A group of 11 adult asylum seekers and refugees are beginning to study for their Leaving Certificate examination in English at the Vincentian refugee centre in Phibsboro, Dublin. Already, the 11 have passed the Junior Certificate, and understanding and speaking the language means a better life in Ireland for them.
Carlos is an asylum seeker from Angola who arrived in Ireland in June 1998. Before coming here, he worked two years as an electrician - having abandoned, after the first year, his third-level training programme in electrical installation in a polytechnic college.
He abandoned his studies, he says, because of the lingering gross human rights abuses all around him - the direct result of the war that has been going on there for a quarter century. Even though he speaks other languages, including French and a little German, his first language is Portuguese.
Carlos, who achieved a pass in the Junior Cert, explains: "I had very little English when I came. I couldn't understand people. Now it's okay. I can speak and understand English. It is an improvement and achievement for me. The language will help me do many things. It will help me make contact with anyone.
"It has already helped me get a flat. Before, it was very difficult for me to study because I shared a flat with a friend in the city centre. But when I rang a landlord last time, I told him I was doing the Junior Cert. And he could understand me - I got the flat."
Although he is preparing to sit for the ordinary-level Leaving Certificate in English next year, Carlos does not see a certificate as an end itself. "The certificate doesn't mean anything to me, though it can help me get a job. The important thing is is to understand and to perhaps make contact with people and speak fluently. Elsewhere, I will boast that it's something I got from Irish people." Carlos says he hopes to either complete a domestic electrical installation course which he began in Angola and work as an electrician, or to work as a linguist.
Another successful candidate who wants to work as a linguist is George Stefanescu, a Romanian who has been in Ireland since September 1996. He got a C in Junior Cert English and already holds the equivalent of the Leaving Cert from Romania. He is not happy with his Junior Cert result, though he accepts that he did not adequately prepare for it.
"I feel that I didn't learn enough to make a better result. The C mark I got does not reflect my ability. I should have got a B because I speak good English. However, I am not complaining. I want to improve my English more. I want to integrate into Irish society. I want to get my residency and live a decent life. "I want to work as an interpreter where I can use my language skills in Romanian, French, English - and I'm gradually developing spoken Gaelic."
Tamara, a Belarussian who has been living in Ireland since July 1997, is another successful student. She and her husband both achieved Bs.
"I am highly educated. I studied to teach languages - Russian, French and English - in the university. But I never worked as a teacher. I didn't speak or use English very well. I worked as a secretary to a general manager of a company in Belarus. Passing the Junior Cert means much to me. I am happy and excited!"
Doing the Leaving Cert next year, Tamara admits, "will help me because I will practise. It will keep me informed."
With her knowledge of the English language, Tamara says she aims to regain her lost profession, teaching. "I am already teaching English as a volunteer, twice a week, to beginners who are Russian speakers."
THE OVERALL best student, a Romanian woman who achieved an A, also holds a Leaving Cert from Romania, where she graduated from high school and worked as a dental technician. Simona Bordean says of her achievement: "It shows that I am able to tackle and manage tasks, even though I did not expect an A. I expected a B because I thought I made a few mistakes in spelling and expressions. "If I am allowed to stay in Ireland, I hope to work in the travel and tourism industry and live a comfortable life ". Sister Breege Keenan, the centre's English language co-ordinator, explains that classes for the Leaving Cert in English will be held two afternoons a week. The group will be taught by two volunteers, including Sister Madeline Griffin, a retired principal who groomed the foundation class for the last Junior Cert. The successful candidates - four women and seven men - include two Belarussians, two Angolans, two Nigerians and two Romanians. The remaining students come from Togo, Rwanda and Hungary.
"I am extremely proud of them, given that some of them were just new in the country and some also had their interviews for asylum around the same time. Three of them had been living in B&B accommodation where they shared rooms with four or five others," Keenan says.
Father Brian Moore, the administrator of the centre, says their performance "reflects the motivation, their readiness to work hard and the ability of both Africans and east Europeans to cope with another language and also to integrate into the Irish society. It gives a sense of personal achievement to the people concerned and also a challenge and incentive to other asylum-seekers and refugees to become proficient in the English language."
Sadly, however, the centre will not be presenting candidates for the next Junior Certificate examination in English. Keenan explains: "Some asylum seekers do not see the need. They think that it is all okay when they have some English that would enable them carry on with their daily lives. Others still believe that being a skilled worker has nothing to do with reading and writing."
