Where do the Egyptian migrant labours live?
January 31, 2018, an Egyptian worker died, and his companion was injured after the roof of their primitive dwelling collapsed on a farm in Jordan’s northern Jordan Valley, again highlighting the ineligibility of these unsafe places where migrant workers work and live.
The number of Egyptians working legally in Jordan is estimated at 170,000, making up the largest proportion of expatriate workers, about 55%. However, the Ministry of Labor reports that the total number of Egyptian workers illegally is much higher.
Most Egyptians work in the most hazardous and neglected sectors: agriculture and construction.
Civil society organizations in Jordan are critical of the idea of working and living in the same place, because it allows the employer to control it, and entails a series of violations that begin with the seizure of official documents of workers and increase working hours and conclude with full control of their lives until the end of their permits.
However, most employers do not commit themselves to providing decent accommodation for workers.
Workers’ homes vary according to the nature of their work. The more severe the work they practice, the more difficult the place becomes, especially in the winter.
But where do these workers live? How do they adapt to the places they live in? What drives them to do so?
Mahmoud (above) , came to Jordan about 10 years ago from the village of Beni Suef. He works in a nursery in the central Jordan Valley, about 80 km from the capital, Amman, and lives there.
Mahmud’s job is to care for the nursery, which extends over an area of approximately 10 dunums, except spraying the plants with dangerous pesticides without equipment that provides him with safety.
Yahya, 35, is the son of Sharkia, an agricultural province that has worked in agriculture for more than a decade.
Yahya longs for his brothers, and their images hang over his humble bed. He says: “Let’s work, life here is difficult, I do not live between two people, but I return to live Karim in my country, I can bear it.”
The conditions of workers are slightly better as they approach the capital, Amman, like any other area in Jordan, but this does not apply to migrant workers.
The area where Ahmed lives and works is known for its cold winter, and because his room is one of the few rooms with warmers frequented by workers close to him in the evening, and they spend the evening off the television, which does not work most of the time because of the wind.
Ahmed is waiting impatiently to return to his country to get married: “Bkfi strangeness, I return full text religious, but my form returned here again, the situation is difficult in the country.”
This picture (right) was drawn by one of his colleagues just returning from the country.
Abu Ahmed barber practiced his profession since he was a child. He came to Jordan recently to practice this profession. He works and lives in the same place. He is divided in two parts, part for shaving and part for sleeping.
Abu Ahmed says the main motive for working and living in the same place is his strong need to save. “The country is very expensive here, and I need everything more.”
Abu Ahmed always keeps his four children in his mobile phone. “He needs to give up one of his children and live here.