloni and the boss arranged a lengthy interrogation session that scared Phili out of his wits. Phili was terrified the moment the 'drive' with the boss led to a secluded spot where Aveloni waited.

'The guy is a regular customer and gets free service for his BMW. The moment we got to where he was he flashed his identity card and said that I should tell the truth, otherwise he would persuade the magistrate to throw me in jail for six years,' a still shaken Phili alleged, still trying to reconcile the fact that he once saw Aveloni in full traffic police uniform and the fact that he was interrogating him, not over some traffic offence, but over something he had no inkling about. After the 'interrogation' the boss took Phili back to the workshop where he allegedly beat the daylight out of him.

Like he did with Vambe, the boss did not pay Phili.

'He said he was going to surcharge me for items that he claimed I had stolen from the workshop and that I would get no money. He then told me that I could go and report to the police or labour office, but he knows I can't go anywhere, as I am an illegal immigrant,'

The men say that they are hurt most by the fact that their boss is a fellow Zimbabwean.

'Yes, he has been fortunate and naturalised, but he should understand the plight of our people and not exploit us,' he said.

When contacted the owner refused to comment beyond saying: ' I had good reasons for firing those two. Anyway if they have a problem they can go to the police and report.
And you can write whatever you want to write about me.'

Molepolole Police Station commander Andrew Bosilong told Monitor that the said Aveloni should not be going around flashing his police identity card and intimidating helpless people'.

' But that constable is on suspension and should not be doing anything on behalf of the police,' said Bosilong.

When finally traced Avelino denied ever meeting with Alex Phili and intimidating him.

' Those are lies. The people you are talking about are only trying to destroy me,' he said.