PORDENONE – Fear, suffering, illegal work, exploitation, terror to name a few because thousands of kilometers away there is his wife, his children, his brothers and his mother who depend on the money that he manages to send home. Khalid’s story is similar in pain and suffering to all those of the other boys, even if each story has a different colour. Today Khalid is better, he reported his corporal, he has a residence permit and a VAT number, he always works in the fields, but he is very careful not to be exploited and to exploit those who work with him.
THE DEPARTURE
«I left because the situation in Pakistan was not good. I was the only adult man in the family and the only one who could provide for their needs, so I decided to leave. My mother sold her few possessions and I left, leaving my wife and children. I crossed Iran, Turkey, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia and finally arrived in Italy. I traveled the entire journey on foot. I faced so many problems. The journey ruined our feet, we didn’t have suitable shoes. In winter it was very difficult because we couldn’t find shelter in the heat. I stayed in the forest for 23 days with an empty backpack. The most complicated and dramatic stretch was crossing Croatia. From Bosnia we arrived in Croatia in 22 days and there were 16 days of continuous rain. There was nowhere to sleep, we tried to cover ourselves with a plastic bag. When the Croatian police found us they beat us and when they brought some of us back they left only their trousers and a t-shirt on them, they burned the rest. I even walked 40 kilometers without shoes. I was brought back to the Bosnian border 6 times. There were many kids with me and some didn’t make it. I have to thank Allah who helped me.”
IN PORDENONE
«When I arrived in Pordenone I joined a project, then a friend told me that there was the possibility of working in agriculture. This would allow me to earn money to send to Pakistan and to have a residence permit. I was convinced of this, because the corporal who had hired me, had guaranteed me that he could get me both residency and the permit. So I moved into one of his houses. There were 5 of us and we had to divide the housework. We paid the corporal rent, as well as a share for food, transportation and house expenses. He kept the money from my pay. I started working without a contract, first in agriculture and then also in chicken transport. The work was a lot. At 7 we left until the evening at 18, but if it was clear even until 20, it depended on the season and the weather conditions. We usually worked 6 days a week, but in the peak seasons we worked up to 7. We brought lunch from home and ate it in the field sitting on the ground. Sometimes the cellars, the big ones, had toilets, but most of the time we did our business on the field.”
THE VIOLENCES
«Some kids felt bad, but instead of leaving them at home, the boss threatened them with hitting their families in Pakistan or withholding the documents they needed. At the beginning I had agreed that for the agricultural work he would pay me 5 euros an hour and for the chicken work 3 euros. Then later, when I got my driving license, he raised my pay to 7 euros, because he made me transport the kids in one of his vans. The boss sent us the money to our bank account, but told us that it wasn’t ours, but his. So immediately after he paid it we had to withdraw it and return it and he kept about two thirds for the expenses he said he had incurred. He usually gave us back 200/300 euros which we sent to our families in Pakistan.”
THE SCAM
«One evening the corporal came to us and told us that there was the possibility of receiving a residence permit, but that a lot of money was needed to obtain it, the cost was 8 – 10 thousand euros each. We had to give him part of it immediately, he would deduct the rest from his wages. We accepted, it seemed like a positive thing and we could aspire to have a stable permit. To give the money in advance, 3 thousand euros, I was forced to have my wife sell her jewels in Pakistan, but I thought that with the documents in order I would be able to buy them back or, even better, to bring all the family in Italy. Instead we worked without pay for three months and then we learned that our corporal had fled to Germany. Thanks to the CGIL we reported it and after a bad period without money, without a home and without documents, we emerged from the spiral of exploitation. I absolutely needed to work, also because I was homeless and without income. So I decided to open my VAT number and personally go looking for work with the landowners where I had previously worked. I hired some friends who had shared the exploitation story with me and we got to work. I try to be honest with my friends. As soon as I have the chance I will bring my family to Italy, but for now I still don’t have enough income. I miss my family a lot, especially my children, I haven’t seen them for 6 years.”
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