JOURNAL – WEEK 5 - IMMIGRANT WOMEN
As I said one side of my family is Maltese! My Grandparents came over from Malta straight after WWII and they along with their own brothers and sisters settled in Adelaide. My grandfather immediately got a labouring job, within the Maltese Community and that is what he did for the rest of his working life.
My grandmother of course immediately started to have babies and had four children under 6. Both her and my grandfathers English was very limited and it really wasn’t until my auntie and dad went to school that my grandparents started to really learn how to speak and write English. Of course my grandmother took a lot longer as she wasn’t out in the work force each day like my grandfather was.
When my dad left school at 15 to start an Apprenticeship as a Baker, he got my grandmother a job there working in the factory. The family thought that if he was there to interpret for her the language barrier wouldn’t be so great, and then hopefully she would catch on quickly. One thing that did happen though is she was exploited, she was such a hard / strong worker, she was taken off the factory line which was easy but repetitive work and she was put on the ovens. Of course being on the ovens is what the qualified bakers do and get paid a lot more than what the women/men on the factory line. My grandmother was never paid any extra money for working on the ovens and it was something that used to really upset and annoy my dad. Of course my grandmother would never complain as her English was so limited and she was very grateful to have a job. It was the first time she had been in paid employment as she had got married at 17 and her and my grandfather had moved out to Australia straight away from Malta.
Both of my grandparents died over 20 years ago now, they had worked hard all their lives in hard working menial positions, and this took its toll on their bodies in their old age.
By moving from Malta they have given our whole extended family a wonderful opportunity of growing up in Australia.
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2 comments:
Well done Vicki. It is true that because migrant women tended to stay home, it took them a lot longer to learn English and the ways of their new country. When migrant women did join the workforce, they were exploited, as you have described, and I guess to a lesser extent, so were the men. There are many families like yours whao have reaped the benefits of their ancestors bravery and hard work. A great story.
Karen
Thanks Karen, I,m really enjoying the class.
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