Al-Salik Val Sheikh Steni used to live in the Dar Al-Naim district of North Nouakchott, not far from his workshop, which produces construction equipment manufactured from cement, and provides job opportunities for 5 to 7 people. Their workshops have spread widely in these neighborhoods, and we no longer find a benefit that motivates us to continue, but sometimes we find ourselves losers.”
Al-Salik Val was forced at that time to move his workshop to another place, and fate led him to the poor Al-Tahreel neighborhood (southeast of Nouakchott), and he found himself among people who compete only to get a living away from the length of the buildings, and he continued to struggle there with circumstances until he ended up in Experiencing the hardships of urban transport in his dilapidated car between the neighborhoods of Nouakchott.
The Chinese are spread out in every neighborhood of the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, crowding the citizens, and they work hard and persevere.
China was not satisfied with the human invasion of Mauritania, but its cheap goods and merchandise invaded the Mauritanian markets of various types and sizes, and swept homes until it became impossible to find a Mauritanian home without a Chinese product.
In light of this wide spread of foreign labor, the problem of unemployment continues to escalate, and is widespread among the Mauritanian youth, At a time when the people are suffering from unemployment and poverty, the state provides thousands of job opportunities for the Chinese on land, at sea, in the desert and in urban areas, who have the second economy in the world.
Chinese roots
The history of the presence of the Chinese in Mauritania dates back to the seventies of the last century when some members of the Chinese community working in Mauritania came with their families, to finally settle here, but this stability was not expected to reach what we are witnessing today from the Chinese invasion of the Mauritanian market, where they expanded dramatically tremendous in the past years.
Despite the strength of the Sino-Mauritanian relationship and the presence of the Chinese in it for more than half a century, the citizens still take the Chinese, who are estimated to number in the thousands, to isolate themselves. .
In our conversation with Amadou, who works with Wang Xia in his shop, he told us in French, “The Chinese prefer not to open up to citizens and do not want anyone to know the secrets of their work and customs, and here we are only linked to them by this work.”
Many close to the Chinese community say that they only speak their own language, do not provide job opportunities for citizens, take foreigners from neighboring countries as cooperators, and take their workshops as a place of residence.
The Chinese Embassy believes that the Mauritanian and Chinese people are partners for mutually beneficial cooperation, and are friends through thick and thin, despite the changing international and domestic situations.
The Chinese medical mission, which dates back to more than 50 years, and is still frequented by the people without hesitation or complaint, is evidence of this, and the Chinese side has provided assistance to Mauritania, by building infrastructures such as Al-Sadaqa Hospital, Kifah Hospital, the National Health Center, the clinic building for infectious diseases and the Friendship Port. .
China provides many job opportunities in its companies investing in Mauritania, and has formed Mauritanian youth in several fields, the latest of which was the rehabilitation of a thousand people to grow and treat fodder, manage feed fields, manage modern cow houses, and raise dairy cows.
Unemployment spread
The contribution of Chinese companies to alleviating unemployment locally is considered a weak contribution that is not in line with the size of their projects and investments, and they have not yet succeeded in creating a channel for transferring expertise and experience to national cadres.
Sayed Mohamed Abdi, a professor of economics at the University of El-Ayoun, who holds a master’s degree in international trade from China, believes that the availability of Chinese labor in Mauritania had a negative impact, and made a significant contribution to the spread of unemployment, especially among citizens working in unclassified sectors, and this is specifically due to a group One of the factors, perhaps the most important of which is the Chinese’s use of relatively advanced technology in production, compared to what local workers have, and this makes the demand for their products and services increase significantly.”
The Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Sayed Ahmed, recently stated that there are 700,000 foreigners working in Mauritania, and the reason behind this huge number is the fact that Mauritanians have refrained from these professions, warning that there are vacant job opportunities, calling for freedom from mentalities that believe that doing some jobs is not decent.
However, this statement is not approved by Muhammad Anbarak, the owner of one of the brick-selling workshops, who denies that he has abandoned this profession that he has been practicing for five years. He says, “The Chinese are taking over this field, controlling it, and competing with the citizens in it, and the problem is that customers prefer to buy from the Chinese.” For their advanced tools and for their reduced price,” he said, adding that the Chinese “work themselves and their women in this field, and often do not need workers.”
The latest statistics indicate that the number of people who need a job opportunity in Mauritania has reached 443,000 unemployed, which represents 36.9% of the population of about 4 million people.
Absolute domination
Chinese labor in Mauritania is divided into unsorted free labor, workers of companies investing in Mauritania, or those that provide services such as road and building construction, and Chinese contracting companies, which are believed to have acquired giant deals and projects in the country at the expense of national companies and local labor.
However, Professor Sayed Mohamed Abdi believes that the employment that engages in activities in unclassified sectors, especially those in which work does not require highly qualified work, is the one that contributes significantly to the spread of unemployment among Mauritanian workers, stressing that companies investing, especially in the field of fishing, have a major role in absorbing Unemployment, represented by (Hong Dong Company).
China dominates the fisheries of Mauritania, whose beaches stretch for 755 km, and is one of the richest countries in fish species, which reach 300, of which 170 species are marketable globally.
The Chinese company, Hong Kong, is one of the largest investors in the fishing field, with a ceiling of $100 million, according to an agreement signed with the Ministry of Fishing and Maritime Economy, which will be in operation for 25 years, to dominate this sector without a local or foreign competitor.
Since 2009, China has been the leading importer of Mauritanian iron ore, accounting for 70% of the country’s total exports of this material.
government actions
Three months ago, the Mauritanian government ratified a decree establishing a work permit for foreign workers, and set conditions that some considered not harsh to give them licenses that allow them to work within Mauritanian territory, and control their activities.
The Minister of Employment said, “This decision came in order to give priority to the local workforce, and to protect citizens who live in an environment in which economic growth is rapidly deteriorating and is reflected in the labor market.”
Measures that the economist Sidi Mohamed believes are still deficient. There is still a lack of laws defining the type of business that prohibits foreigners, especially those often practiced by ordinary citizens. command.
With regard to Chinese labor, he believes that the strength of the Mauritanian-Chinese relationship is what made Mauritania lenient in oversight with the flow of Chinese labor, and opened the way for it to compete with its citizens in professions they master.
Citizens demand a new and strict control policy that guarantees the rights of citizens, and limits the injustice and marginalization of citizens in the already scarce job opportunities.