(Reuters) Nigerian Iyke Anakua had been working for 14 months as a welder, a job he got through a recruitment agency in Berlin, when he received news in mid-March that he would be made redundant.
“I waited so long for a job and now I have to start all over again,” he said, wearing a black cap and a broad smile in Berlin’s poor district of Neukoelln. “It’s tough but I’m trying to stay positive.”
Anakua, who is 46 and has three children, considered himself fortunate because his wife’s job as a security guard at a supermarket was not affected by coronavirus lockdowns. Her wages combined with the unemployment benefits he received were sufficient for them to get by on.
