Blog: Yana and Aweis
"Living in the Netherlands means... A safe home and the chance to develop yourself"
This time we are highlighting the story of Yana and Aweis. Their stories are part of the campaign 'Working Together for Tomorrow'. More information about this campaign can be found at www.terneuzen.nl/samenwerkenaanmorgen.
Yana and Aweis work for a Zeeland family business. Due to circumstances, they left their countries of origin. Aweis fled from an unsafe environment, Yana found love in the Netherlands. Both built a better and safer life in the Netherlands. It took a lot of getting used to, but by now they feel completely at home.
Working Together for Tomorrow
Aweis works as an all-round production worker at a Reinforcing Steel Plant. He fled from Somalia to the Netherlands 15 years ago. From a small apartment, he started building his new life, which allowed his wife and children to join him after five years. Yana works as an administrative assistant. Pregnant with her son, she moved from Ukraine to the Netherlands six years ago to move in with her boyfriend, who was already living in the Netherlands. Both employees are very grateful for the opportunities they have received. Aweis because he can develop himself and support his large family, with a bright future ahead. Yana because, despite her good education in Ukraine, she did not get the chance to work at her level. The language turned out to be too great a barrier.
A warm welcome
If you move from the capital Mogadishu to Terneuzen or from a big city in Ukraine to Kloosterzande, you can imagine it takes some getting used to. To a new country, new culture, new language, and to life in a small town or village. Still, Yana and Aweis managed well. “The cultural difference is very big, but people here are very helpful. In Somalia, your problem is your own, it's every man for himself. Which might also fit such an unsafe environment, but here people help each other and there is much more cooperation. That involvement has contributed to where I am now. I feel safe here,” says Aweis. Yana also describes the Dutch as open, friendly, and helpful and has built something beautiful here. Although her family, due to her father's military service, still mostly lives in Ukraine, her job and family bring her satisfaction. “I live with my family in a nice house and do lots of activities. I love going to fitness, dancing, and yoga. My son does tennis, swimming lessons, and judo. We are a sporty family,” says Yana.
Summer party
Yana and Aweis have made many nice contacts in the neighborhood, through sports clubs and the children. They also make new contacts at work. On the work floor, but also, for example, during the summer party that is organized in the summer. Both Yana and Aweis, together with seven other colleagues, cooked dishes from their home countries. This was a great opportunity for colleagues to get to know another (food) culture. Yana and Aweis had never experienced such a festivity from work before, and it says something about Dutch culture!
