Refugees learn professions in search of a fresh start – 06/19/2023 – Market

When he arrived in Brazil almost ten years ago, fleeing the war in Syria, chef Mazen Zwawe, 31, didn’t know what to expect. First, he traveled to Thailand, but unable to enter the country, he had to live at the airport for eight days; then he tried Lebanon, but he couldn’t stay either.

Palestinian citizenship made entry difficult, until he found out that Brazil had opened for refugees. “At the beginning it was difficult to learn Portuguese, I learned to speak it by myself, I got it into my head that I needed it and without that I wouldn’t be able to fulfill my dream, of opening a restaurant”, says Zwawe, who started selling water at traffic lights for a few months and also sold dishes he cooked at home.

Afterwards, Zwawe set up stalls selling Arab food in the west zone of São Paulo, until he realized his dream of opening a restaurant, Al Mazen, in Vila Madalena, where he employs six people. He even taught how to make regional dishes in a program on TV Gazeta.

“It was in 2019, soon after the pandemic came, which ended up disrupting our plans. We set up a delivery, but it didn’t cover all the expenses. Now, I’m trying to make up for lost time and honor the loans I’m still paying, I trust that everything will work out to improve.”

After bringing his brother to Brazil, he got citizenship in the country and even visited his parents in Syria twice. “I’m thinking of staying in Brazil for good, it’s the country that welcomed me and where I rebuilt my life. Many people think of Europe, but I invested ten years here and now I’m reaping the rewards.”

June 20 was designated by the UN (United Nations) as Refugee Day. The purpose of the date is to remember the importance of including refugees in the communities where they found safety. “It’s the most effective way to support them in restarting their lives and allow them to contribute to the countries that host them”, says UNHCR, the arm of the United Nations that deals with the issue.

According to the report “Refuge in Numbers 2022”, by OBMigra (Observatory of International Migrations), most people who requested recognition of refugee status in Brazil in 2021 had Venezuelan nationality or had Venezuela as their country of habitual residence.

That year, there were 22,856 requests from the neighboring country (78.5%), followed by people of Angolan nationality (1,952), Haiti (794), Cuba (529) and China (345). Most of the requests came from men (53.7%, against 46.3% from women) and above all from people up to 40 years old.

Venezuelan Larry Alexander de la Rosa, 49, came to live in Brazil four years ago. “I had never thought about living here. I came here alone, leaving my wife and daughters there, the first time I had tried life in Peru and I still didn’t speak Portuguese.”

Graduated in advertising, he even worked in a bakery and also as a salesman in a perfume store in Brazil. Currently, he lives in the east zone of São Paulo, after managing to bring his wife and youngest daughter to the country. Without a job, de la Rosa takes an airport agent course, while her daughter prepares for the university entrance exam. “If she goes to a public university, we’re not going back.”

The 2015 and 2016 crisis —and its negative effects on the job market— and the closure of companies caused by the pandemic made it difficult for refugees to start over in Brazil.

Now, the job market is relatively stable, with the unemployment rate closing the quarter until April at 8.5%, according to the Continuous PNAD (National Household Sample Survey).

To try to lessen the effects of the latest crises, a partnership between UNHCR and the recruitment and selection company Vagas helps refugee people to prepare a curriculum on the platform.

According to the company, since last October, around 150 people, mainly from Venezuela and Afghanistan, have been through the program. Online and face-to-face versions were promoted in the cities of Boa Vista, Porto Alegre and São Paulo.

The construction company Tenda also maintains a program for welcoming and employing people in a situation of refuge, in partnership with AVSI Brasil (Voluntary Association for International Service).

According to the construction company, there are about 70 employees in this condition. “In addition to welcoming people and job openings, the company helps people culturally and socially, encouraging them to study and grow in their careers”, says the company, which plans to have 250 people welcomed among its employees by 2025.

In the period from 2011 to 2021, the main nationalities that had their refugee status recognized were Venezuelan (48,789), Syrian (3,682) and refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (1,078), according to the OBMigra report .

At the age of 42, Sibil (not his real name) says he had to leave Zimbabwe and is looking for a second chance. She says she lost count of how many acquaintances and neighbors disappeared for political reasons and, therefore, decided to leave the country. She has been in Brazil for about three years. “Fleeing by road to a neighboring country was very difficult in 2020, we heard stories of people being raped and then thrown into the river. Life was very hard.”

In the African country, she says she worked as a cook in hotel chains and intends to take a course in Brazilian cuisine, so she can return to work in the area. Meanwhile, she works as a day laborer and sells clothes on a sidewalk in Brás (central region of São Paulo).

She proudly displays two certificates, sewing and cashier, while looking for a steady job. “I’m still not fluent in Portuguese, but I can understand it well. I fell in love with Brazilian food, its abundance and its spices, I have a lot of hope for the future here.”