Former Barkhane workers in Mali are asking for help from the transitional authorities. The French force completed its withdrawal from the country in August 2022, in a context of extreme tension between Paris and the Malian transitional authorities. In a letter addressed to the transitional Prime Minister, Choguel Maïga, they explain that they feel marginalized and deplore economic difficulties.
” Since departure of the Barkhane forcewe are unemployed and unable to meet the daily needs of our families. In a letter dated February 15, the association of former Barkhane workers asks the head of the transitional government, Choguel Maigato help them find a job.
These workers were not directly employed by the French army, whose largest military camp was in Gao, in the North, but by Malian recruitment companies. One of these companies estimates that 400 to 450 people in total are affected. ” They were mostly from Gao, but some also came from Bamako and had moved with their families to work there. ”, explains a source within one of these companies.
” We can understand their dismay. After several years of work, they find themselves on their own “, Continues this source, which specifies that the former workers of Barkhane have all the same benefited from the legal indemnities of departure: payment of the holidays not taken, indemnities of dismissal … All according to their seniority and their status (interim or CDI ).
In their letter, the former workers of Barkhane explain that some feel today ” marginalized, even despised within Malian society. For fear of possible repercussions, the representatives of the association did not wish to speak.
Asked by RFI, neither the Malian Ministry of Defense nor the Prime Minister responded.
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