‘Pets are treated better than us’ – Migrants who spent life savings traveling from Africa to NYC complain they’ve been ‘sold a dream by Hollywood
Migrants who spent their life savings traveling from Africa to NYC have complained that they have been sold a dream by Hollywood – but the Big Apple is not what they expected.
Hundreds of homeless expats, mostly young and middle-aged African men, were waiting in line outside a church on East 7th Street in Manhattan’s East Village on Thursday, hoping to find a place to sleep.
Among them was Landry, 40, from Congo, who told DailyMail.com he spent his life savings of $9,000 traveling to the US, taking the difficult decision to leave his wife and 14-year-old son behind four months ago.
The military veteran had been hoping to land a job in construction but he’s been unable to find work in the city and ended up sleeping on the streets in sub-zero temperatures after shelters ran out of space.
Conditions in Congo were ‘terrible’ according to Landry, with frequent fights between ethnic groups and oppressive laws – but he said life in the Big Apple has been ‘even worse.’
‘It’s like prison here,’ he said, speaking in French. ‘It’s negligence. We have no access to food, toilets, or anything. Animals live better here – pets in the street are treated better than us.
‘The UN building is right there to talk about the problems around the world but look at all this on the doorstep… desperation and lack of services.’
‘We were sold a dream in Hollywood films and TV, but the reality of life in New York City is not like the movies,’ he said, adding that he had been bussed over from California.
When asked how he felt thinking of his family back in Congo, Landry said: ‘I cry and think, why did I do this? But it’s too late. I spent my life savings coming here and now I can’t get a job. What can I do?’
Landry is trying to learn Spanish in the hopes of eventually securing a job at a Latino restaurant. Many of the other migrants in the queue had similar stories.
Abdoulaye, of Guinea, said he spent $10,000 traveling through Turkey, Colombia, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico and Texas in pursuit of the American Dream.
He told DailyMail.com he was given shelter for the first few weeks of his stay in NYC, but had been sleeping on the streets for the past few days.
‘After one month they can put you outside,’ Abdoulaye said. ‘Sleeping outside in the cold is too much. The situation is no good right now.’ 
Friends Vivienna, 44, and Selena, 22, from Ecuador, were the only two women in the hundreds-strong queue on Thursday afternoon.
Speaking in Spanish, they said they fled ‘danger’ in the South American country, only to sleep on the streets in New York where they don’t feel any safer.
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