Silent since September

Storytelling for Workers’ Rights by Oana Maroti

Too many qualified individuals are left stranded by the bureaucratic systems of two or more countries after decades of struggle and closed doors.

My life is not my own, it´s a social support matter at this point, and serious closed communication. I have too many diplomas at hand, and I know way too many programs to be unseen, yet I´m invisible to the recruiters and ghosted constantly. There is no formation possible for me, as I´m overqualified; therefore, there´s no support whatsoever for those who have studied all their life like me, yet the constant experience I have is xenophobic reactions at each job or when approaching an institution. I could say that until inclusion planning is applied for people like me, we are out of the system, and it´s a system of discrimination that can be contemplated when checking my CV.

A lot of talking about women in technology, but the sad reality is that I saw only 2 women across all the offices, including external workers, in the company that recruited me. As always, in such a job, I was selected for speaking 3 main European languages, therefore to sustain at least 3 markets. I was employed as an external contractor and sent to a company that was about to utilize my services, time, and especially my knowledge, in another town. The company I was directly working for, which sustained its online fashion business, hired me to cover User Account Support and Ticketing incidents in three languages. However, I was informed that the preferred working manner was to respond to each client in their preferred language, whenever possible. For good reasons, instead of training me, the company started asking me to handle incidents from all over the world. Among these incidents, there were a few from Romania and Moldova, and some more from Romanian-speaking shop owners all over the world. Their requests were handled in all possible languages, with a preference for French, Italian, English, Spanish, and Russian, but not Romanian.

I was a Romanian recruited to sustain businesses all over the world, and to show respect to the clients I´m interacting with, in their own language, except for my native language speakers, and this has kept happening in the last 10 years.

Who hired me told me that I was actually replacing another Romanian, French speaker, who was fired in a very bad way, after working for years for the company. In a few days, I had heard different versions of the story. Apparently, the woman I was substituting was accused of robbery and disappeared at once, without saying goodbye. Her colleagues had different versions of the items she might have stolen; some said a dress, others a tablet.

I´ve trembled. This situation was not new for me. Whilst I was working in England, in a warehouse, a Romanian was accused of stealing a 3 pounds memory stick, and for this we all received less work. The agencies that contracted us were only programming 3 days of work per week, or we used to have the week full, 7 days from 7, with extra shifts. The lack of dedicated work, as a group punishment method, affected the level of what you would gain from paying rent and utilities. I knew that replacing a Romanian accused of stealing was a delicate situation for me, even if I´m not attracted to material stuff, but in recent years, strange things have happened. I felt in danger.

On the first day, I was ignored, and since the job was far away, in a polygon that smelled like pig manure, the whole situation made it difficult for me to go back. I would have renounced at the moment, but accessing a job was difficult in the last months, and I didn´t have much choice, so I put myself through hell, as by now I had a cat to make happy, and myself I was already too slim and needed to eat properly, and take care of this small body.

It´s been more than 3 months, and only now can I write about what happened. I was in shock for a long time, disgusted, left without energy of reaction, as the discrimination keeps repeating, and it affects a simple life to the core.

I had my meals mainly in the underground eating room, with other external workers and immigrants, as it seemed safer for us, quieter, and in a certain sense, our place. The integration was just decorative; the whole atmosphere became a little too heavy for immigrants who were badly seen from the start, because of their appearance or ethnicity, and we enjoyed eating together, mainly because each was an incredible character, but the interculturality made every minute charged with curiosity and interesting conversations. The IT and sales companies here have access to geniuses, who you can find eating on an underground floor, working like 5, multilingual, fast brains, and usually super creative. For someone trained as an Inclusive Specialist, like me, the interaction here is priceless. Barcelona area somehow is attracting the top of neurodiversity, which is fascinating to meet, but they are used at max.

In 5 months, losing 8 kg, even if you are trying to take care of yourself, is a classic; others develop the reverse eating disorder, or diseases are activated based on fatigue and mistreatment. Colleagues dying at work, diagnosed too late, or committing suicide are a reality in these companies, but the dynamics are toxic, and the workers are abused by the lack of coordination, systemic discrimination, and corrupt management. The lack of work stability is making many victims, especially among migrant workers, whose rights are being ignored; they are unpaid, used as much as possible, and maintained in tension. Nevertheless, the same treatment applies to atypical individuals of Spanish origins or relocated persons. There is this obvious attitude of closed doors, after using the new ones, a very creepy labor system.

Anyway, it´s been 3 months since I was fired, and just now I can write about it. The experience traumatized me to the point of losing my voice, as sadness can do such a thing. I have spent the last few months searching and applying in vain. Even if I´m interested in working in almost anything, and have a lot of skills, nobody sees me. The point of fearing for not having a roof or not affording a meal is here, and there is nowhere I can ask for help. The designated institutions, from the consulate to social services, organizations, to the bank that makes herself publicity of supporting women, all these are just facades. Being here as a migrant woman, who was pursuing extra education and access to a dignifying life, resulted in the worst business possible.

The last ¨job opportunity¨ in IT, for a company that makes itself publicity of supporting women in tech, was no opportunity for me, but a let´s say opportunity to offend and discriminate for different important persons of the company, who are still there. In my last interaction, where in a group meeting, specially made to discuss operational issues and procedures, I have asked if I can communicate in Romanian with the Romanian clients, knowing that this was already an issue in many companies, to the level of not having the permission to sign in Romanian an email, even if the signature had all European languages in it, just skip this one. My question disturbed the management organ to the level that I was called stupid in front of everyone, and fired after, with the reason of disturbing. The manager who insulted and fired me never launched the formation process, just put me to work directly, after a few days of no coordinated formation, based on other colleagues' teachings, while working...My guess is that the manager had no idea how to launch a training procedure, and I could have shown him how to do it, as I had already showed others managers how to handle the procedure. There is nothing easier, clearer than what a manager has to do, all written down, step by step, in any data knowledge and management system.

So, here I am, I have managed to jump into another year dehumanized and with no perspectives, yet I´m alive, despite the declared desire of some Mango shitty colleague that asked me if I´m going to jump out of the window one day, just for the love of the conversation, and he was protected afterwards...Working for this fashion company was as undesirable as possible, from many points of view.

In present, each day I´m searching and applying to Mediation, Customer Service and Troubleshooting jobs, or to any job that is related to my studies, only that those are difficult to access, due to the local exclusion layers, and also I check for jobs as a cook, as I have a diploma, experience in it, and have spend the last months cooking for a group of people. If someone offers me a job, I don´t refuse it, I´m used to work from construction, carpentry, cleaning, and agriculture. The worst thing that can happen to me is already happening, and that´s not being coordinated in a continuous activity.

Besides the extra energy issues, health matters derived from the lack of work opportunities, losing autonomy, are tormenting, as it means constant fear that basic needs, like paying the bills, are not possible anymore. The idea of having a family, or that a woman has the right to dream of having a child, is totally shot down by the lack of work stability. From where I am standing, my whole interest and effort go to sustain the society, and my skills show an immense will to integrate into any European system and department. Why is there no inclusive planning for people like me?