Abass, a Ghanaian currently based in Murcia, Spain, shared his experience in an interview with DJ Nyaami on SVTV Africa’s Daily Hustle Worldwide.
He revealed that he has been in Spain for only five months, but life has already been tough. He arrived on a tourist visa, which has since expired, leaving him struggling to find stable work.
According to Abass, his brother asked a friend in Spain to host him, but things didn’t go as planned. “I was tricked into coming to Murcia, and when I got here, I stayed for a month without proper work. The only job I found was on a farm. It was very hard—sometimes more than eight hours of cutting lemons under the sun. They paid €20–35 a day, but they deducted bus fares and other costs. After all that, I made about €599, which I used to pay rent and for my papers,” he explained.
Unfortunately, farm work in Spain is seasonal, and now that the harvest is over, Abass cannot find another job. “My friend in Malaga told me I could try semi-documents to get to Iceland, but things didn’t work out. My brother tried multiple visa processes for me before, but none worked, so I had to use my own connection through Holland to finally enter Spain,” he said.
Currently, Abass says he has to wait at least two years before he can apply for residency papers (Nkrataa). Until then, getting consistent work is a huge challenge. “Sometimes I walk one hour at dawn to get to the bus for farm work. It’s not easy. But if I can get a good job in Barcelona, I will move there. For now, I’m just managing,” he admitted.
Despite being a Muslim, Abass says desperation has taught him not to be selective about jobs. “If I get pig farm work, I will do it, even though we don’t like pigs. Life here is not easy at all,” he said.
Watch The Video Below:
About The Author
