At first glance Shakib (known to his friends and workmates as Shak) seems an average, Australian, young male with his Billabong watch and Bonds shirt. But he’s far from it. He grew up under one of the hardest regimes in the world. “In Afghanistan as long as I can remember there’s been fighting. They don’t want the youngest generation to have a peaceful life. It can be terrifying.”
He sits down and attempts to brush the dried mixture of flour and water off his jeans. He hasn’t noticed it’s also in his hair, that, or he’s just too tired to care.
“Oh man” he exhales, “It feels good to sit.”
After a long day working in a chicken shop it’s hard to imagine Shak as a military bred man but the longer you spend with him the lines on his face become more apparent.
“You have to work very hard here. You don’t let the tiredness smash you down.” He chuckles. “I’m still not used to the physical work”.
Growing up in one of the most dangerous countries in the world, Shakib was lucky enough to receive an education. It was here he first showed an interest in learning English.
“I first stared studying English in grade nine. For one year. It wasn’t compulsory but I studied English privately as well. I wanted to improve in my life, I don’t want to learn things that are just in my language. I want to have a wider study of everything that comes to me.”
After leaving school he was offered a one year contract for marketing with BRAC Bank, a leading bank in Bangladesh. However, it was after that contract finished that Shakib was given the opportunity to start his career in linguistic translation. Working as an English news editor and reporter for The Afghanistan Times Daily he started translating his native Afghani into English.
“English isn’t my first language. It’s not even my second. In Afghanistan we have two national languages, Pashto and Dari. A lot of people can’t even speak both. It can be very hard,” he says.
Although the job sounds impressive, the pay and the distance it took to commute almost made the work pointless.
“I had to drive an hour from my house every day to the office. The petrol and the fuel is so expensive there so the pay I used to get went straight back into my car.”
As a car fanatic the idea of a higher wage is an exciting temptation. After six months he decided to apply to the United States army to become an official translator. It took more than nine months after sitting The Defense Language Proficiency Test for Shakib to be called into service.
“When I first started I thought, Yeah, I can speak English; but it was very hard for me to understand them. The first two months I thought, are they speaking English or something else?” he laughs. “When I finally got the job at the US army it had really good pay in my country so I bought a really nice car. That was the good time that I met my wife,” he beamed.
After meeting Amena Noorie at a family wedding in 2008, the two became a couple. Even though she was born and lived in Australia that didn’t prevent the relationship from continuing.
“We spent most of our free time together when I went over to visit, going out to restaurants and that. He was nice enough to drive me and my family around while we were there,” Amena laughs. “That’s hard enough for people in our family let alone Shak.”
It took two and a half years for Shakib’s Visa application to be processed after a series of meetings and in depth interviews. Believed to be due to his involvement in the army.
After working on an American base just outside Kabul for almost four years, his team was instructed to pull out. He then continued to work as a civilian trainer for the Afghani National Army in the Helmand Province for three months. The province is base for many NATO forces including the British Camp Bastion and the US Camp Leatherneck.
“The flight takes two hours and is really quite dangerous. I was so happy when immigration called and said I was good to go to Australia,” He stated. “They asked me many times if I wanted to go to America with a special application visa because after my team leaves I would be in danger as well as my family. But I had already applied for Australia and my Amena was there.”
Shakib now works in Figtree at Kings Chargrilled Chicken that is owned by Amena’s older brother.
“It’s different here. You have to work very hard. It’s very expensive; you have to work hard to pay the bills and to support your family.”
In a family with three brothers and one sister, being the oldest in Afghani culture is a big responsibility. Taking care, both financially and emotionally, of younger siblings is expected. Even while in Australia.
“As an oldest son you need to support your family. All my brothers are at studying at universities now and I am happy that I can do that for them. I still call them every week,” he continues. “I was hoping that someday I would become a doctor or an engineer, someone important, but I couldn’t.”
Now, after being in Australia for a year and two months Shakib hopes to study a Bachelor of Journalism at Wollongong University.
“I would like to go to university but first I have to learn good English,” he laughs. “I find it funny when Australian’s say, 'How are you going mate?' I think, I’m not going anywhere! I got so used to Americans and you speak very differently. There’s a lot of things I need to get used to but I’m getting better.”
With the support of his wife and new family, Shak continues to explore his new found opportunities in what he calls, “the best place in the world”.
“That’s one great thing about Australia. Everything you want to have is here. All you have to do is work hard and show commitment and confidence and believe in your decision to go for it.”
