Migrant Worker Who Fell Three Storeys In Buġibba ‘Forced By Boss To Lie’ That He Was Hit By A Car
A Ghanaian worker who lives and works in Malta was forced to lie about the cause of his injuries at hospital after falling three storeys on a construction site in Buġibba where he was working.
The incident was recounted during an interview with Ahmed Bugre, the Director for the Foundation for Shelter and Support for Migrants.
Bugre said that he had received a call from Mater Dei hospital informing him that a migrant was being sent home after he had injured his neck bone, neck, and arm. Shortly after, Bugre began wondering how he could have sustained these injuries in a traffic incident, which is what was being reported as the cause of injury.
When the migrant realised Bugre was also from Ghana, he felt more comfortable and told Bugre that it was not true that he had been injured in a traffic accident, but that his boss had told him to say that.
He said he had been working on a construction site in Buġibba and fell three storeys. He went on to tell Bugre that his colleagues had taken him to hospital and left him near the entrance. He also said that his medical costs had reached €5,000 and that he had not been paid for the work he did that day.
Bugre continues by pointing out that the migrant now faces difficulties as he has nowhere to report the injustice that he had suffered, and at the same time he needs money to rent a place and buy food. He also said the worker needs around €700 to rent a place, or even a garage.
Ahmed Bugre ended by saying that because he is a migrant, many locals see the man as a ‘troublemaker’ and treat him differently and often do not help him out, a situation in Malta that Bugre said must change.
Cover photo inset: Ahmed Bugre
Cover photo: an image from 2018 included in #SafetyWatch
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