To start with, I'd like to understand a little better who you are, where you're from if you can introduce yourself in a few words.
Myname is Feven, I'm of Eritrean origin, I'm 25 years old and I've been in Switzerland for eight years now. I grew up in Eritrea and came to Geneva to join my parents who were here before me. My father came first, then my mother with my little brother, and finally my sister and me.
Could you tell me a little more about yourself?
My father came to Switzerland at the end of 2011 as a political refugee, like most Eritreans. He was able to reunite his family when he got his permit. My mother fought in the war thirty years ago, which made it easier for her and our younger brother to leave the country. My sister and I were refused passports. We had to find another solution. You can't just get on a plane and leave when you're young, you have to stay for military service.
What was your departure like?
I'd like to make it clear that my immigration is therefore very different from some people since my parents were already there. What my sister and I had to do was manage to get out of the country. The aim was to get to Sudan and catch a plane to Switzerland. The journey was supposed to take three days by car, but in the end it took us three weeks. We had all the problems you can have with a smuggler, all they care about is the money. And until they get what they want, everything is blocked.
What kind of problems?
We walked a lot and they tried to sell us for example, so we had to pay even more. I try not to put too much importance on these events, because there are many migrant people who encounter more complicated problems along the way.
Thank you for sharing your journey. I'd be very interested in discussing your educational background now, to understand where you are today.
So, I finished middle school in Eritrea. When I arrived in Khartoum in September, that's when I should have entered university. When I arrived in Geneva in December, school had already started, so I had to wait until the end of February before I could join a reception class. In the meantime, I attended free French classes at La Roseraie three times a week. I've always been a student, so it was impossible for me to do nothing. So I spent a year and a half in a reception class, then started secondary school, which gave me the opportunity to continue what I wanted to do in Eritrea.
And what were you doing in Eritrea?
In Eritrea, I was studying science. I wanted to do psychology or computer science. In fact, I applied to the computer school in Geneva, but I wasn't accepted because of the language barrier. So I went to the Collège and stayed there for a year. It was a difficult year, I had to learn a second language, Italian as well as French, it was really complicated. I had a lot of trouble with essays and literature. For everything else, I had the level. With the complexity of college, I had to make a choice, and it seemed obvious to me that I had to forget my dreams of psychology for a while. I needed to do some training that could lead me to employment. I looked at the possibilities and went to business school where, after three or four years, I could work. So I did the CFC at business school, then the Maturité. Today, I'm studying International Business Management at the Haute École de Commerce while working in accounting. And how did you cope with this change?
It was hard at first. I couldn't help feeling behind my friends who were at university in Eritrea. I was twenty-one and my classmates were sixteen or seventeen. I got on well with them, and they understood my background, but there was this gap that was present. For example, all I wanted to do was go to school, come home, study and sleep. I did, however, meet a friend who I still see today. Over time, this feeling calmed down, and I told myself that we all had different paths and that mine was like that. If my friends from Geneva had ended up in Eritrea, they would have gone through the same thing I did. Today, this choice allows me to work and I don't regret it.
"I have a passion for helping people. That is why I volunteered with the Association of Intercultural Mediators (AMIC) or even during COVID with the association Colis du Cœur."
In fact, I understand that it was Yojoa who helped you find your current job. How did the two of you meet?
Yes, that's right, I found my job through Yojoa. I met Emmanuelle and Amanda when I was in my second year of business school, through the AMIC association, which had a partnership with them and for which I was volunteering. At the time, I was looking for internships to complete my training, during which it was strongly recommended that we do some. It was difficult for me; I didn't have much of a network. Emmanuelle and Amanda enabled me to do two internships: one at BNP Paribas and the other at the Trafigura Foundation. After graduating, I was looking for a job and Emmanuelle contacted me to check up on me. So, in September 2021, I started high school at 50% to be able to combine school and work. In November, she offered me an interview at Civitas Maxima, and I've been working there in administration and accounting ever since. How is the work going?
I'm very happy and fulfilled. Everything's going well: I talk to everyone, I work with a group of lawyers in a small NGO so they're very open and the atmosphere is family-like. Everything has gone smoothly from the start. The director is an incredible person and the majority of us are women. They understand that I'm studying and I can arrange my schedule around exams and revision time, for example. I make up my hours afterwards. It's perfect for me.
"When I was looking for a job, I saw advertisements that said "French-speaking", "native French speaker" or even "European profile". You know you can do the job, but you don't fit the profile."
Generally speaking, how do you feel about your integration in Geneva?
I feel integrated, having spent a third of my life here. I've built up my network little by little through different activities like hiking. But it's true that it's not easy to make friends in Switzerland, you really have to dig deep, as groups of friends don't mix very much. Most of my current friends are people who came to Switzerland as adults, from very different backgrounds. Looking back over your entire career, what have been your most difficult moments? Have you come up against any barriers or prejudices?
I haven't experienced much prejudice, but I'm a very open person and I don't like to take things to heart. I'm well aware that there are differences and that I don't look like most of the people who live here. There are glances from time to time, but I don't take them into account. The most difficult thing in terms of barriers, and I've talked about this before, is the network. It's difficult when you haven't lived in one place forever; you know fewer people and everything takes longer. The other barrier, I'd say, is knowledge of the school system. For example, I wouldn't have gone to college if I'd known, and I wouldn't have wasted a year. Well, now I'm living it well and that's life, everything changes all the time. I never imagined myself living in Switzerland, for example. Today, I really enjoy my job and I'm studying. I can say I'm fulfilled.Thank you for sharing. Finally, I have one more question: what are your future aspirations?
I'm still working on it, and it's hard to project myself with the years of study I still have ahead of me. To tell the truth, psychology is still in the back of my mind. So, of course, I'll never make a career of it, but I'm thinking of doing a little training on the side or taking a path that's closer to people. For example, in HR, contact with people is very important, as is management, which I'm currently studying. But it's all music to the ears of the future, so we'll see. Fortunately, there's nothing to stop me reading books on psychology!
