In Europe, these "invisible" trades without which confined companies would be stopped - France 24

Paris (France) (AFP)

In Bergamo, Brussels, Paris or Alcorcon, nurses, garbage collectors, home deliverers, cashiers, trades often discredited, continue to work in the shadows, subject to the risks of contracting covid-19. An army of "invisible" without which the confined European countries would be paralyzed.

Testimonies collected by AFP.

- Ester Piccinini, 27, nurse at the Humanitas Gavazzeni hospital in Bergamo (Italy):

Ester lives in a village near Bergamo, Albino, which has many victims and is one of the villages most affected by the coronavirus.

For the past month, her life has been turned upside down: before the pandemic, she was coordinator of the "private patients" wing where the patients waiting for surgery lived. Since March 1, the wing has been dedicated to the coronavirus. This is where the most serious patients are located, who need respiratory assistance before being transferred to intensive care.

"We currently have 44 patients who have Covid-19 (...) My work has changed completely," she says. To work, she must wear special suits and masks. Married, without children, she earns between 1,400 and 1,500 euros per month.

"I don't see my parents anymore, because I don't want to take the risk of infecting them. In the morning, when I arrive in the service, I make the sign of the cross hoping that everything will be fine. I don't really for me, I don't really care for me since I'm protected. But I hope everything will be fine for the patients. "

"When a patient is transferred to intensive care, it means that his situation is critical. We try to reassure them. A caress has more value than words."

- Ana Belen, 46, cashier at Alcorcon, 13 kilometers from Madrid:

In Spain, the second most bereaved country by the pandemic behind Italy, "the cashiers are well aware of the risk of contagion, customers, it depends ...", says Ana Belen, cashier for 26 years.

"We can't compare the cashiers and the health workers, but let's say that the real awareness that we have to protect each other, we don't have it completely. There are customers who still come on a trip to the supermarket, every day ... (...) ", notes this prevention delegate from the Workers' Commissions union in the Madrid region, the most affected in Spain.

"The recommendation now is to speak as little as possible. There are customers who are aware of the situation, others who also send us words of encouragement."

Ana is applying the new anti-contagion measures in this Alcorcon supermarket: "Currently, 90% of cashiers wear gloves, masks. There are signaling lines on the floor, partitions, hydroalcoholic gel ... We recommend paying by credit card. "

She finds that "there are no longer the lines that there were at the start of the state of alert (decreed on March 14), everything is quieter", she says, but the cashiers are building up the tension . "They are always afraid that the safety distance is more or less respected".

"We know we have to come to the supermarket, we know we have to do this service," says Ana. "But at the cash desks, 95% of the employees are women, with most often children, elderly or dependent people they take care of ... So you come to the cashier, but you think at the same time of your mother, considered "at risk", you ask yourself so just by bringing her provisions, by touching the bags, you are not going to transmit the virus to her ... ".

- Mohammed, 40, garbage collector in Paris:

"We feel alone in the world, there is nobody we can talk to," says Mohammed, who takes public transport every day to reach his work station in a district in northeast Paris.

"We leave with the ball in the stomach, but we have no choice. I would like to be tested; if I am tested and it is negative, I will go to work more calmly". He picks up bulky items from noon to 8 p.m., for a basic salary of 1,550 euros monthly.

When "it" happened, he recalls, remembering the first weeks of March, "we had nothing, no equipment". But one of his workshop colleagues tested positive for coronavirus and the gloves, masks, hydroalcoholic gel arrived.

He confides his "anguish" to put his parents of 70 and 80 years, with whom he lives, in danger.

Mohammed sees a change in people's eyes. "There are some who greet us, who wish us good luck, we feel valued and it gives us a little pleasure anyway". Sometimes, in certain streets of Paris, when the garbage collectors pass, people applaud them on the balcony, noted AFP.

"There are also people who move 4 meters away when they see us. They are afraid. I understand them," said Mohammed.

- Ousman, 22, delivery of meals by bike in Brussels:

Ousman works "a little" in fear because he does not know if his clients are affected by the virus. "When I get to the customer, I put the package on the trunk before my bike, I say hello and I step back so that he can take his order," says Ousman, mimicking the scene, in front of the counter at Konbini Kitchen. (specializes in Asian food) where the cooks prepare take-out meals.

Since the Covid-19 epidemic, "a security barricade", made up of boxes, has been erected on the sidewalk to respect the safety distances between the kitchen and the delivery men who are waiting to be contacted.

Wool cap sunk on his head, big laptop scratched on the sleeve of his down jacket, Ousman is not wearing a mask. "I bought a small box at the start but I don't have any left and I haven't found any ...".

Among those who wait with him, some wear blue protective gloves, paid, like masks when they have them, with their money.

Ousman, whose family is from Guinea Conakry, noted tips "a little more, two euros" since the health crisis, but not with each delivery. He says he does "ten races a day", for around 400 euros per week on his sponsored electric bike, which he rents for 170 euros per month.

Despite the glaring difficulties of working in this context, there are also satisfactions. Customers tell us "+ Thank you for your courage. + We are happy to continue working," says Salaheddin, one of the cooks.

- Dirk Foermer, 50, caregiver in a retirement home in Berlin:

This caregiver has worked in institutions for the elderly since 1996. The one where he is currently employed welcomes 37 residents, many of whom suffer from dementia.

"Right now, the status of people employed in retirement homes, shops, etc. is more recognized, which is pleasant to see of course. The population realizes how much it actually depends on these employees. And c 'is rewarding'.

Many of the new health rules are difficult to get people with dementia to accept. "We can just tell them that it is dangerous and that we must not go out (...) Others do not understand why their families no longer visit them ... We use Skype or FaceTime in particular" to maintain contact with loved ones.

One of Dirk's main fears is the appearance of cases of Covid-19 in his establishment. "Previously, residents sometimes wanted to hug us, this gesture is difficult at the moment, we have to keep our distance," he says.

"We have people with whom we have forged very strong links and if we lost them because of the virus, it would be very hard. We wear masks and gowns (...) everything is disinfected (...) but of course, we are not an intensive care unit, "he said.

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