refugees – Michmutters

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Australia

Driver training program helps migrants gain license and independence in Launceston

A boy smiling to camera in the foreground, a car with a P plate and a younger boy in the background.

When 18-year-old Afghan migrant Mehdi Safari from Launceston passed his driving test, he was “hopping around” with excitement.

It made it easier for him to travel to his part-time job at a local hardware store, and to school every day.

“Yo puedo [also] go out more with friends, and even when I’m going out to play sport, it’s very helpful to have a license,” he said.

It was also an important milestone for the Launceston Migrant Resource Center’s learner driver program, Drive4Life, as Mr Safari was its 500th participant to pass the P-test.

Coordinator Janice Molineux said it was incredibly significant for those migrants and refugees and their families.

“I was very happy… [and] now it’s 511 [people who have passed]. I just think it’s such a great thing,” she said.

A boy in a hoodie behind the wheel of a parked car.
Mr Safari got a “lecture” from his father about the serious responsibility of driving well.(ABC Northern Tasmania: Sarah Abbott)

license to independence

Arriving in Launceston with his family from the Iranian city of Ahvaz in 2013, Mr Safari said he was passionate about cars and wanted to become a mechanic or engineer since childhood.

“Growing up, I tried to buy toy cars and I’d disassemble them to try to work out how they worked,” he said.

But in Tasmania, once old enough to obtain a driver’s licence, Mr Safari found it a challenge to accrue the required number of hours of practice as a learner driver.

“It was difficult for me to find a car to practise,” he said.

A car provided by the Drive4Life program allowed him to gain the supervised driving practice and skills he needed to get his P-plates.

Odds stacked high

In many ways, Mr Safari and the 510 other migrants who have now passed through Drive4Life have beaten the odds in obtaining a licence, according to Ms Molineux.

“One challenge… is knowing someone with a full driver’s license to help them gain the required hours to sit for their P-test,” Ms Molineux said.

Another is knowing enough English to pass.

A woman with tied back hair smiling to camera, with greenery and a building behind her.
Janice Molineux enjoys seeing Drive4Life graduates driving around town.(ABC Northern Tasmania: Sarah Abbott)

Ms Molineux said some learners who were capable drivers were not able to gain their Ps due to interpreters not being allowed in the car with them during tests.

That restriction was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Ms Molineux said her organization was working on a proposal to address it.

“We are hopeful that people who are still learning English can acquire their licences. It should not be ‘English first, then a license’,” she said.

“Safety must always come first… [but] you don’t need perfect English to be able to drive.”

Ms Molineux said being able to drive was life-changing for many migrants and refugees living in Tasmania.

“A license lets them gain independence, get to English classes and travel to work where public transport options are not viable,” she said.

Bring your own tutor

Launceston’s Migrant Resource Center started its Drive4Life program in 2009.

The program operates with around ten volunteer driving tutors providing lessons in two dual-controlled cars. The 500 drivers it has helped to gain a license have come from countries ranging from Afghanistan to Sudan.

But the program’s success means it now has a long list of learner drivers waiting to join it, and not enough driving tutors to keep up.

Ms Molineux said it was due to the “battle” of finding driving tutors, particularly bi-lingual ones, that she began a ‘Bring Your Own Mentor’ initiative last year.

“It doesn’t matter where you are on the [learner waiting] list, if you bring someone who’s happy to be inducted as a Drive4Life mentor, then they help you and someone else from the top of the list,” Ms Molineux said.

A man wearing a cap crouched in front of a car that has an L plate on it
Abbas Safari is a fluent Farsi speaker and tutors Farsi-speaking Launceston locals.(ABC Northern Tasmania: Sarah Abbott)

The volunteer tutors go through a driver induction, which involves “some theory, but mostly practice” in a dual-control car with the program’s head mentor.

It was through this initiative that Mr Safari successfully passed his Ps, after being tutored in a Drive4Life car by his father, Abbas.

“With him… teaching me it was alright, because we had that father-son bond and connection, so I was comfortable with him,” Mr Safari said.

“It made the learning experience a bit easier.”

Finally finding their legs

Abbas Safari has gone on to tutor his other son, 16-year-old Milad, and Farsi-speaking Launceston mother-of-nine, Shah Jafari.

He said he enjoyed teaching “very much”, and was motivated to volunteer by his desire to help people in Tasmania’s Afghan community get their license “so they can go on with their lives”.

“Not having a license is like having extra weight on your shoulders,” he said.

A woman in a green headscarf sitting behind the wheel in a car, while a man in the passenger seat smiles to camera too
Shah Jafari looks forward to having her license so she can help with school drop-off.(ABC Northern Tasmania: Sarah Abbott)

Abbas Safari is keen to keep tutoring into the future, and has inspired his older son to one day “definitely” do the same.

“I would like for everyone in the right age bracket to have their license,” Mehdi Safari said.

“Because I experienced that feeling when you get your license and… it’s like you finally find your legs, so you can travel everywhere.”

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Categories
Australia

Experienced migrants struggle to find jobs as industry cries out for skilled workers

A man and a woman with a young girl smiling at the camera

When Vitaly Bazarov and his wife Anna Shmatko moved to Melbourne in June, they knew they could have a better life for their daughter than they would have in Ukraine.

Speaking through an interpreter, Ms Shmatko said, “I’m a Ukrainian patriot, but I fell in love with Australia the moment I got here.”

After being displaced by the war in Ms Shmatko’s home country, the pair came to Australia with their daughter Mariia, and used Facebook to make friends and find support.

But despite being an experienced boilermaker and diver, Mr Bazarov has been unable to find employment.

A man in a wet suit is underwater looking at the camera
Vitaly Bazarov is an experienced diver and underwater videographer.(Supplied: Anna Shmatko)

“This is a great country, but the services are expensive, I am really hoping one of my past careers can help me find a profession here so I can better support us,” he said.

Ms Shmatko believes employers discount her husband’s qualifications because English is not his first language.

“Finding the right people who will appreciate his skills and what he can do has been so hard,” she said.

Since arriving, the couple have been improving their English and actively seeking employment.

One of the ways they have been looking for work is through online groups on social media that aim to help refugees and immigrants settle into Australia.

A man holds his young daughter, they are on the beach pointing to the waves
The couple and their daughter have started new lives in Australia.(Supplied: Anna Shmatko)

It was through one of these groups the pair met Svetlana Khaykina, who volunteers her time to help people who have recently arrived find work and understand the Australian job market.

Writing CVs for refugees

Ms Khaykina, an engineer living in Port Hedland in WA, grew up in Belarus and can communicate proficiently with people from other Slavic language groups.

She has written over a dozen resumes for people, including Mr Bhazarov.

A woman and two children smile at the camera
Svetlana Khaykina uses her industry expertise and Russian to help new arrivals find work.(Supplied: Svetlana Khaykina)

“Writing a CV is a very new thing for a lot of people when they first arrive; most people have no idea to start, it’s not a practice in Ukraine,” she said.

“I can see that Vitaly is extremely marketable especially in places like Port Hedland, he just needs to be given a chance.”

When Ms Khaykina sees job opportunities posted online, she tries to connect employers with immigrants and act as a translator if needed.

In her view, one of the biggest hurdles besides the language barrier is Australia not recognizing overseas certifications.

“People like Vitaly have decades of relevant experience, but even if he finds work he’ll probably have to work at a lower position like a trade assistant which doesn’t require certification,” she said.

Australia needs workers

Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association (AREEA) data suggests the country will need at least 20,000 more workers to join the resources and energy sectors by the end of 2027.

Western Australia will require at least 11,250 of these employees.

AREEA chief executive Steve Knott said the industry was battling the worst skills crisis in a generation.

“Simply, unless industry and government can find some creative solutions, the skills crisis facing not only the resources and energy industry, but all sectors of the Australian economy, will persist for years to come,” he said.

Ms Khaykina said the wide range of highly skilled refugees arriving in Australia was mind boggling, but what was more surprising was the lack of job offers.

“Living in Port Hedland I know there’s a huge labor shortage and as an engineer I’m coming across welders, fitters, engineers, construction workers and all sorts of people.

“But they’re not being given a chance,” she said.

“Especially in Hedland, we need divers like Vitaly to do pile repairs and maintenance, we are always looking for more people with those skills.”

What support is available?

Ms Khaykina said with no end to the war in Ukraine in sight, she would love to see more effort from the Australian government to help resettle people.

“In my understanding there’s about 10,000 Ukrainians in Australia, while 9 million have fled the war; it’s such a great tragedy,” she said.

“When they do get here, they have limited humanitarian visas.”

The Department of Home Affairs said it had granted more than 8,600, mostly temporary, visas to Ukrainians in Ukraine and hundreds elsewhere.

A spokesman said Ukrainian nationals in Australia who were unable to accept the offer of a Temporary Humanitarian Stay could access other visa options.

The government had provided $450,000 to the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations to assist their work to support those arriving in Australia, the spokesman said.

And more than 1,300 Ukrainians had registered with the government’s Adult Migrant English Program, aimed at assisting new migrants and humanitarian entrants to learn English language skills.

Ms Khaykina believed if the government supported qualified refugees and immigrants to secure skilled work it would help solve the skills shortage and provide Ukrainians with a better life in Australia.

While assistance in finding skilled work could be limited, Ms Khaykina said support was available through community legal services.

Victoria Malyk, a migrant support worker in the Pilbara, said there was assistance for those who had recently arrived.

“I can respond to their needs such as help with employment and English lessons through the Settlement Engagement and Transition Support program or SETS.”

A man and a woman with a young girl smiling at the camera, aquarium is in the background
The young family say the community support has been phenomenal.(Supplied: Anna Shmatko)

The program is available to eligible clients, such as refugees and skilled regional workers in their first five years of living in Australia.

From Ms Malyk’s perspective, one of the biggest barriers facing these people are restrictions for some visa holders in accessing subsidized TAFE courses.

She said they usually could not afford high commercial fees.

“Further training is often needed for recognition of prior learning and overseas qualifications,” Mr Malyk said.

For now, Mr Bazarov will keep looking for work where he can use his decades of experience.

“We just need a chance,” he said.

“Once we find somebody who knows the industry and recognizes my skills, I’m sure they would want to take me, I’d be a great asset to any company.”

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Categories
Sports

Canberra Kangaroos refugee football club enters mainstream competition as players connect with new home

A group of men wearing identical football kits pose on a field for a photo.

Page Oval is far from Canberra’s best-known sports arena.

But its fields are home to a football club that, for some new Canberrans, plays a much bigger role than sport does in most lives.

The Canberra Kangaroos was founded nine years ago by a group of Afghan refugees. It entered the annual refugee tournaments held around Australia.

But this year it’s gone mainstream. For the first time, the club is toughing it out in Canberra’s state league competitions.

Its secretary, Ali Ekhtyari, said that while the Afghan community began the club, it now had players from Pakistan, Brazil, South Sudan, Iraq and Iran.

“This club is based on inclusion, to prevent isolation that refugees and migrants often face,” he said.

“It’s really helpful for those migrants who don’t know what to do, how to come out of the isolation, from loneliness.

“This is a good place to be with each other.”

Pitch battles a relief compared with off-field stresses

Men wearing football kits stand on the sideline of a football pitch.
The club began with Afghan players but is now open to all refugees.(Supplied)

Some of the club’s players face tough challenges away from football.

Goalkeeper Rohullah Hassani has a temporary visa and is fighting hard to bring his family to Australia.

“We have been separated from our family a long time, a decade now,” he said.

“It’s very hard. Every day it’s depressing and we are worried … back home, it’s not very safe, mentally we have lots of stress.

“We are just hoping for [the] new government to give us a chance to bring our family and start a life here.”

However, Mr Hassani said finding a welcoming community in Australia had softened his situation.

“I feel proud and I feel much better since I joined this club,” he said.

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