Nigerian Man Drove Almost 2 Hours For Job Interview Only To Be Discriminated & Rejected For Being A Foreigner

By Charmaine Shaharin  •  18 Nov 2020 in News

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Imagine working so hard to graduate from college and university, yet once you do, you’re rejected due to circumstances beyond your control.

Recently, a viral video posted by Nigerian Instagram user @benicefestus has been circulating the internet, as it depicts him getting rejected for a job in the financial service company, Allianz Malaysia, due to the fact that he is a foreigner.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ben Ice (@benicefestus)

According to the post, Benice claims that he was actually contacted and booked by Allianz Malaysia for an interview after posting his resume online. He even sent in a clip of how he looked like on Whatsapp, and they did not protest at the time.

In the caption, Benice expressed his excitement about finally getting an interview for the first time after 6 years. He had rented a car and took a 1hr 30min drive without breakfast to the location of his interview. Once he arrived, little did he know, he would be treated rudely by a staff  member who had asked him questions like “Who are you?” and “What are you doing here?”, but in a hostile tone.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ben Ice (@benicefestus)

Feeling shocked and taken aback, Benice still managed to keep his cool when speaking to the staff member when he explained his purpose for being there. Allegedly, she brushed him off by saying that the company does not take in foreigners, and that they barely employ Indians as well.

Benice started to record her behaviour as proof of discrimination, but as soon as the staff member noticed his actions, she quickly changed her attitude.

The 22-year-old is a very accomplished person in his studies, since he had finished secondary school when he was 14, has two degrees in Nursing and Business Administration, as well as a high score in his IELTS Exam. He was appalled by the behaviour he witnessed and expressed that racism is real no matter how accomplished a person is.

According to Malay Mail, a survey by Think Tank found that Malays and Indians are more likely to experience discrimination when applying for jobs in the private sector, especially men of the two ethnicities.

The same goes to a study conducted by The Centre for Governance and Political Studies which concludes that Malays and Indians face more hurdles to secure job interviews compared to Mandarin-speaking Chinese applicants who topped all callback rates from hiring companies.

The details of Benice’s story has caused many netizens to stand by Benice as they too were outraged by the alleged discrimination portrayed by Allianz company. Some have even stated their opinions on Benice’s Instagram, assuring him that his voice will be heard while some are even offering help as they feel bad that this is happening to him.

We personally hope that Benice will finally secure a job in another company that looks past a person’s skin colour and focuses on an individual’s personality and work ethics.

With 2021 approaching soon, we also hope that companies will stop this behaviour and accept everyone equally.