Asylum Seeker Resource Centre blog

The ‘Before’ and ‘After’ of a New Life

For Eugene*, who arrived in Australia from East Africa in late 2015, settling into Australian life occurred in two distinct phases. The first six months were disorienting, challenging and exhausting. The turning point came in July 2016 when he began work with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s social enterprise, ASRC Cleaning. The enterprise provides domestic and commercial cleaning services across Melbourne and is operated and run by people seeking asylum.

Like so many who land at our doorstep, Eugene brings a rich tapestry of family, work and life experience with him. In Africa he had a loving family, a good job, and enjoyed his life. ‘In the morning you go for a job, then come back and your family is very happy. That was very good,’ he says. ‘On weekends I could be with my family watching movies or football on TV. I used to have many friends and family, share some wine and beer and talk.’

Today, though, he is in Australia on his own. His wife and two small children are still in Africa. One day he hopes this will change. In the meantime, he speaks with them on Skype every weekend. Behind him, also abandoned because of the escalating danger in his country, is a career in mineral resources and land management.

Eugene first came here on a student visa as part of a cooperative arrangement between his government and Australia. The visit included a study placement at a university in Brisbane before returning home via a neighbouring country. He came unstuck on the homeward journey. He could not get home. ‘It was not safe for me to return home or even stay where I was in Africa. The only option I have is to come back to Australia,’ he says.

When he returned to Australia he arrived in Perth with little money in his pocket. ‘I couldn’t get back home and bring money. I had nothing,’ he says. Learning of the ASRC via the internet, he made his way to Melbourne. His student visa was days away from expiration. With the help of a lawyer organised by the ASRC, he submitted his application for asylum in December 2015. ‘I’m still waiting. I’m on a bridging visa. I have the right to work full-time and study full-time,’ he says.

Yet time and again he would run into potential employers who were wary of his bridging visa. ‘They would say “What’s that? Do you have the right to work?”’ Even though he would attempt to reassure them, he did not meet with much success. ‘You know, I like working, doing jobs, trying new things, but with Australia, it has been very hard for me.’

He did manage to secure temporary work on a poultry farm in that first six months. ‘But I found it very hard,’ he says. ‘You would work for ten hours and the payment was very low. You would wake up at 1am and travel a long way to get to the farm on time. You don’t sleep. I was not used to that kind of a job. But in my situation I had to do any job I found.’

Eugene also arrived here with a limited grasp of English, little awareness of Australian culture, and was, by his own reckoning, a ‘bit shy’. The first six months, then, were ‘very tough’ and ‘frustrating’. He explains: ‘Melbourne is very different from my country. Everything is different. Even to know how to catch a tram or train. In my country we don’t have tram or train, we use buses. That’s a small thing but it shows you my situation.’ Later he says, ‘Even though I have experience when I arrive here I feel like I don’t know anything. You start to feel like you are nothing and that’s very bad.’

Nonetheless, he dug in and made the best of a challenging situation. ‘I was always coming to ASRC, meeting people, learning about how to survive in Australia.’ He undertook the ASRC’s mentoring program to assist with his job prospects, and completed a TAFE course in conservation and land management, but still couldn’t secure a job.

Then the ASRC suggested he apply for a position with its cleaning enterprise. He submitted his application and secured an interview. ‘In July 2016 I get the job. That was my first real job,’ he says with a sense of pride and relief. For the next nine months he worked full-time cleaning houses. He asks me to make sure I describe ‘in a good way with good English’ just how important the job has been to him. ‘They not only give you a job but they also help you to do that job,’ he explains. This involves job-specific training and, importantly to him, both cultural orientation and practical assistance to navigate the city and find the cleaning sites.

From this point on Eugene says he started to rebuild his confidence. He earned some much needed money, met more people, steadily improved his English, and gained a broader understanding of Australian culture. While he continues to clean a commercial property three nights a week, in March he began a six-month full-time internship as a business analyst with a major bank. ‘I didn’t expect to work for a bank,’ he says. ‘It’s different from my educational background, it’s different from my own work experience at home, and it’s different from what I’ve been doing in Australia.’

His priority now is to achieve residency but, as he acknowledges, this is out of his control. Eugene, by any measure, has had to deal with a lot. Yet this quietly spoken young man remains philosophical about his prospects. ‘I don’t know what will be my future. I’m still confused about that. Maybe life will be good and when I get a normal life I could write my own story,’ he says.

Amen to that.

ASRC Cleaning is a social enterprise business that provides commercial and domestic cleaning services to the Melbourne region. All employees are members of the ASRC. When you choose to use ASRC Cleaning, you are helping to support sustainable employment for people seeking asylum. Find out more.

The work of the ASRC to support and empower over 3,000 people seeking asylum each year would not be possible without the support of you – our community. Champion positive change for people seeking asylum by making a tax-deductible donation today.

*A pseudonym has been used to protect the subject’s identity.

Disclaimer: images shown do not depict Eugene in order to protect his identity

Photos by Kim Cartmell.