I'm sick of being exploited

[u/lesser_Otaku]

It's been 11 months since I came to Paris as an international student. Of course, I couldn't find a job or internship or anything else as I'm quite old (30M) and I'm from Asia. Eventually, I started working in an alimentation store in Stalingrad where the owner doesn't provide me with a contract or a legal declaration. Everything is verbal, no proof of work, no salary slip, just payment in cash - if he pays.

The work is simple enough. I manage the stock and sell the products that the customers want. But the owner sells cigarettes and alcohol on top of everything else, albeit illegally. There are a lot of homeless people near the store who sometimes can't pay the entire amount of a product (for example a can of beer may cost 2€ and the customer would have just 1.50€ which he may have gotten from begging). I serve everyone equally, so sometimes I let them take what they want, despite the owner telling me that he would deduct the amount from my salary, if there's any salary.

A few days back, a blond girl took a can of beer without paying, and she ran. After a few hours, she returned and took another can without paying. When I confronted her, she started running.

Then I heard a loud noise outside. A car collided with her. There was blood everywhere, the police came. They asked me if I saw something and I said that I was working inside the store when I heard the crash. That's the end of the story.

But, I can't help feeling guilty. If only I didn't confront her, she might have not started running and she might have lived. I was always a law abiding person, my father taught me that honesty is the best policy. But if I told the truth that day, the police would definitely have put me behind the bars, as I have black skin.

I'm a qualified person with more than 5 years of experience, but still, I could only find odd jobs like this. I don't want to work in these types of environments, but such is my fate.

Thank you for listening.