The adventures of Back2Work, four high at the back.
In the attic of a walk-in centre, Back2Work supports stranded EU citizens, the (economically) homeless and Ukrainian refugees in their search for work. What do team members Shirley Turner and Arno Kooij go through there? Shirley tells you herself, "It makes us do this work with a smile."
Ygor
Shirley: "For us, we have Ygor. He was referred to us from social work. What strikes us immediately is that Ygor looks remarkably like Captain Barbossa from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Silent, downright surly and distrustful, he sits looking at us. On his resume I see that he has quite a bit of prior education. In Holland, however, he did mostly physical work. 'So,' I begin in good spirits, 'you're looking for a job?' 'Yes,' Ygor says. A silence falls. 'You have experience in cleaning and warehouse work, would you like to do that again?' 'No,' Ygor replies. His gaze looks menacing and again there is silence. I look questioningly at Arno who takes my turn without hesitation. Arno clears his throat: 'Uhm Ygor, I see that you have also worked as a gardener, can you tell a little more about that?' Ygor: 'I have worked with plants.' And again that icy silence. Fifteen minutes have passed, but we are none the wiser and make another attempt to get Ygor to talk: 'If you could choose any job, which one would it be?' Suddenly Ygor's interest seems piqued. He squints his eyes, shifts to the edge of his seat and says in a growling, ominous voice, "I... I would very much like to work...with people...who are dead. So should you see a Captain Barbossa look-a-like at work in an Amsterdam cemetery, it's probably Ygor. Back2Work helped him get a job as a gravedigger."
Yurii
Shirley: "Yurii steps up: 'Hi, my name is Yurii and ...uhm, I want a job with ...uhm, green.' 'Green? Oh, with plants?", Arno and I ask. We add fanatical hoeing motions. Yurii's response is equally enthusiastic: 'Yes! I am a very good gardener. In my country I have ...uh, how do you say ...lol experience in working with plants. I water them every day, take out the bad leaves. So ... I want to ask if, uh ... you can find a job for me in working with plants to smoke.' And he pretends to smoke a cigarette. 'Sorry, what?", Arno and I say in chorus, wondering if he's asking for a job as a weed grower. 'Yes, I thought: in the Netherlands that's legal, right? Working with plants to smoke?', Yurii suggests. I ask if he means working on a cannabis farm. 'Yes, yes, yes!', Yurii exclaims elatedly, now that he realizes that we understand him, to which we again shout, 'no, no, no!', indicating that we cannot help him get such jobs. "Why not?", Yurii asks disappointed. I tell him that we only have legal jobs and that this is not a legal job. Although Yurii looks as if he is being lied to glaringly, I continue, 'But we do have work at a nice legal indoor farm where they grow herbs: oregano, basil, parsley, chives ...' Even as he is still listing, Yurii gets up and walks away. Offended, he mutters, 'Oregano? No thank you ...'"
Mr. Z
Shirley: "Mr. Z was already in his eighties when he was registered with Back2Work. 'He is getting on in age, but still really fit,' they said at the shelter. During the intake interview Mr. Z turned out to be very witty, with phrases like 'How are you? and 'Can I have a coffee? His black leather jacket and almost entirely gold teeth give him a striking appearance. Like nearly three hundred other Ukrainian refugees, Mr. Z went to work at the flower auction in Aalsmeer via Back2Work. When we go there on a work visit, we are impressed to see our Ukrainian clients on Segways crisscrossing each other with barrels of flowers. As we chat with the foreman, Mr. Z rides up to us, "Hey Arno and Shirley! He turns and calls out to the others, 'Podyvitʹsya! Arno i Shirley! Everyone waves, smiles or nods at us. When I ask him how the work is going, he takes my hand, gives it a wet kiss and says, 'Good, is very good job, thank you!' Just before he turns around to go back to work, he raises his fist in the air and shouts, 'Arno i Shirley president!'"
.Mr. Z also has an excellent nose for Aardige Amsterdammers.
Text: Shirley Turner and Jola Gosen | Photography: privately owned Shirley
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