Employee: ‘This place is not safe; the virus is everywhere’

Summary: Despite misgivings about his safety while laboring in close quarters with other workers at a pork processing plant, a 56-year-old African native refused to quit his job because he needed the money to pay the rent.

The incident: When he was in his twenties, Husen Jagir fled his native Eritrea in Africa across the border to Sudan in order to escape a devastating war.

Things weren’t much better in Sudan, so Jagir emigrated to the U.S. in 2010. He went to Missouri, based on the suggestion of a friend. He eventually landed a job at a Tyson Foods facility in Denison, IA, then moved to a nearby Smithfield Foods plant. After arguing with a supervisor, Jagir left Smithfield and started working at Triumph Seaboard Foods, Sioux City, IA.

When the coronavirus began to spread across the U.S., Jagir told his nephew, Shila Dide, that he was concerned about his safety at Triumph. He said workers were congregating in the cafeteria and other areas, but they weren’t wearing masks.

“This place is not safe,” Jagir told his nephew. “The virus is everywhere.” A few days later, Jagir got sick.

The response: Feeling cold, shaky and nauseous, Jagir called 9-1-1 and he was taken to a hospital, but he was sent home later that same day.

When Jagir had trouble breathing a few days later, he was readmitted to the hospital. Forty-eight hours later, he was dead.

The aftermath: After Jagir had warned his nephew that he felt unsafe at Triumph, Dide suggested that he quit the job. But Jagir said he needed the money to pay the rent.

Jagir, 56, died alone. He had been in contact with his family via his cellphone, but when the battery died, no one could reach him.

“I was very saddened,” said Dide.

(From the May 26, 2020, issue of Safety Alert for Supervisors. To download the rest of the issue for free, please click here.)