ΕλληνικάChoosing to Dream – “As pressure makes coal into diamonds, it also brings man to perfection!”
This is Yasser. He is only 20 years old, which makes him the youngest person of our column until now! He comes from Afghanistan and has been living in Greece for two years now. With a very discrete presence and the most polite nature, Yasser is the kind of person you don’t forget, for he is such a good and sweet young man. After this interview I told him “Yasser, you are an inspiration!”, to which he responded, “I hope this interview helps people, then that will be an achievement for me”. The only difficulty we had after meeting this person, is taking him off our mind. But enough from us now! We will let him do the talking.
“I am now working as an interpreter and a teacher’s assistant at ELIX, in Eleonas. I provide support to pupils in public schools for homework assignments. I am also present in meetings with parents and professionals, like social workers, psychologists etc. How I found this job? A friend of mine told me about the job advert, I applied and got accepted. Apart from that, I have been also studying web development at “The Cube” for the past 6 months. I saw an advertisement on Facebook and I applied.
What I like about my job is that I can help these people. I was in their situation and I know how much they suffer, I can understand them. I am also glad to be able to support children. It’s a pleasure for me. They are the future of society and if we want a successful society, we should train them well.
Unfortunately, due to some reasons, I didn’t study after school. Before coming to Greece, my previous job was neither the same nor relevant to my current one. I worked in many fields in the past. I worked as a driver, a painter, a carpenter and I had my own carpentry workshop.
I was searching for a job in Greece for about one year and six months. Fortunately, at some point I made new friends and I learnt that there are organizations that can support me. In July, I visited Generation 2.0 RED and in August, I began working.
It’s obvious that we face difficulties in searching for a job, and I faced as well. I didn’t know where to start, what to search for and how to search. It was a very difficult time for me, I was trying to find solutions via websites, friends, everything. I was very disappointed and I was thinking “What will happen?”, “What can I do?”, “What should I do?”.
I think my perseverance, the fact that I didn’t give up, the help of my friends and some non-governmental organizations played a big role in finding a job in Greece. I feel I didn’t lose any job opportunities in Greece because of my age, sex, religion or nationality.
When you live in Greece it is very necessary to learn the Greek language. When you can speak the language, you can communicate with the society. And communication is so important for a job. You will need to talk with your colleagues and if you can’t, then you cannot work and it is so difficult to find a job and get hired.
The career counselling service of Generation 2.0 RED supported me very much. First of all, I didn’t have a CV and with their help I could make one. They showed me where, how and what to search. They informed me about what legal documents I need to work in Greece, where and how I can get them. They also helped me to get prepared for the job interview. In one word, they gave me what I needed to get hired.
My advice to other people, migrants and refugees, who are now searching for a job in Greece would be “Don’t give up and don’t stop searching, even if you get rejected many times. Try again and again, finally you will find one!”. Just like children that want to walk for the first time, they will fall down a lot. But they will stand up after every fall and try again until they finally walk. In my mother tongue we say “As pressure makes coal into diamonds, it also brings man to perfection”.
I know it’s difficult but never give up. Nothing is impossible and one day you will find a job. I was disappointed as well, but I continued trying. It wasn’t easy and I talked to many people until I finally got the right information leading to success.
I found my way. I had almost lost it but now I know that I want to continue my studies in computers and technologies in general, and work in this field. It’s my favorite field.”
TIP:
It’s completely normal not knowing something. After all, nobody knows everything. Alongside with many other things like health, education, tax declaration etc., job searching may also be a field that some people know more things than us. Contacting these people may sometimes be very important, since we can learn things that may be crucial at finding a job.
Mostly, we haven’t been taught to ask, to look for support or to admit that we don’t know something. Sometimes, however, this may be very helpful for us. Seeking advice(s) from professionals or people that have succeeded in this process is a good step towards our goal.
