Wretched Life Of Migrants Building Senegal's City Of The Future

Diamniadio, Senegal, Feb 8 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Feb, 2023 ) :When Mohamed was hired at the construction site for the United Nations' new West Africa headquarters in Senegal, he was proud to say he would be working "not only for Africa, but for the world." The 25-year-old Sierra Leonean was a plumber on the site, the centrepiece of what is intended to be a futuristic city boasting an Olympic stadium, ministries and a commuter train line running 40 kilometres (25 miles) to the capital Dakar.

But nine months ago, Mohamed's dreams evaporated when an air conditioner he was installing fell on his hands, slicing off part of a finger and damaging a thumb.

No longer so dextrous, he says he was fired without pay and unable to find steady work.

His tale is far from unique.

Young men from Sierra Leone, Guinea and even distant Nigeria have flocked to Diamniadio, lured by the vision of a decent job and pay in a stable Currency. They are among thousands of labourers toiling on construction sites across the budding city.

AFP spoke to more than a dozen migrant workers.

Each recounted a life of extreme hardship, living in decrepit shared accommodation hours from the construction sites, working endless days for minimum pay, and haunted by fear of injury that could leave them penniless.

"They told us that our salary is the price of our soul... In a word, it is slavery," said Alpha, a Guinean steel erector. Like all the workers AFP met, his family name is being kept anonymous, and his first name has been changed.