Algerian cleaner finds $30,000 and returns it to its owner

A sanitation worker in a town in southern Algeria returned $30,000 to its owner after finding it while cleaning the streets of the village.

The local newspaper Al Khabar confirmed that a sanitation worker in the town of Briane in the Ghardaia province, southern Algeria, named Hamza Shashou, found a bag containing five million Algerian dinars (equivalent to 30 thousand dollars) last Wednesday morning, but he preferred to inform his superiors and announce on social media that he had found the sum without revealing its value, the place where it was found, or the color of the bag that contained it.

Shashou, 38, told the Algerian newspaper that he found the money at around 3:30 a.m. before the end of the work day, and as soon as day broke, he called on his friends to place an announcement on social media pages inviting the owner of the lost money to get it.

This honest worker asked everyone who lost money to provide evidence to support their claim, such as the amount of money and where they lost it. In the end, it turned out that the money belonged to a merchant who had stopped at a place where truck drivers used to rest at night. Indeed, the cleaner handed him the money he had found.

Activists on social media in Algeria praised Shashou’s behavior and called for him to be honored for his honesty and to encourage such behavior in Algerian society.

For his part, the mayor of Brian, Mshat Bashir, told the Algerian Al-Khabar newspaper that “this worker is known for his integrity and honesty in work,” noting that he decided to return the money to its owner, despite his modest living conditions. He also indicated that a ceremony would be held in honor of Sha’shou, because he is “a role model for all workers and employees.”

(New Arab)