INDUSTRY NEWS
Meet one of our newest Australians
Aroona Farms worker Abdul Alemi became an Australian citizen on January 25 .
JANUARY 25 was a special day for Robinvale ’ s Abdul Alemi . The 43-year-old , who works for Aroona Farms in irrigation and operates machinery doing harvest became an Australian citizen . “ Australia is the best country in the world ," Mr Alemi said . " It is very safe . There ’ s lots of jobs everywhere ." The Hazara man , who grew up in a village in central Afghanistan , escaped the Taliban . During the night , dressed as a woman , Mr Alemi walked from his village to the highway and was able to stop a car that took him to the Pakistan border . “ I was scared the Taliban were following me ,” he said . He moved to Pakistan where he was able to rent a house and work . But in 2004 terrorists came and he needed a military escort to leave home and go to work . Mr Alemi didn ’ t have a passport , so he paid people smugglers to get from Pakistan to Australia . His journey cost more than $ 12,500 , and involved multiple people smugglers , a plane flight , row boat , bus , jetski and a large boat . The Australian navy intercepted the boat Mr Alemi was a passenger on and escorted it to Christmas Island . “ I really enjoyed it there – it was the first time I felt safe ,” Mr Alemi said .
After seven months in immigration detention , both on Christmas Island and at Darwin , Mr Alemi was given a bridging visa . He moved to Adelaide where a friend ' s uncle lived and was supported by a case manager from the Red Cross . After Mr Alemi obtained a permanent resident visa he worked in Shepparton and Bordertown before settling down in Robinvale . Some of the work Mr Alemi was offered was cash in hand , but he was eager to sponsor his family and needed to pay taxes . “ The Australian Government saved my life , supported me . Now is the time I support others . I got money from Centrelink , from the Red Cross so I need to pay it back ,” he said . Mr Alemi ’ s wife , two daughters and a son arrived in Australia four years ago . A third daughter was born in Australia . Aroona Farms operations manager Luke Benham said Mr Alemi is a valuable team member who is reliable , gets along with everyone and is always having a laugh . “ He helps out with tarping the bunkers and is always the first one at the top of the stockpile ,” he said .
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