Shalva's story
I am like a child being brought up by the best parents”
Shalva is from Georgia, and works in the Logistics department.
The refugee crisis is one of the biggest problems of our time. In Europe, the figures for asylum seekers are continuing to grow. And that is how we heard the story of Shalva, a refugee from Georgia. He has been involved in our Employability Programme at IKEA A Coruña.
Shalva prefers to forget his life before coming here. But what he loves to recall is the moment when the people at Accem (an NGO that works to improve the lives of refugees, migrants and vulnerable groups), rang and told him about our Employability Programme, in which he is still a participant.
“I am very happy. What I like best is that right from the start I’ve felt supported by all the staff at IKEA,” says Shalva.
A routine filled with learning
Every day, Shalva arrives at work in our Logistics department at IKEA in A Coruña. He gets changed and greets his colleagues. When he arrives at his section, he chats with his colleagues about how their weekend or the previous day has been. He spends his time learning and joking with his colleagues.
“Perhaps the language is the most difficult thing, but even there there’s no real problem. I don’t notice any clash of cultures,” says Shalva.
¿What has surprised him most? The relationship among the workers. “You don’t see any difference between the managers and the other employees. In other jobs I’ve had, you could always see the difference,” he explains.
He sees IKEA as a company enriched by a diversity of countries and cultures, so he finds he is training with people who are well prepared. And above all, people who are helping him to learn.
As we say in my country, “I am like a child being brought up by the best parents,” he says.
Shalva has had his own ambassador at IKEA: David Sáez
David Sáez has been helping Shalva in his training. He has been Shalva’s ambassador in the Logistics department during the Employability Programme.
“At first, it seemed that the language would be an obstacle for Shalva, because he is a quiet, reserved person, and gave the impression that he found it difficult to understand Spanish and the more technical expressions we use in our day-to-day work. However, after only one year in our country, his ability to understand is very good and he has slotted in really well to the work routines,” explains David.
Our colleague is impressed by Shalva’s calmness and capacity for work. “He is always willing to do anything, and to help his colleagues, and he has a calmness that gets us through the work and the busiest times in a natural, controlled manner,” says David.
For David, this IKEA Employability Programme is, quite simply, vital. He argues that we have an obligation to set the pace and become a flagship company for this kind of action, especially at a time when individuality and competitiveness count for so much.
“I only hope that the day will come when we don’t need to run these types of programmes, although from what I’ve seen, that is just a dream.”
David, who was born in Galicia, has caught some of Shalva’s humility. He has been fortunate not to have to flee his country for any reason, but he understands the problem. That is why he firmly believes that we all have a moral obligation to get into the skin of a person who has had to make such a hard decision.
Shalva’s dream now is to have a permanent job and a home. And peace throughout the world. “I hope to find my place among the Spanish people and to be able to feel at home,” he declares.