Yes, I found a job.
I was on my way on the Belgian highway to my first Belgian working day. Happy as i was to finally start a new financial life at DHL Zaventem Brussels Airport, a place i visited a few times in my previous life.
Immediately at the start of the afternoon shift i was thrown to the lions, better said to the thousands and thousands of post packets, Not even a knowledge how the system really works or what i was contributing too. The supervisors were friendly and helpful till the moment our main supervisor arrived, Suddenly the environment changed. People were getting nervous and stressful. I didn’ t really know why, but i would experience it first hand the next few days.
Trucks were unloaded by hand the first thing in the midday shift. Our main supervisor Sonia is so focused on speed that we were demanded to thrown packets from unfriendly heights for post packages on to the ground. No time to waste. I was wondering if she knew the meaning of the combination of letters FRAGILE on a post package.
But it was my first day at work, who am i to know how it works and doubt the post knowledge from someone who did it for years.
The second task i was forced to do that first day by Sonia was sticking postcodes on the packages on a speed you couldn’t imagine. A speed that was forced by her to make mistakes. Recognising a bunch of numbers and verifying it was the same as on the sticker you held in your hand and sticking it on the package in less then a second is not so easy.
The second day i was off again to my work. Noticing my enthusiasm was down to 75 %. Our supervisor Gunther welcomed us with open arms and made a few jokes to improve the work environment. It wasn’t that bad , no, i would survive this day too.
This day i was obliged by sonia to do another task. I had to scan the package and reload it to a container ready to ship off to his next destination. But it was hard to understand how to operate the process of the computer program if it was forced to learn by somebody who doesn’t know the difference between a shift or tab key. And if you asked a question to sonia about the meaning of the codes and order of the process , you get an answer like “that ‘s how it s done” . I started wondering if she was really of human flesh because she ignored every question i had about the process. Maybe she was a also a programmed robot , but unlucky i couldn’t find the shift button or is it the tab button to shut her down.
It was already the third day. I made it that far. I was down to 50 % of enthusiasm . But a strange thing happened that day , a smile was on my face , i made jokes with my fellow prisoners. And work really went well. We even had finished sorting all the packages an hour before closing time. Our supervisors were relax and friendly . Work was not forced but also not lazy, just at human speed with a minimum of human errors and respect for the packages. But then i noticed it. Our SS-commander sonia wasn’t there . This was a good day.
Thursday, the second last day of the week, yes, i’m gonna make it till the end of the week. I was back up to 60 % of motivation and still going up till the moment i saw my fellow prisoners shaking by a voice. Damned , sonia, came running around like if she had an enormous dildo sticking in a place you don’t want to know.
I was forced to work in a way by a donkey with only the carrot in front of her eyes that my own safety was put in danger. A stupid guitar box that i placed out of my way because i had to loaded heavy big post packages was placed back by the donkey in my way of movement, so i almost tripped over it. I still wonder why she had to place it back, maybe she wanted that i would open that box and start playing a guitar song for her.
So This was my final day
I placed the guitar back out of my way and suddenly she yelled and disappeared that she was getting security. She showed her face again without security an ordered me to unload the truck again with the guitar back at his uncomfortable spot. My enthusiasm to stay dropped like something i had never seen before. I throw one more post package on the bad. A second one, a third one, another one. No. what was i doing. Would i put my life in danger , would i lose my self respect, would i let myself command that way for a job a voluntary went for.
No, i walked away.
As a prisoner i was guided by sonia to the door ,like she really was a SS-commander guiding me to the death camps. But what she really was doing was guiding me to freedom and a respectful life.