45
also become involved in illegal work related to drugs, theft, or the import of illegal
market goods (encompassing all manner of items that are brought in undeclared to
customs) - an unlikely fate for Jigo who still considers himself a police officer at heart.
At the time of my interviews with him, Jigo was close to escaping the gritty throws of
basic survival, had chosen to stay in Athens, and was on his way toward disengagement
from the collective that had served him so well until that point. Doing so he was about to
make a major transition, one in which the benefits of living as part of the collective
would have to be tended to alternatively.
On a basic, practical level, Jigo’s new job would have to provide him with enough
money to pay rent (likely in a shared accommodation with other migrants), purchase food,
clothing, and other basic necessities. Ifhe is successful he might have enough left over to
send home - which is his dream - using, most likely, one of the many Western Union
branches that have sprouted around Athens in recent years45. Socially, he would always
have the friends he made during his time with the collective and living in
accommodations frequented by other members of this group. Hopefully, he will also
make contacts within the Greek community. At the time of our interviews, Jigo told me
his only friends were members of his selling group, me, and the Greek police (he added
jokingly). Everyone else, he explained, was racist. However, other members of the
collective and established undocumented migrants had reported making friends with
priests at local churches (a claim several priests denied when asked), outreach workers
from humanitarian groups like PRAXIS and the aforementioned Migrant’s Place, and
no means to recover unpaid wages unless they legalize their status in the country - an impossibility for
thousands.
45 It is obvious that these cater to immigrants as they advertise money transfer rates primarily to places in
Africa like Senegal and Nigeria.