African migrants rally at New York City Hall to raise awareness of housing, work struggles
MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) -- Eighteen-year-old A.B., born in the West African country of Guinea, joined more than a thousand other young African migrants in City Hall Park Tuesday.
"I was thinking if I came here it would be alright for me. But it's not easy for me. It's not easy. Everywhere I go, I did the interview. After I finish they ask me for a working permit. Sometimes I didn't eat, sometimes," said A.B.
They had a singular goal - to use Tuesday’s New York City Council hearing on the African migrant experience to raise awareness to a sentiment PIX11 News has heard repeatedly in recent reporting; that as African single adult migrants, they often feel neglected and powerless to secure stable housing or legal employment.
"When I talk to them they say 'I'm able-bodied. I don't want to stay in a shelter. I want to be able to take care of myself.' As Africans, as Muslims, we love our dignity," said Deputy Commissioner Aissata Camara, who works in the New York City Mayor's Office for International Affairs.
Assitan Makadji is an outreach worker for African Communities Together. She said the African migrant experience is often unique -- and not in a good way.
"When you do your application for asylum, you have to wait 150 days to be able to apply for a working permit. So it's too long for them. They are facing a lot of things in the shelter. Racism. That's why we are here today, fighting for their cause," said Makadji.
Alpha Kassogue said after earning a GED, bachelor’s degree, and an MBA, he gave up a career in banking to work in social services in order to help his people, adding it was an easy decision.
"I came when I was 22 -- not speaking any English at all. We want to work, to take care of our families, to take care of ourself. Paying taxes -- of course. And to have a better life, as promised by the United States itself. If I can make it, they can make it. They just need an opportunity to do so," said Kassogue.
An asylum seeker's 150-day wait time for work authorization is a federal policy. Local and state officials continue to call for that timeline to be shortened, and there's at least one piece of proposed federal legislation to reduce the wait down to 30 days.