Cinzia D'Ambrosi

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My name is Rocio, and I am from Mexico. I came to Poland 10 months ago after meeting a girl from Colombia in Zagreb who encouraged me to come here. I arrived before securing a work permit, but I applied for work through various agencies and eventually joined the Colombian girl in working at a chicken plant.
The work conditions at the plant were very bad. On my first day, I endured a gruelling 17-hour shift, followed by a 12-hour one. We were told the shifts would be no longer than 8 hours, but this never happened. Our pay was 3 Euros per hour. We had no security or safety measures in place, including no protective clothing, even when exposed to chemicals.
After weeks of long hours, we reported the situation to the agency, but their response was dismissive—they said we could leave if we were unhappy. Determined to stand our ground, a group of us pooled our money to buy a car and returned to the factory, insisting that we would only work the promised 8-hour shifts. The factory supervisor responded by evicting us from the provided accommodation. We agreed to leave but after being paid for the days we had worked.
As we drove back to the accommodation to gather our belongings, we noticed we were being followed. Upon arriving, a man got out of the trailing car and started shouting at us to leave. We explained that we would leave after being paid. The man became more aggressive and suddenly walked back to his car to retrieve a gun and threatened us. I had a panic attack.
When the man realized he was being filmed, his tone changed. We left and reported the incident to the police and called the NGO Nomad. An hour later, the police informed us that the gun was a toy and advised us to drop the case. However, one of our group members, trained in the security forces in Colombia, knew it was not a toy gun. Most of us did not have legal documentation, so out of fear, we did not proceed with the case.
Why do South Americans come here? Because we are desperate.

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Cinzia D'Ambrosi
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www.cinziadambrosi.com
www.cinziadambrosi.com
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South Americans exploited in Poland
My name is Rocio, and I am from Mexico. I came to Poland 10 months ago after meeting a girl from Colombia in Zagreb who encouraged me to come here. I arrived before securing a work permit, but I applied for work through various agencies and eventually joined the Colombian girl in working at a chicken plant.<br /> The work conditions at the plant were very bad. On my first day, I endured a gruelling 17-hour shift, followed by a 12-hour one. We were told the shifts would be no longer than 8 hours, but this never happened. Our pay was 3 Euros per hour. We had no security or safety measures in place, including no protective clothing, even when exposed to chemicals.<br /> After weeks of long hours, we reported the situation to the agency, but their response was dismissive—they said we could leave if we were unhappy. Determined to stand our ground, a group of us pooled our money to buy a car and returned to the factory, insisting that we would only work the promised 8-hour shifts. The factory supervisor responded by evicting us from the provided accommodation. We agreed to leave but after being paid for the days we had worked.<br /> As we drove back to the accommodation to gather our belongings, we noticed we were being followed. Upon arriving, a man got out of the trailing car and started shouting at us to leave. We explained that we would leave after being paid. The man became more aggressive and suddenly walked back to his car to retrieve a gun and threatened us. I had a panic attack.<br /> When the man realized he was being filmed, his tone changed. We left and reported the incident to the police and called the NGO Nomad. An hour later, the police informed us that the gun was a toy and advised us to drop the case. However, one of our group members, trained in the security forces in Colombia, knew it was not a toy gun. Most of us did not have legal documentation, so out of fear, we did not proceed with the case.<br /> Why do South Americans come here? Because we are desperate.