Made it despite obstacles - Vorarlberger Nachrichten

Asylum seekers from Afghanistan successfully run a tailoring shop.

Heidi.Rinke-Jarosch@vn.at

WOLFURT Zia Malikzai sits concentrated at the Pfaff sewing machine. A pair of jeans has to be five centimeters shorter. The needle rhythmically bores into the fabric.

Zia Malikzai is proud. He managed to set up his own alteration shop. And that despite the hurdles that the 32-year-old refugee from Afghanistan had to overcome. He is still an asylum seeker and therefore only has the so-called white residence permit card. This documents that their owner may stay in the country for the duration of his asylum procedure.

Zia Malikzai is from Jalalabad. There, as in the other cities in Afghanistan, attacks are carried out again and again. Primarily, suicide bombers blow themselves up, killing numerous people in the process. Malikzai left his wife and four children there.

His "Austrian family"

Malikzai's escape route led to Austria via Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary. He arrived in Burgenland on July 16, 2015 and was taken to the Traiskirchen initial reception center. Three months later he ended up in Vorarlberg with the help of Caritas. On that day his youngest child, a daughter, was born. He has never touched her. He only knows her via WhatsApp. “I also have a family here,” says Malikzai. He calls them his "Austrian family": "They take great care of me. I am grateful for that.”

As part of his asylum procedure, he has had four hearings so far. The first, at the BFA (Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum) in Rankweil, ended with a negative decision. The notifications from the others that took place in Vienna are still pending. It is therefore still open whether Malikzai can stay. The fear of being deported is breathing down his neck. "I won't survive in Afghanistan." He is convinced of that.

Finally independent

After three years of Caritas care, Malikzai no longer wanted to be dependent on basic services, i.e. state support. He wanted to work, to support himself.

However, he did not get a job as an asylum seeker. "I thought about what I could do." Malikzai completed a tailor's course in Jalalabad. "So I said to my Austrian mother that I wanted to open a tailor's shop. She said that's a good idea.” At Caritas, where he got information, they said he had to go to the district authority in Bregenz. There he received the relevant documents, filled them out and handed them in. No Answer. "Two months later I tried again," says Malikzai. The same procedure followed. He filled out the documents, handed them in, waited for an answer. It didn't come. Only with the support of local friends did Zia get official approval.

The next hurdle was finding a place to shop. The most difficult thing for him was gaining the trust of the landlord. "Anyone who saw my white card said no." At some point he was ready to give up. "But then I decided to keep looking."

After three months he moved into Kellhofstrasse 5 in Wolfurt. He bought industrial sewing machines, an acquaintance provided him with an overlock machine, and he stocked up on materials and accessories that he obtained from Bestoff Textiles in Lauterach, Sperger Stoffen in Lustenau and Baschnegger Stoffen in Bregenz.

A lot to do

On November 20, 2018, Zia Malikzai opened his alteration shop. He has a lot to do. He starts working between 7am and 8am in the morning and finishes around 7pm in the evening. "I have a lot to do. I can make a living from it,” says Malikzai with satisfaction. He also benefits from the fact that repairing clothing is back in fashion. A customer has just picked up her belongings: a jacket that needed a new zipper and a pair of trousers whose hem needed repairing.

Around 40 items of clothing are hanging on the stands. More than half of them still need to be repaired. Zia Malikzai gets back to the sewing machine and gets to work.