For months now newly arrived George Kalogiannis from Greece has been looking for a job in Melbourne without success. His main obstacle is language as he knows very little English.
He arrived in Australia 14 months ago with his wife Eleni Tsilfoglou and their two children for a fresh start, hoping for a better future. Being jobless in Greece for the last five years had made life very difficult for the family.
“We lived in a village in Larissa. My husband was fired without warning and for five years he remained unemployed,” MsTsilfoglou told Neos Kosmos.
“There was very little work in the villages and he didn’t have any luck.”
“We had reached starving point in Greece. We had help from very few people. Then we learned who our friends were. You see these things during difficult times,” Ms Tsilfoglou said, stating she had done her best to find a job for her husband.
“George has done a lot of work in Greece. Most of the years he worked as a security guard. However he had also done steel work, making shutters and making fences. He was a truck driver and even a stockbreeder. His hands can do anything, he is not afraid to do any work,” Ms Tsilfoglou said.
Eleni Tsilfoglou was born in Australia and already had her citizenship so that the family could come here.
“My brothers and my brother-in-law who live here have helped us. They booked our tickets to come and helped us settle down.”
READ MORE: Visa deadline mistakes cause angst to Greek skilled worker in Australia
She feels very lucky to have found a job relatively quickly through her sister and is very happy with her employers. The issue however is that with only one salary it is very difficult to make ends meet.
“With one salary we pay rent, bills, we cover the needs of the children. What do we pay for first? We’re trying to save money to get a used car and we haven’t managed to yet. We just want him to be able to get around. Even for the cleaner’s job he found the company couldn’t hire him because he didn’t have a car.”
Mr Kalogiannis often goes to Oakleigh looking for work in cafes and restaurants that have expatriates but has found no luck.
READ MORE: Merimna’s Everyday Essentials for Families in Need campaign continues helping Greeks in need
There has been a little good news however as he became a permanent resident of Australia.
“It came just at the right time,” his wife said. She believes he will now have more opportunities.
“He has the right to enter the English language curriculum and intends to start classes immediately.
My only anxiety now is to find a job. If my husband has a daily job things would be fine, we would be able to make ends meet and he would also find his way.”