What has experience been since starting your new career in Australia?
The work is very challenging, and it is physically very demanding. The working system is quite different from what I used to do in Kurdistan. Harvey Beef is a big company, and it has many partners. I usually wake up early and go to work. The company is very close to my home. Everybody has to wear special clothes. I have to change my shoes and wash my hands, and then wear protective clothing. They pay so much attention to safety and protection here. Safety always comes first. After this, my supervisor gives me the tasks of the day and the areas where I should work.
As mentioned, the work is challenging, but at the same time, it has many positive sides. Every Wednesday I get my pay slip. The details of my working hours and benefits are explained. The payment is transferred to my bank account automatically. I never worry about whether I will be paid. Additionally, since I have a fixed-term contract, I feel secure in my job. This helps me to plan for me and my family’s future.
How did you find this job opportunity in Australia?
My journey started in 2021 when UNHCR first called me about this opportunity. Up until I arrived in Australia in February 2024, Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB) stayed in contact with me and supported me. There were many challenges for someone like me, a stateless person, as I did not have any official documents. I registered, with UNHCR’s support, in TBB’s Talent Catalogue. It was incredibly labour intensive for TBB help me and my family travel to another country through a legal pathway and to get approval from the government. It was incredible what they did for me. It means a lot to me. I could not have arrived here without their continuous support.
Throughout the application period, TBB provided me with both moral and financial support. TBB helped me to overcome many issues. They did not abandon me. What TBB did for me is incredible, I cannot even describe it.
How did you find this job opportunity in Australia?
My journey started in 2021 when UNHCR first called me about this opportunity. Up until I arrived in Australia in February 2024, Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB) stayed in contact with me and supported me. There were many challenges for someone like me, a stateless person, as I did not have any official documents. I registered, with UNHCR’s support, in TBB’s Talent Catalogue. It was incredibly labour intensive for TBB help me and my family travel to another country through a legal pathway and to get approval from the government. It was incredible what they did for me. It means a lot to me. I could not have arrived here without their continuous support.
Throughout the application period, TBB provided me with both moral and financial support. TBB helped me to overcome many issues. They did not abandon me. What TBB did for me is incredible, I cannot even describe it.
What does this opportunity mean for your future?
A country usually is a place where you are born and obtain citizenship rights and a passport. As a stateless person, I did not have these rights. I did not have the right to study and I did not have the right own property. When an opportunity like this became available to me, my life completely changed. It was a dream, a dream that was even difficult to imagine coming true, but it came true!
Thank God the dream became reality through UNHCR and TBB’s support, as well as Harvey Beef. They all worked together and helped me reach here. This is incredibly amazing, and I can never forget this. I never thought in my life that I would reach another country and become a citizen of that country.
What advice do you have for refugees in Iraq who are interested in employment pathways?
Anyone who is interested should register with an organization like TBB immediately.
My advice to anyone who wants to develop their life is to work on improving their English language fluency. English is an international language, and it is used everywhere. It will open many doors for you everywhere and in every position. So, the first thing to do before registering through TBB, is to improve your English by watching English movies, English TV series, reading books, and taking English courses, or any other ways that help you to improve your English. When you want to go to another place try to learn the language. You need to help your family to learn the language too in order for them to integrate more easily.
The second thing, before you go to a new place, you have to research about the place and the culture, and how to interact with people. Learn what is appropriate and what is inappropriate. Something might be appropriate for you, but it could be insulting for others. So, when you go to somewhere you need to be aware of what culture and religions are practiced there, and how you join the community.