At the entrances of the major mining companies around Kolwezi, such as MUMI, SICOMINES and KCC, trees of pity have appeared too, not offering cheap bananas and cassava, but cheap manpower. Each day at the crack of dawn, jobseekers gather underneath what they call the “muthsi ya buluma” in front of the companies, hoping to be offered some work. Indeed, when need is high, a secretary or sometimes even a manager, steps out of the company towards the tree of pity and recruits on the spot a couple of heads to carry garbage, to clean Bens or to fix corrugated iron on top of a hangar. It might lead to the signing of a contract too, and this is what keeps the hopes up. Mostly though, the only thing that happens is that the man stepping out the door writes the names and phone numbers of the willing workers on a list, with the promise to call them whenever a worker is needed that suits their profile.
Michel and Oscar have spent a lot of time underneath the tree of pity at one of the major companies. Each day, they convinced the driver of the company bus to give them a ride too, so they could take a chance at the tree of pity. Once there, they usually met the very same people, spent the day chatting away while watching the gates for someone coming out. As such, each jobseeker knew what the trade of the other one was, and even the names of the wives and kids. Gradually, the tree of pity at the entrance of this company turned into a lively spot. The people from the surrounding villages saw the benefits of the daily gatherings too, and started to set up tiny stalls offering beignets and other small snacks. At a later stage, the tree was expanded with two containers. The management had installed these containers to offer its workers some shelter during rainy days while waiting on the company bus to drive them home. And rainy days abound in Kolwezi. So the jobseekers started to seek refuge in the containers too, everyone squeezed to fit inside. Eventually, the tree of pity became a market-like spot.
After having hung around a couple of weeks, Michel and Oscar decided that the tree of pity was of no avail, though, and they quit coming altogether. As a matter of fact, they had noticed that sometimes new faces appeared at the tree, and these new faces were immediately recruited when the man came out, while others who had been hanging about for weeks were not called in. How could this be? They soon found out that they did not succeed in getting a job because they were “des sans-circuit,” the networkless people.
So Michel and Oscar too, tried to work their way in by getting connected to a “circuit” in Kolwezi before heading for the tree. It was their preacher, who already worked at the company, who put in a good word at the management to advance their file. A few months later, the preacher asked them to head for the tree of pity, because it might be the day. Michel and Oscar joined the other jobseekers, all new faces since they had last been there. After a while, a man came out of the entrance with a list at hand, and cited the names of those who were offered a job. Michel and Oscar stepped forward when they heard their names. How could this be?, the other jobseekers asked them, we’ve been here much longer than you, you just arrived here today, and you are called in… .
The tree of pity-system has lost a lot of its appeal, as the jobseekers have understood that for those who are “sans-circuit”, it simply does not work. The spot is less and less frequented nowadays, and the villagers gradually withdraw their tiny stalls, while the unemployed try to get connected somewhere in Kolwezi first, soliciting a little boost by those who are already in. Keeping hopes up.