Labouring to rest.

There seems to be no rest on sight for many African workers as United States celebrate the labour day. This long weeken is one of the country; s major holidays.For most of us Africans its a day like any other because we usually take those jobs or shifts that the locals will not take. Due to the many factors immigrants tends to forfeit their education just to survive here. Many acomplished people are reduced to ordinary jack and gills given that fact. Acccent here is a major factor apart from education. The fact that somebody has a different accent means that they do not know English. So one is unlikely to have a management post or a well paying job. For starters most of the jobs we do are warehouse jobs, fast foods gas stations attendents, hotel or banquet serving and nursing homes just to mention a few. Some of these situations might be from documentation or simply the availability.

On the other hand it is pleasing to note that ther are some living the dream, thank God. For most its double shifts, overtime, two jobs and so on. In Zimbabwe not many people worked hard physically or manually labour but here its a common. America prospers because of cheap labour not only from here but from other countries like the East Asian countries. Sad to say some of these countries use child labour, a practice which United States politicans condem. Nowhere in the world is the culture of hard work in operation like the United States of America, that I cannot take away from them. Truckers are some of the major employers. Anytime you drive the freeway day or night you will see them moving from state to state.

The Mexicans are the hardest working group of people here, and they also have serious documentation problems. Most of them do not understand or are at least not fluent in English and that is also disadvantage for them. Due to the declining economies in Africa, we have seen retired people coming to find jobs in United States. This is how poor we are. As we join the rest of America in celebrating Labour day , we cannot answer ask ouselves the big question, When will we rest? The retirement age has gone up to seventy here, thanks to the wonders of medical science. I will always talk about this old man who was my neighbour, one time while visiting him in his house, I saw a sign on the wall, "I am too old to work but too poor to quit." With the situation worsening back home one cannot laugh at my old neighbour. Perhaps ours is the labour of love.