‘Local experience: most significant barrier to accessing work, shaping some Eritreans' early experiences and trajectories’

Interview with Dr. Johonathan Ben Dr. Jehonathan Ben is a researcher at Deakin University here in Melbourne, Australia. Last year he completed his PhD study and the title of his thesis was ‘Ambivalent Motion: Eritreans’ Work Pursuits and Intercultural Connections in Melbourne’. It examines how highly educated Eritrean migrants relate to novel environments and forces they encounter in Australia. Motivated by a series of gaps in research and theorising on migrant lives, including insufficient attention to migrants’ capacities to act, experiences beyond resettlement, and groups from certain national, education and work backgrounds. Also present were Dr Amanuel Elias, a researcher at Deakin University, and Beyene Semere, EP SBS Tigrinya.