Lose the map

Welcome to LoseTheMap, former diary of travels around Asia, then account of everyday life in Moscow, and now with my family in Berlin - VERSIONE ITALIANA

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Migrant Workers

They are from the -stan countries, former suburbs of the Soviet Empire (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan). The usually wear an orange jacket, often on a blue jumpsuit. They move to the big city looking for better living conditions and decent salaries, unimaginable in their country of origin. They do the lowest-level jobs, receive miserable salaries and live packed like sardines in often illegal overcrowded places; they work a lot, without any assistance, they are target of Russian on-the-rise racist groups and of the government itself, who's trying for some unknown reasons to get rid of them.

They are among the few people in Moscow who are doing something useful for the society: they clean up the mess, collect the human and animal vaste and trash, pick up the massive quantities of empty and often smashed alcohol bottles from the ground; they give a decent look to the town.
Every morning at 6am the parks nearby my flat look like there had been a rave party on every bench.
Thanks to these people after a couple of hours children can play in a (dare to say) clean environment.
So this is my way to thank them, for keeping it clean, making my russian experience a bit less harsh, hoping that Russians could learn from them to respect their surroundings.
And to use bicycles!

Moscow migrant workers

Moscow migrant workers

Moscow migrant workers

Moscow migrant workers

Moscow migrant workers

Moscow migrant workers

Moscow migrant workers
What's he doing?

Moscow migrant workers
Yes he's doing exactly what you're thinking: he' s picking minuscole fragments of broken bottles from the ground, with bare hands

Moscow migrant workers

Moscow migrant workers

Moscow migrant workers

Moscow migrant workers

Moscow migrant workers

Moscow migrant workers

Moscow migrant workers

For the last day of Ramadan (Muslim most important time of the year) Moscow Mayor unexpectedly approved - with massive security measures - a free celebration for the Moscow almost 2 million muslim population, which resulted as a massive pacific central asian invasion of the city:

Moscow ramadan

Moscow ramadan

Moscow ramadan

Moscow ramadan

Moscow ramadan

Moscow ramadan

Moscow ramadan

Moscow ramadan

Moscow ramadan

Moscow ramadan

Moscow ramadan

Moscow ramadan
This huge Mosque under construction since long time is a nice spark of hope for an utopic multicultural Moscow

2 comments:

- English Dad In Moscow - said...

If it was not for these guys Moscow would like a giant toilet.

La Caída said...

3 years later, this entry stills defines 100% this town's reality.