Non parlo inglese…but I know I can work
Michele* and Marcella* recently arrived to the hostel I manage in northern London. Michele would like to work as a home carer, Marcella as a nursery assistant. They are relatively young, seemingly healthy with some previous working experience but they don’t speak English to a basic level and didn’t finish their secondary education. That shouldn’t be a problem in London; after all, this city prides itself in being multicultural and full of opportunity…init?
Well, when Michele arrived I tried helping him respond to several job ads looking for home careers, in most cases, things seemed to go quite well until the language barrier was slammed at Michele’s face over and over again by every recruiter and employer. Thanks to her local contacts, Marcella had been lucky enough to get to some job interviews with every potential employer promising her a call back that never comes. Once back from her interview Marcella would usually recall being able to understand only half of what her interviewer would say and struggling to utter a half way intelligible answer. The language barrier strikes back.
How many Michele and Marcellas are arriving on a daily bases from crisis stricken European countries or the deindustrialised British north? With a high youth unemployment problem of its own, what can London do to prevent these young legal migrants to join the ranks of the frustrated, undereducated, unemployed and sometimes homeless that fuelled the summer 2011 riots? There seems to be no clear answers.
A sensible answer could come from grassroots initiatives. For example the hostel project I manage has been serving as a first point of contact to help EU migrants such as Michele and Marcella to find their way in London without falling into the trap of assistentialism. This is done by making them bear some responsibility by paying a symbolic below market price temporary lodging fee and making it clear they will be sharing accommodation with others and to think of an alternative plan before setting foot in London in case of not finding work and before running out of money to go back home. Lodgers help each other find work exchanging tips and contacts that could lead to a job. We also provide some guidance towards language courses for those needing them, but this is as much as we can practically do.
But much more needs to be done to provide services that could help reduce the negative impacts of non- integration of legal immigrants into the local communities by means of local support networks which could prevent them from geting into a worsening poverty spiral. In the meantime Michele has moved and found a part-time weekend job washing cars but he can barely make ends meet, probably he might end up sleeping in a park holding tight to his dream of a life changing experience in London or moving back to his picturesque alpine town. Marcella in the other hand is losing hope and returning to Italy would be heart breaking not just for her but to her parents. What can we do in order to prevent poverty among these young migrants? Creativity and compassion could help a bit.
Carlos Solis-Tejada, holds an MSc in Urbanisation & Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is currently the Administrator of the My Home Project in London.
*Names have been changed in order to protect privacy
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