Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1416377
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 OCTOBER 2021 NEWS Karim Abdul, 40, from Togo, said. "I was scared, I couldn't sleep. A lot of migrants are do- ing construction and domestic work. We go to construction sites which are 11 storeys high. So, when I heard that some- one fell two storeys and was dumped on the road, I said… imagine what they would have done if I fell 11 storeys?" he said. "I was telling myself, if something like that happened to me, they would bury me." The workers are rightly de- manding a less bureaucratic system for migrants living in Malta to acquire documen- tation that will allow them to work, instead of being ab- sorbed into the black econ- omy by employers who pay minimum wages – sometimes less – and without any sort of protection under working time rules. Abdul says he recently reg- ularised a long-drawn tax sit- uation after the authorities denied him the renewal of his documentation. "I paid the taxes I had to pay and yet I still don't have an ID card. I can- not go see my family, or take a holiday to relax. I don't benefit from anything, despite paying tax. "Without documentation, we cannot officially apply for a job. But we cannot stay home doing nothing. We have to work without a permit. We know the risk, but we still do it." Osman Douglas Mohammed, 32, arrived to Malta from the Ivory Coast. He says people treat migrant workers like him as not worthy of being human. "I am scared. If you throw somebody in the road, you're treating him like garbage. Even dogs have an ID card these days, but a human being like me and you, no." "I have been here for 15 years," Razak says. "I want to help the country, and I want to keep on helping the country, till I die, but I need something small from the government. Just help us, a little bit," he said. "What I'm feeling now is that they don't give a damn. They did this to my brother. And we have to check things because they are not very good." The protest will be held on Monday morning at 10 am outside parliament, and will take the shape of a migrant worker-organised strike. "We need to show how important the foreign work force is to this country," an organizer said. Thank you... for having bought this newspaper mt The good news is that we're not raising the price of our newspaper We know times are still hard, but we have pledged to keep giving our readers quality news they deserve, without making you pay more for it. So thank you, for making it your MaltaToday Support your favourite newspaper with a special offer on online PDF subscriptions. Visit bit.ly/2X9csmr or scan the QR code Subscriptions can be done online on agendabookshop.com Same-day delivery at €1 for orders up to 5 newspapers per address. Subscribe from €1.15 a week Same-day print delivery from Miller Distributors Left to right: Osman Douglas Mohammed, Ahmed Abdul Razak, Ahmed Karim Abdul Watch our video interview who live and toil in Malta with no protection whatsoever