Australian authorities have been pressurizing refugees from Burma, who have recently arrived in the country, to look for jobs, while they are engaged in fulltime academic activities. They are also facing trouble on the issue of accessing Burmese interpreters, while meeting Australian government agency Centrelink and Job Network.

Signing of documents is another issue for refugees, when they do not have access to interpreters. They had problems understanding the information on the papers, Burmese refugees in Sydney said.

Refugees, who have spent more than ten years in isolated refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border have been driven to behave like skilled migrants and other ordinary Australian citizens, even though their English does not meet the basic level, Mr Than Naing, Chairman of the Burmese Community Welfare Group (BCWG) said.

Than Aung is one of the refugees, who have arrived in Australia recently, and have been forced to join the Job Network, since he arrived in the country. He joined the Adult English Migrant Program (AEMP), 510 hours English classes program, after one week of his arrival in Coffs Harbour.

He was pressurized to look for a job while he was still studying fulltime. "I felt a great deal of stress, because I had to fill up five to ten forms and show them to both the Centrelink and the Job Network, while studying in a full-time English class.

"Sometimes I could not finish my homework," he said in Burmese.

Than Aung also said that he was told to sign the agreement even though he did not know what was written on the papers. "They always forced me to do this, when I refused or asked whether I could ask someone to explain it to me, they threatened me that they would report to the Centrelink authority, and cut my allowance," he added.

Another problem that Than Aung faced took place last year, when he was working at the Alpha Plastic Company in Riverstone. Job Network advised him to work there. He stopped working after he realized he was not being paid. He said he had complained about this to the Job Network but they told him that they could not do anything about it.

After one month, Than Aung was advised by his friend to make a complaint with the Workplace Ombudsman. "I called Mr Mohammad Grawi, the company's director and told him if he did not pay my dues I would complain to the Workplace Ombudsman. Then he transferred the money to my bank account," he said.

May Myat Mon, who arrived in Australia this year, has faced the same problem as Than Aung. She was pressurized to find a job before her AEMP 510 hours classes were completed. "I have no idea how the Australian system works and how I am supposed to look for a job," she said. "I signed all the forms and documents that I was given. Whenever I asked for a Burmese interpreter, I was told there was no interpreter available," she said.

Mon wants to rely on herself, but with her poor English and due to the lack of local knowledge and experience chance of her getting a job becomes remote. "I want to study English and take up some professional courses at TAFE, so that I would have a guarantee for my future life in Australia," she said.

The pressure on these refugees by the Australian authorities is likely to affect both the refugees as well as the reputation of the Australian employment agencies, according to Mr Than Naing, Chairperson of the Burmese Community Welfare Group (BCWG).

Burmese refugees, who have recently arrived, are not ready for Australian employers. They do not meet the employers' demands because they are unskilled and unfamiliar with the Australian systems and they do not have local experience, besides their poor language skill, feel Australian authorities.

Refugees often go into depression after they arrive in Australia. These Burmese refugees had been mentally and physically tortured in their native country by the ruling military junta. They suffer from a phobia of questioning the authorities, since they were repressed in their own country and not allowed to ask questions. Most of them have been in refugee camps for more than ten years on the Thai-Burma border.

"Now they are in Australia, and their lives suddenly change. They are in a country that is totally different from Burma and the life in a refugee camp. The question I want to ask the Australian government is that will these refugees be able to learn the system and lifestyle in Australia within a short period of time? Will they be able to survive like ordinary Australian citizens or like skilled migrants if the Australian government does not provide enough English classes and vocational training?" Mr Naing said.

Even skilled refugee couples likes Rosy Tun Kyint and Lagay Donnas, who had nursing experience in Mae La refugee camp for more than ten years, still do not meet the Australian Nursing Standards and they would need to study the Nursing Degree again.

Rosy was a nurse with 12 years experience, while Lagay had worked as an assistant to a doctor in Mae La Clinic. Both of them want to get a nursing job in Sydney, but they are not qualified enough, unless they speak fluent English and pass a nursing examination in Australia.

However, according to Rosy, she does not face any pressure. Every two weeks both she and her husband have to go to the Job Network.

Some refugees like Thant Zin, who cannot speak, read and write English, are keen to take on any job. "I asked the Job Network to give me any job. I am ready to take up any job, but they told me to look for a job on the Internet. I do not know how to use the computer to look for a job, because I cannot read English," he said.

A Burmese refugee woman, who arrived, more than a month ago, received a letter from the Job Network. The letter informed her that her Adult Multicultural Education Services (AMES) 510 hours classes had finished. "I showed the letter to my AMES's teacher because I was not sure about it, but she told me that the 510 classes would finish in December. When my teacher saw the letter she was angry and called the Job Network about it. Finally I got my class hours back," Ma Thin Thin Khaing said in the Burmese language.

"The Australian government needs to do long term investment for the refugees to improve their English and occupational skills to meet the Australian standards. If refugees are continuing to face this kind of pressure, they will end up facing another trauma again in Australia. It is like pushing someone who cannot drive a car to drive a car but he or she does not even know how to start the car," said Mr Than Naing.

Mr Naing says Centrelink needs to provide special staff, who knows about the background of the refugees to handle them. "Centrelink should not consider refugees like other normal clients like skilled migrants and other ordinary job seekers. Even among the refugees there are many categories, depending on their countries and their educational background," he added.