African migrants exploited in Italian farms скачать в хорошем качестве

African migrants exploited in Italian farms

(29 Feb 2016) Thousands of migrants, many from Africa, who harvest oranges in the southern Italian region of Calabria during the fruit-picking season have been living on meagre wages and in squalid conditions, some in abandoned farmhouses or derelict factories, often with no running water or electricity. Ismaila Badjie, a 47 year-old migrant from Serekunda in Gambia, used to work as electrician in his home country. He hoped for a good life in Italy, known for its fine food, wine and sunshine. But he found the reality to be in stark contrast to his expectations. His co-worker, 40 year-old Pape Badji from Dakar in Senegal, said he lived in a house without electricity for six months. Some cash-strapped farmers hire migrant workers without giving them a regular contract or use the services of middlemen known as "caporale" who recruit migrants for work on the farms and orange groves. For a day's work in the orange groves without a regular contract, migrants say they receive around 25 euros (27 US dollars). Often, an amount is deducted by a "caporale" for transport and lunch from a daily wage. The middlemen who recruit workers for the farmers risk arrest and imprisonment from 5 to 8 years, as it is a criminal offence since 2012. Farmers who employ workers without a contract can also be charged. Both Ismaila Badjie and Pape Badji, who arrived in Italy seven years ago from their respective countries, now work for a small local cooperative called 'SOS Rosarno' on a legal contract. But with record numbers of refugees and migrants now entering the European Union (EU), the situation for many migrant workers in Rosarno is still difficult. "Twenty-five euros a day is not good," said Mohamed Ahmed, a migrant from Niger whose asylum request has been rejected. He lodged an appeal and is waiting for a decision. When he left Niger, he faced a long travel trough Algeria and Libya before paying a smuggler to bring him by boat to Italy. Now he says he just wants to leave the country because he cannot earn enough money to support his three children and his wife who remained in Niger, but his documents are with the authorities while he is waiting for a decision on his status. He lives in a tent camp set up by the Italian Ministry of Interior as a temporary shelter after riots broke out in 2010. Hundreds of migrant workers rioted through Rosarno after two of them were wounded in a shooting that sparked clashes and arrests in 2010. There are toilets and electricity supplies at the camp, but no hot water. Power outages are frequent. Mohamed Ahmed sells meat and street food at the camp in order to make some extra money. Issa Jobateh is a refugee from Gambia. He arrived in Italy in 2008 after making a perilous journey through the Mediterranean Sea from Libya. He arrived on the island of Lampedusa. When Issa arrived in Italy he applied for and obtained asylum. He now works for six months in Rosarno during the fruit picking season and six months in Saluzzo, Northern Italy, for a low wage. Every year when the orange picking season ends in Calabria he moves to Saluzzo, in Piemonte, where he sleeps in another tent city to work for the apple or the grape harvests. He makes extra money by doing small jobs for other migrants in the camp. At night, when he comes back to the tent camp, he repairs old, rusty bikes for other migrants. Bikes are crucial for many migrants since they allow easy and cheap transport around Rosarno, as they find public transportation too expensive to afford. The poorest among the migrants live in an abandoned factory. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...