An Ethiopian sales associate shares her struggles and daily experiences of lockdown in Mahboula

English transcript | نسخة عربية

Nationality: Ethiopian
Occupation: Sales Associate
Date of interview: 16 August 2020
Language of interview: English

Helen is proud of supporting her family in Ethiopia. It has not been easy. She left home to work in Lebanon when she was just 17, to support her four siblings and parents when her father got ill. She left before she even saw her 12th grade exam results. Her mother told her that her scores were good, and that she should return to study teaching or nursing. But then her father passed away. Helen decided to continue working, because she didn’t want her siblings to struggle. Her journey has been hard. After three years in Lebanon, she went to work in Dubai. After three years, her sponsor in Dubai, who was like a father to her, suddenly tried to sexually assault her. When Helen fought him, the police were called in to intervene. Although she was the victim, the police deported her back to Ethiopia. Her mother begged Helen to stay with them-- they didn’t have much, but at least Helen would be safe.

“I say 'no, no, no, no, I'm not. But I have to help you.’ My sister's supposed to be good, doctor or nurse or whatever. I have to survive here. I want to give you more money. I want to change your life. I want to give you a nice house, I tell her [chuckles]. She say she's not happy when I go out.... I say, ‘Who give your medication? If I'm coming back and study? Again, you will struggle. No, I don't want you to struggle. Already you struggle, until [grade] twelve, I am study. I want to struggle for you, and for your kids, like my sister.’

Helen feels lucky though, because in 2008, soon after leaving Dubai, she was able to get a job in Kuwait working in an abaya shop. She is 37 now and has been supporting her family all of these years--her sister now has a good job after studying to be an accountant, and the other siblings studied as well. Helen also supports her adopted daughter. She became the godmother of her friend’s baby when she was just a girl herself. Helen’s friend died 18 days after the child’s birth, and Helen adopted the little girl. Her daughter is now 20 years old and in university.

Although Helen has been through a lot, the pandemic has been one of the worst times she has lived through. Her salary was stopped, there was no work, and when she returned she was working full time, but only getting 25% of her salary. Her landlord cut the rent payment by 25%, then 50%, but Helen is still in debt to him, and for other loans she took out. But she feels lucky because she lives with three Ethiopian roommates, and they help one another with food and necessities; they pray together, and support one another. She says that she has become closer to God.

“He teach everything… How to be caring. How to care about people, how to care about your religion, how to care about your money. You should care for each and everything. And this four months, I learned how to give, caring.”

Helen’s voice is thick with tears as she talks about the hunger of people in Mahboula during lockdown. A very young man in dirty tattered clothes approached her begging for just 250fils for food. Helen asked for his phone number, she wanted to cook for him, but he couldn’t speak her language and maybe he didn’t have a phone--he just motioned to his mouth saying “ruba dinar”.

“What do you feel? If that's my brother? What I feel? Like that's my son. Imagine. Of course it was very hard. You know, when I remember him, I like cry.”

She was crying when she got home, because she didn’t know how to help him, and there were many like him. Maybe he didn’t have anyone in his community to help him, the way she and her roommates help one another. Helen says that for those that don’t speak English or Arabic and lost their jobs, there was nowhere to turn, no way to communicate what they needed. She cried and asked for God’s forgiveness to help them through this time. She knows aid was being given but she doesn’t think it was well-managed or she wouldn’t have seen so many hungry people. She hopes that Kuwait will not lock out the people who work here in the future because they wouldn't be here if there wasn't a need. She misses her mother’s smile and her smell...if she could, she would give anything to be home with her, but she stays in Kuwait because she needs to help her family. She says today the people who come here to work need the jobs in Kuwait but someday, maybe Kuwait will need them too.

In the clip above, Helen reflects on how badly the neighborhoods of Mahboula were hit during the lockdown, leaving many begging for food on the streets.

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