Fell out the back of a truck

[silverbullet]

This working life – ‘They wanted me to join the Taliban, but my mum decided I needed to leave Afghanistan’
Ahmad Shinwari talks to Mark McCarthy about becoming a refugee, settling in Ireland and the ups and downs of working as a taxi driver in Dublin

Behind the wheel: Ahmad Shinwari has been driving a taxi in Dublin since January 2020. Photo: Gerry Mooney

July 01 2021 02:30 AM

I got my refugee status in June 2016 and worked in a pizza shop in Waterford city. It was a nice place to work.

Driver’s licence
I liked living there, it was so relaxed and quiet. After I came to Ireland from Afghanistan, for three years I had no papers so I could not work and I prefer to work.

When I got my refugee status I applied for my driver’s licence. I felt it would be hard to pass the theory test but I passed it first time in 2016.

This made me feel confident I could drive. The driving instructor was a very good man. After 12 lessons I could do it.

In 2018 I bought a little car and thought I could do a takeaway job. The third time I did the driving test I passed.

There were many people in Waterford and Dublin I knew and someone advised me to go to Dublin to do a taxi course.

I met an Afghan taxi driver and asked how he had passed. He told me about a man who taught the Dublin map on a one-month course.

I registered and the course was six days a week; it was in a classroom where we were shown all the Dublin maps and then we drove around.


               

×
I was confused sometimes and I failed the first test but only by a few percentage points. You need 85pc to pass and I got 80pc so I knew I could do it. The second time I passed and applied for my taxi licence.

It’s not a bad job. I like it. If you don’t feel good you go home and relax. If I am tired I can take a break. Nobody is going to push me.



Since the pandemic, people usually book online and I take street passengers too. I listen to 98fm all the time. Customers usually want to chat and I am happy with that. Normally I have very good customers, but sometimes there can be trouble.


Swings and roundabouts
I started driving my taxi in January 2020 and the first two months were very good. I was meeting different people. When Covid happened I was home for six months and then I decided I couldn’t stay at home, I must work. It was very quiet and relaxing during Covid time, but it is starting to get busy again.

I start work on the weekends at 5pm. I go home for a two-hour break and I go back at 10pm and work until 12.30am or sometimes 2am if it’s busy. I work Friday, Saturday and Sunday and some weekdays in the daytime.

Sometimes it is dangerous as people are drunk and you never know what they will do. One time someone attacked me to take my money. They cracked my windshield but the gardaí caught him.

The second time there were five people in my car, it was a seven seater and when I tried to open the back door, one of the fellas jumped into my seat and reversed and crashed into two more cars behind.

I was so upset and so sad for that. I asked him ‘please, don’t drive the car’. He was a young lad just messing. One day in December 2020 I had a job to take someone to Stoneybatter and I don’t know why but he suddenly got so angry with me and asked me to stop the car. He tried to fight me and to open my door, but I drove away. It is a good job but sometimes you get bad people. Everywhere in the world you have good and bad people.

Escape route
I was 16 when I left Afghanistan. My father was in a group that was part of the Taliban. He was a scholar of Islam and he took my brother to join. He was killed in 2013 and my dad was asked to take me to join instead but when I saw the guns I explained to my mum how dangerous it was. My mum and uncles decided I needed to leave Afghanistan and talked with the agent to take me to the safest place.

I came down through Iran with the agent and travelled to the Turkish border where we had to wait for 20 days. There were 10 or 15 of us. When we got inside Bulgaria they told us to keep walking straight back to the border. The police stopped us and took us to a camp.

I spent two months in a big camp in Sofia and we could only leave our rooms for one hour a day. We had food two times a day. There were five or six people in the room who were from Iran and Syria. Their language was Arabic but there was one fella who also spoke my language, Pashto, so he translated.

It was a prison, there were many police. I never thought I would get out, I felt this was my place forever but after two months I was sent to another camp. An agent then took us to Serbia, then Hungary and then the same story – you keep walking until the police catch you and take you to the camp.

One of the fellas there contacted an agent. I think the route we took was to Italy, then France and from there to England and then Ireland in a big truck. I was given bananas and water and told when the boat stopped to get out and ask someone for the refugee office. There was another fella with me and he knew what to do. The truck man was shouting at us but he told me we did not need to talk to him. We came to the city mosque and asked for help.

A new start
There was one family in Dublin who were from my village. When I got to France my mother told me about them.

I told the social officer I wanted to meet with them. A few days later they found the family and we met. I still visit them today.

When we got off the boat I went to Dublin and I stayed for two years. I was transferred to Galway but I preferred Waterford. I know many people now.

I went to school in Afghanistan but I’ve never been to college. It was difficult when I got here to understand the language, we had learned it in school but it was so different. I found it hard to deal with things like shopping. In 2014 and 2015 I took English classes in Dublin. I can’t write it well but I think I can talk OK.

Contrasting worlds
When I’m not working I like walking and I take our nine-month-old son Hamid out around our area in Milltown. I go to the shops to get special food, I do a lot of the cooking.

My wife is from Afghanistan. My family knows her family very well. Our culture is different. You do not date a girl, you decide to get married. I applied for her to come and she was granted her visa in January 2020. We have a totally different life here.

The good thing is that it is very peaceful and we are happy, but I got very bad news from Afghanistan.

My brother who came after me joined the Taliban. He was injured by a gun and died in May.

I now have one brother left. I applied for my family to come here. The Americans are going to leave soon and my mother is going mental, she is so worried about my brother who lives with her.

Future plans
My wife is a great cook and I am also a good cook. I’m watching YouTube videos to see how I can make the food from back home.

I would really love to have a business of my own.

I am not ready yet, but I plan to open a nice grocery shop or a restaurant or a takeaway to keep myself busy.

[silverbullet]

This working life – ‘They wanted me to join the Taliban, but my mum decided I needed to leave Afghanistan’
Ahmad Shinwari talks to Mark McCarthy about becoming a refugee, settling in Ireland and the ups and downs of working as a taxi driver in Dublin

Behind the wheel: Ahmad Shinwari has been driving a taxi in Dublin since January 2020. Photo: Gerry Mooney

July 01 2021 02:30 AM

I got my refugee status in June 2016 and worked in a pizza shop in Waterford city. It was a nice place to work.

Driver’s licence
I liked living there, it was so relaxed and quiet. After I came to Ireland from Afghanistan, for three years I had no papers so I could not work and I prefer to work.

When I got my refugee status I applied for my driver’s licence. I felt it would be hard to pass the theory test but I passed it first time in 2016.

This made me feel confident I could drive. The driving instructor was a very good man. After 12 lessons I could do it.

In 2018 I bought a little car and thought I could do a takeaway job. The third time I did the driving test I passed.

There were many people in Waterford and Dublin I knew and someone advised me to go to Dublin to do a taxi course.

I met an Afghan taxi driver and asked how he had passed. He told me about a man who taught the Dublin map on a one-month course.

I registered and the course was six days a week; it was in a classroom where we were shown all the Dublin maps and then we drove around.


               

×
I was confused sometimes and I failed the first test but only by a few percentage points. You need 85pc to pass and I got 80pc so I knew I could do it. The second time I passed and applied for my taxi licence.

It’s not a bad job. I like it. If you don’t feel good you go home and relax. If I am tired I can take a break. Nobody is going to push me.



Since the pandemic, people usually book online and I take street passengers too. I listen to 98fm all the time. Customers usually want to chat and I am happy with that. Normally I have very good customers, but sometimes there can be trouble.


Swings and roundabouts
I started driving my taxi in January 2020 and the first two months were very good. I was meeting different people. When Covid happened I was home for six months and then I decided I couldn’t stay at home, I must work. It was very quiet and relaxing during Covid time, but it is starting to get busy again.

I start work on the weekends at 5pm. I go home for a two-hour break and I go back at 10pm and work until 12.30am or sometimes 2am if it’s busy. I work Friday, Saturday and Sunday and some weekdays in the daytime.

Sometimes it is dangerous as people are drunk and you never know what they will do. One time someone attacked me to take my money. They cracked my windshield but the gardaí caught him.

The second time there were five people in my car, it was a seven seater and when I tried to open the back door, one of the fellas jumped into my seat and reversed and crashed into two more cars behind.

I was so upset and so sad for that. I asked him ‘please, don’t drive the car’. He was a young lad just messing. One day in December 2020 I had a job to take someone to Stoneybatter and I don’t know why but he suddenly got so angry with me and asked me to stop the car. He tried to fight me and to open my door, but I drove away. It is a good job but sometimes you get bad people. Everywhere in the world you have good and bad people.

Escape route
I was 16 when I left Afghanistan. My father was in a group that was part of the Taliban. He was a scholar of Islam and he took my brother to join. He was killed in 2013 and my dad was asked to take me to join instead but when I saw the guns I explained to my mum how dangerous it was. My mum and uncles decided I needed to leave Afghanistan and talked with the agent to take me to the safest place.

I came down through Iran with the agent and travelled to the Turkish border where we had to wait for 20 days. There were 10 or 15 of us. When we got inside Bulgaria they told us to keep walking straight back to the border. The police stopped us and took us to a camp.

I spent two months in a big camp in Sofia and we could only leave our rooms for one hour a day. We had food two times a day. There were five or six people in the room who were from Iran and Syria. Their language was Arabic but there was one fella who also spoke my language, Pashto, so he translated.

It was a prison, there were many police. I never thought I would get out, I felt this was my place forever but after two months I was sent to another camp. An agent then took us to Serbia, then Hungary and then the same story – you keep walking until the police catch you and take you to the camp.

One of the fellas there contacted an agent. I think the route we took was to Italy, then France and from there to England and then Ireland in a big truck. I was given bananas and water and told when the boat stopped to get out and ask someone for the refugee office. There was another fella with me and he knew what to do. The truck man was shouting at us but he told me we did not need to talk to him. We came to the city mosque and asked for help.

A new start
There was one family in Dublin who were from my village. When I got to France my mother told me about them.

I told the social officer I wanted to meet with them. A few days later they found the family and we met. I still visit them today.

When we got off the boat I went to Dublin and I stayed for two years. I was transferred to Galway but I preferred Waterford. I know many people now.

I went to school in Afghanistan but I’ve never been to college. It was difficult when I got here to understand the language, we had learned it in school but it was so different. I found it hard to deal with things like shopping. In 2014 and 2015 I took English classes in Dublin. I can’t write it well but I think I can talk OK.

Contrasting worlds
When I’m not working I like walking and I take our nine-month-old son Hamid out around our area in Milltown. I go to the shops to get special food, I do a lot of the cooking.

My wife is from Afghanistan. My family knows her family very well. Our culture is different. You do not date a girl, you decide to get married. I applied for her to come and she was granted her visa in January 2020. We have a totally different life here.

The good thing is that it is very peaceful and we are happy, but I got very bad news from Afghanistan.

My brother who came after me joined the Taliban. He was injured by a gun and died in May.

I now have one brother left. I applied for my family to come here. The Americans are going to leave soon and my mother is going mental, she is so worried about my brother who lives with her.

Future plans
My wife is a great cook and I am also a good cook. I’m watching YouTube videos to see how I can make the food from back home.

I would really love to have a business of my own.

I am not ready yet, but I plan to open a nice grocery shop or a restaurant or a takeaway to keep myself busy.

So life's not a bed of roses. He's forced to rent from rentier Collette Cullen.

[Dr. Martin Gooter Bling]

he has the spoofing down already.
very impressive.

[Octavia1]

he has the spoofing down already.
very impressive.

Wen he gets The 25 grand pup loan bill from the tax man heel be cryin to go home to the goats an poppy fields ....probably write a song about the homeland an join isis on Facebook....
Poor cnut 

[john m]

TRAINING COURSE RODENT ,exactly what I rang you about .

[john m]

Sit down with a nice cup of tea till I run this by you .If I was to set uo a certified training scheme lets say I would train you to get a SPSV licence so you could become a taxi driver .and I was to charge 2500 for the course .The certification would be you have a SPSV licence and if I was then to get you a taxi driving job I could get paid for that as well .I rang the Rodent to Discuss this .Let me explain .If lets say Lynk or My Taxi were to entice people to train to become taxi drivers and could get the Dole or Dep of Enterprise and employment to cover the training fee for eligible persons ie in receipt of a qualifying welfare payment they could be on a decent earner .How it works you get your course approved you then recruit suitable qualifying persons the Department will pay you 45% of the training fee up front and the other 45% when the student passes then the final 10% if that person actually gains employment .Ever wonder why they keep offering you a Training Course like Forklift driving or Haz Chem or safety pass its a huge business .There are people out there collect training certs like a Boy Scout collects badges .Look great on the shirt at the Jamboree but nobody rates them .This could explain why certain companies keep running adds for training courses for taxi drivers the Course is the actual product not producing drivers to employ .I wonder if any of the Reps have put in a FOI to find out if any company or individual is receiving state funding to train taxi drivers .

[Shallowhal]

There seems to be enough "foreigners" willing to pay for the course John,i'm sure any business setting up could be entitled to grants as are the participants if they're entitled to.

[john m]

There seems to be enough "foreigners" willing to pay for the course John,i'm sure any business setting up could be entitled to grants as are the participants if they're entitled to.

Who said they are paying .They might qualify for state funding .Im sure the Reps have been all over this and have put in a Freedom of Information request to see if state funding is available to qualifying persons to be trained to drive a taxi .They will not be told who has availed of funding or who gives the courses as that is Commercially sensitive .But it might be interesting to enquire on behalf of their members who may have family members who might inherit a plate and need training .

[Rat Catcher]

Fair play. I think most of the Afghani and Pakistani lads do the Free Now course before they come over. Can they do the Kathleen Doyle entrance exam online yet?

[john m]

Fair play. I think most of the Afghani and Pakistani lads do the Free Now course before they come over. Can they do the Kathleen Doyle entrance exam online yet?

They wouldnt want to Enter Kathleen would they ?

[markmiwurdz]

Train to be a taxi driver 

[Rat Catcher]

The foreigners need to train. They're not born knowing any county like the back of their hand. To be fair, if memory serves, Jim Waldron tried the new Kathleen Doyle entrance exam back when it was introduced and failed miserably. Why they didn't take his licence remainjs a mystery Apparently new drivers are required to have far greater knowledge than the vastly experienced men who done the old Garda entrance exam. The KD exam has a c.30% pass rate whereas the Garda exam had a 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999998 pass rate.

[silverbullet]

Sit down with a nice cup of tea till I run this by you .If I was to set uo a certified training scheme lets say I would train you to get a SPSV licence so you could become a taxi driver .and I was to charge 2500 for the course .The certification would be you have a SPSV licence and if I was then to get you a taxi driving job I could get paid for that as well .I rang the Rodent to Discuss this .Let me explain .If lets say Lynk or My Taxi were to entice people to train to become taxi drivers and could get the Dole or Dep of Enterprise and employment to cover the training fee for eligible persons ie in receipt of a qualifying welfare payment they could be on a decent earner .How it works you get your course approved you then recruit suitable qualifying persons the Department will pay you 45% of the training fee up front and the other 45% when the student passes then the final 10% if that person actually gains employment .Ever wonder why they keep offering you a Training Course like Forklift driving or Haz Chem or safety pass its a huge business .There are people out there collect training certs like a Boy Scout collects badges .Look great on the shirt at the Jamboree but nobody rates them .This could explain why certain companies keep running adds for training courses for taxi drivers the Course is the actual product not producing drivers to employ .I wonder if any of the Reps have put in a FOI to find out if any company or individual is receiving state funding to train taxi drivers .

You're up against an ex-garda who runs the training course in Dublin. Good luck with that.

[U Wha]

The foreigners need to train. They're not born knowing any county like the back of their hand. To be fair, if memory serves, Jim Waldron tried the new Kathleen Doyle entrance exam back when it was introduced and failed miserably. Why they didn't take his licence remainjs a mystery Apparently new drivers are required to have far greater knowledge than the vastly experienced men who done the old Garda entrance exam. The KD exam has a c.30% pass rate whereas the Garda exam had a 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999998 pass rate.

I let my driver spsv licence expire. I thought you had five years to renew from the last expiry. But you don't have five years you have two years. So I had to retake the 'new' spsv entrance test. After driving hackneys and taxis for over fifteen years on my first spsv licence and if you take into account my experience of driving in Dublin as a takeaway driver, motorcycle courier, van driver, truck and bus driver, you might assume that the spsv entance test would be a no brainer. it wasn't, I failed the new test twice before passing the third time. It was the higher 80% or whatever pass rate then.

The myth that immigrants get favoured treatment is bullshit. When I was doing my three tests the others were all non irish and were on their third, fourth and even ninth attempt. They studied the maps and were working as couriers etc to ge the street knowledge. That was before the Freenow course became available. Which helped my brother pass his test on the first attempt. That was a bit embarrassing for me.

Most Irish wouldn't have the persistence to go that far as they dont want to put in the effort and think they are too good for it. The non nationals seem to appreciate the opportunity for what it is and have no baggage or preconcieved notion about  how it should be. Simple fact is that taxi driving will be an opportunity and launch pad for ambitious immigrants like in most large western or capital cities and the native Irish driver will become the exception.

[Octavia1]

Wasn't ther a gardai retired or suspended for givennout  spv licences to illegals ?

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30909026.html