by Matteo Castagnoli
Adam Gaye, 52 years old from Senegal, was hired by Carrefour in via Senatore, in front of which he set up his own counter
The Italian history of Adam Gaye, 52 years old from Senegal, it started and starts again from via San Senatore, on the corner with via Santa Sofia. A stone’s throw from the Polyclinic and in front of one of the headquarters of the State University. Central area of the city. It is on that patch of asphalt that first the boy, and then the gentleman, made himself loved through his work, his kindness, his tenacity until he became the neighborhood mascot with his stall: «Bobo», that’s what they call him. Or rather, it’s the nickname that a lady with a strong Inter faith gave him in honor of the Nerazzurri striker Christian Vieri.
Adam «Bobo» Gaye he was standing in front of the supermarket in via San Senatore to sell, among other things, umbrellas, batteries and telephone accessories on the table. A safe presence, a “smiling boy”, as the residents describe him. They loved it. Like them, Giovanni Dossena, 53 years old of Sardinian origins but Milanese by adoption. In July one year ago he became the owner of the «Carrefour express» in front of the state headquarters. He met, talked to and got to know Adam. He saw it every day too. Hence the idea: «What if I hired him?». Thought and done. For twenty days the life of the 52-year-old who arrived from Senegal has changed. A permanent contract, a fixed salary, holidays, illnesses. «If you give me this chance, I will change my life. I can finally realize my projects”, he told Giovanni at the moment of signing.
«I did it naturally, for me it was a normal thought. In a year I saw it and analyzed it”, confides the supermarket owner. On the other hand, no impediments: Adam has all the credentials, as well as being well-liked by the neighborhood. «He took his job seriously and always helped people who called him to carry heavy cases of water into the house. Indeed – adds Dossena – I saw someone leave their credit card with him to go shopping”. The conditions were certainly there. In some ways, the neighborhood also pushed for Adam to be hired. «As soon as I had a free space, I immediately thought of him», adds the owner. Who jokes: “Of course, as a Juventus player, if I had known about his nickname perhaps I would have thought about it better.”
Now the 52-year-old, a former street vendor, is in charge of sales at the market and is part of the organization chart of “Carrefour express” which has ten employees. But Adam forges ahead. As if that “gavetta”, that daily attention to the customers’ gestures, that availability that has never been forced for over two decades makes him learn the trade more quickly. «He’s really good and people are happy to see him – comments Dossena -. I usually wait some time before putting an employee on the register, but he already knows how to handle it. For me it is a very positive situation. And again, when they explain the job to him he says he wants to try it first hand. He doesn’t want to just observe, otherwise he won’t learn.”
This new chapter in his life gives him oxygen. To plan, to dream and to travel. Nothing special, just enough time return to Senegal to his family. Adam He has three children, whom he hasn’t seen for three years. In mid-January he will leave Italy for a month. Then he will go back behind the counter.
However, he is keen to remember that he was not, in his previous life, a “peddler”. Because, he explains, “I have always remained here, I have never moved”. Still, waiting kindly on that sidewalk. Now, however, he has moved a few metres, inside those sliding doors where he used to enter as an assistant to the policeman on duty. Unload packages, arrange shelves, order and work at the register. Everything has changed, yet Adam is still there.
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November 3, 2024 (modified November 3, 2024 | 08:39)
