Leaving Poland to work at a slaughterhouse in wealthy Germany, Eva imagined herself in white rooms sterilised like operating theatres, with sophisticated machinery and regulated work hours. Instead, she said she worked shifts from 4am to 4pm on slimy production lines, and ended up trapped in a coronavirus outbreak.
“They only cared about social distancing and temperature checks at the entrance. Once we were inside, no one cared about us,” said Eva, speaking by telephone from her apartment where she is quarantined with two sick housemates. She asked not to give her full name, fearing retaliation from her contractor.
“I never saw a hygiene inspector. I never saw a surface disinfected.”