Looking for work or targets?

Between a rock and a hard place

Last week Fourways Review reported on an incident where a man was attacked by a jobseeker outside Builders Warehouse.

The attack left the man with a fractured skull and resulted in him being hospitalised.

When approached for comment, the jobseekers openly admitted that they had attacked people who failed to pay them for work done. The men claimed they were often exploited because they are foreigners.

Police responded to the incident by arresting 21 of these jobseekers a few days after the attack. They were charged with loitering, while seven were arrested for illegal camping.

The entire situation is very sad. It is regrettable that someone was attacked, and it is immoral that the jobseekers are being exploited. It is also distressing that the man who attacked the customer believed that violence was the only solution. What is also tragic is that a few individuals may have lessened the possibility of others finding work.

It is not ideal for these men to sit on the side of the road all day waiting for work, but then again, we do not live in an ideal world. There are so many people who are literally begging for work and, with jobs few and far between, not every story is going to have a happy ending.

Although these men were arrested last week, they will be back, if they are not already. Police have asked residents not to support these men, but is that really the solution?

If they do not find work, what are they going to do – turn to a life of crime?

[F] Do you have any ideas on how to solve the problem of job seekers outside building stores? Post a comment on how you feel about this story on the North Eastern Tribune Facebook page