The program matches refugees with training to get them settled and fill a need for skilled workers
by Gundula Miethke and Arnold R. Grahl
Eid fled war-torn Afghanistan at age 14, leaving his family and his small motorcycle repair shop behind. He sold the shop and gave most of the money to his parents and siblings before leaving on an eight-and-a-half-month journey to Switzerland.
Like many refugees, Eid — identified here by his first name only, for his safety — took a path that was complicated and at times harrowing. He stayed in Iran for two months, working as a bricklayer, but discovered that his situation there was no safer or better than in Afghanistan. In Turkey, he found passage to Greece on a rubber transport ship with about 60 other refugees. But when they were halfway across the sea, the engine failed — and the boat’s pilot didn’t know how to fix it.
“Thanks to my knowledge as a motorcycle mechanic, I was able to get the engine going again,” Eid says matter-of-factly, omitting the detail that he likely saved the lives of all the passengers.
After brief stays in Greece, the Balkans, and Germany, he reached Switzerland in December 2015 and found shelter with various relief organizations. In one of them he got involved with ROBIJ, a program run by Swiss Rotary clubs that connects young refugees with job opportunities. Three career exploration days and 70 job applications later, he is in his second year as an apprentice network engineer.
