Migrants exploited as they stand in for hawkers in queues

A hawker asked a 25-year-old Somali to queue outside Floriana council office for six days and nights last week to await a permit for a stall at the Labour mass meeting on the Granaries, but did not pay him anything, despite promising him €25 for each 24-hour shift. “I have to pay my rent and bills, so €25 is better than nothing. But I haven’t heard from the vendor since then,” the Somali told The Times, lifting his hands in despair. He was not the only migrant who was hired to stand in for the hawkers in the queue. Nor was not an isolated case. Ahmed Bugri, Marsa open centre coordinator said some asylum seekers live in such desperate conditions that they accept any work to survive. Full story in The Sunday Times. See also - http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130316/local/Migrants-hired-to-stay-in-queue-for-permits.461687