People who have been here for 10, 15, 20 years without speaking English that's a
big problem. People with PhD's, with master's degrees who have been
in Australia for 10, 15, 20, 30 years and never got a job. Elderly people socially
isolated. I decided to start ARMIA exactly on 26 January 2015,
intentionally because that was Australia Day. Our objective was to help
those people we call new Australians to finally and rapidly integrate. To become
productive, proud Australians.
My English is not good. I speak Chinese
in my home. I speak Chinese with my son so I have no practice.
One of the things we probably do is address the real nuts and bolts of
what they need like, 'what is your name?'
We are living in Australia. I need to buy something, I need to see doctor,
I need to know new friends and I take my grandson to school.
I think the English is important in my life.
You get today, where you get a spectrum of people who are at different
levels of learning. The old couple here from Vietnam, probably in the late
seventies, but what a top effort you know to have a crack at it.
There is a big gap in our
settlement program. A million Australians who don't speak English. That means they
cannot integrate, that means they cannot get a job. Chronic unemployment leads
to a series of many other problems.
Nationally about 17% of refugees get
work in the first two years that's a very low figure. I think Australians are
fairly ethnocentric so I think we often think that if you haven't had your work
experience here in Australia then it's not really valid work experience. We're
seeing lately with the Syrian cohort a lot of people who have really
significant experience, have run businesses, good academic qualifications
so it's a real loss that these people aren't getting work and able to contribute.
Protais has said you don't underestimate the effect you have on one person.
The motivation for us here, is to make
people feel happy to be Australian. It's also the cultural input that we have a
democracy here in Australia that treats everybody equally that we try and help
each other and that I would like to think is the whole cultural push of this place.
In five years it has been hard but I can smile and be proud of what we have
already achieved. I'm very grateful to the Catholic Church who have given us
this wonderful venue we operate from which is now called the ARMIA house. I'm
extremely grateful to the many volunteers. It's amazing for five years
they have really done more than you can imagine.
Yeah I got here because Protais asked me you know he said I know you can speak
English and like Shakespeare. No, I've have a real passion for good
English and simply putting it, good education which is critical to any group of people.
You are never too old to learn.
So we're learning here.
Fair dinkum means, he's telling the truth, it's a very Australian expression.
I have realised that when people finish those
conversational classes they become confident.
Then they can learn some courses in industries with proven worker shortages,
for example hospitality. Then they complete a course, they get a job with limited
English but they can communicate. We have read cases with people who
started their own small businesses, where they are employing other Australians.
Then they are out of Centrelink.
We have removed hundreds and hundreds of people
from the welfare dependency and we are determined to continue.