“Everyone who sees my resume asks me why I drive a cab. Back in Niger, I was a French teacher. But the government stopped paying us for a few months, so I decided to quit my job and move to America. That was 12 years ago.
I thought I could teach French here, but I had no idea how hard it would be to get a job without papers. The only place I could find work was a carwash. Back in Niger, kids would wash my car for me. Now all day long I was washing cars for other people. I was very depressed. But I was too embarrassed to go back home. Then one year after I arrived, George Bush got elected and everyone was telling me that it meant very bad things for me. They said the Republicans would make trouble for me. So I was very scared.
After the car wash, I became a stock boy. Then, a delivery driver. Five years ago, I got my papers and became a citizen, so now I’m able to work at the airport. At nights, and on my days off, I drive a cab. Just this year I graduated from Brooklyn College with a Masters degree in French. I finished third in my class. Now I think I can become a professor.”