Mohamed case, he was cheated by his employer and threatened to death.
This is an representative case, one of the few exploitation cases which emerged during pardon. All these cases show how many employers took advantage of the situation, making money and exploiting regularizing people.
Mahamed is a 22 years old Tunisian boy who reached Italy two yaers ago to find a job. He finally starts working in a building industry. At the beginning of past summer he started worrying of regularization and obtaining residence papers in order to finally have a normal life.
He immediately asked the firm to have his job regularized. The employer accepted that once pardon started off he would have followed regularization proceedings. He kept anyway working in the building industry. Since he was clandestine, his work was rather flexible. Months pass by and Mahamend is never being paid.
The agreement reached with the employer was that Mohamed kept working and piad for his own regularization. Mohamed accepted needing documents.
The only thing he received was a meal “offered” by the employer. Mohamed starts understanding that the firm is not a very serious one. Many people come and claim for their money, even the restaurant refuses to serve the meals because they were not being paid for. He therefore must return to his friends home who nicely offered him a place where to stay. When pardon starts off, Mohamed goes to his employer and asks to be regularized. The employer answers that procedures are extremely expensive and 3.000 euros are needed therefore Mohamed will have to pay for them via working for free (as he already was). The boy anyway brings the employer 200 euros he had saved. But they are not enough. Mohamed goes on working. Time passes by and he understands that things are not rightly running, he gives the employer some more money (300 euros) some friends gave him on loan while the employer grants him that regularization application form was given in. November 11 is quite close and Mohamed asks the employer to see the papers, the employer shows him a copy of the application forms and a clearly counterfeited copy of the lump-sum based contribution payment. Application forms then show a different name of the firm he’s actually working for. The Tunisian boy asks for information and the employer said he could not regularize him and he asked a friend to. More money were needed. Of coarse there was no firm employing him.
During this meeting, held in the employer’s car, the employer shows Mohamed a residence permit with no picture and offers Mohamed to use it via paying 1000 euros otherwise procedures won’t go on. Mohamed is much worried but the man says that everything is going to be ok if he does never tell the employer’s name. At this point the employer takes a gun out and points it towards Mohamed, who finally understands that he was cheated. He had to pay money he shouldn’t have.
Mohamed asks for help at the Asgi counter in Arzignano (VI), legal advisors immediately understand the seriousness of the matter and suggest to report to police what happened to him. He explains that he’s being threatened. Police sees the regularization receit and understands that it is false. Another meeting with the employer, who keeps asking for extra money, is fixed and police goes there with Mohamed. The employer was arrested in the act of the crime while he accepts moneyy for regularization. Investigations start, he is charged of abetting irregular immigration towards exploitation (consolidated act art. 12, paragraph 5) and of illegally employing a foreign worker. This last crime could have been avoided if the employer really regularized Mohamed. The employer was also charged of estortion and counterfeiting.
What counts is that Mohamed, the one being cheated, obtains residence papers. Mohamed quickly reported the employer before November 11 and was also threatened. Since the employer was arrested, threatens could come to an end since the boy is quite an uncomfortable witness. Revenge coming from employer’s relatives or friends could make Mohamed leave Italy and render investigations difficult.
Therefore Mohamed was given a permit on basis of the welknown art. 18, this article provides for the release of social protection residence papers. Those papers are given to the ones who could be in danger, being witnesses of crimes.
Vicenza Public Prosecutor’s office accepted to release also a temporay working permit in order to allow Mohamed to find a new job. This happened after investigations showed that Mohamed was being helped by trade unions advice and by Vicenza Council which will follow Mohamed’s integration path.
And this is exactly what’s happening. Sometimes pieces of good news do come even though we know that many cases remain unknown. This case had a different ending because the person was safeguarded.