On today’s episode of ‘I saw shege and shege saw me’, we are bringing you the story of a Nigerian lady in Russia and her ordeal as a dishwasher in a restaurant.
Let’s have it:
“I’ll be very candid. In the summer of last year, a guy I know told me he got a job somewhere and if I was interested, he could direct me to it too. The job was to wash plates, pots and other utensils in a restaurant. I was up for it. I mean I didn’t have school because it was summer and at that time, I was not doing anything that brought me money so I was actually excited since it was my first job.
We went to the restaurant that first day and I was told to bring my passport and some details were collected. I was told I would work for 12 hours and the restaurant would provide snacks in the morning and lunch in the afternoon. I would be paid 1700 rubles with an additional taxi fee after work.
I resumed work the next day around noon and I sat down for a few minutes. After a while, I started work fully. I had to stand throughout and after like an hour and 30 minutes, I was served snacks. After eating the not-so-palatable food, I started again.
Hmm, it was actually an awful experience. I washed and washed but the plates kept coming, all the while standing. Omo, I didn’t know people could actually wash plates for 12 hours. Time was painfully slow and the dirty dishes seemed to be multiplying.
My back ached so much and the only consolation was the money I hoped to receive at the end of my shift.
My hands literally turned white and my palms had wrinkles from staying in water for so long. Around evening, I was given some food for dinner, and it was the usual tasteless Russian food, which I gradually grew hatred for. At the end of the day, at around 12:00 am, the management ordered a taxi for me and I went home.
Trust me, only the grace of God woke me up the next day. My body was aching in ways I could not believe but I had a job to show up to, right?
I appeared for work again. The hours dragged for longer than usual but I kept the faith as my mind was fixed on the money I was going to get at the end. But I wouldn’t need this faith for long.
On the third day, guess what? I had two surprises waiting for me. The first was that the I didn’t know that the structure of the work was ‘two days on’ and the next ‘two days off’. I wasn’t aware at all.
The next and biggest surprise was that I had been sacked, dismissed, rusticated, fired and every word you can ever think of. I couldn’t believe it! And they had the flimsiest excuse, saying it was because I don’t have a Russian passport. I believe they were aware of that from the onset.
That was how I stopped working there.
To be honest, I thank God I was fired because looking back now, I probably wouldn’t have left willingly. The money seemed like a huge amount to me at that time but I would have had to pay dearly with my health.
I understand that times are hard and we must make ends meet, but I now understadn that no one should work at the expense of their well-being. Some of these menial jobs are ridiculously stressful and they just want to use you without mercy.
I used to be part of the people who believed there were no jobs in Russia and that the menial jobs were all I could get as a foreigner, but my thinking has changed a lot now. I have opened myself to checking social media, reading articles and just generally putting myself out there to get information on jobs.
I can say for sure that there are jobs that aren’t as stressful and pay a considerable amount for your time and effort. May God bless our hustle, and may we always find the right jobs at the right time.”
One Response
Great article very informative