Germán Ponce Cárdenas
“Remember this is your life and achieving your goals will be on your own terms”
German Ponce
Country of origin: Chile
Occupation: Engineer and Civil Constructor by profession. Year of arrival: 1985. State of residency: VIC. Upon arrival: Surprised by how clean and organised everything was.
This story is part of “Nuestras Voces”
By Zoe Gleeson & Cristy Abela
Seeking out a life of safety and integrity, Germán Ponce Cárdenas migrated to Australia in 1985, away from the conflict of his home country Chile. Germán admirably forged a path as a new migrant for his family. After focusing on learning English and studying a course for engineers, Germán secured a professional job as a Construction Engineer at Telstra. Since then, he has worked in Australia and North and South America in project consulting and management. Outside of his work life, Germán volunteers at Excelsis choir, teaches computer proficiency classes for seniors and does soccer coaching for adults. He has a strong commitment and love for his Latin American community in Australia. Germán lives a fulsome life bound by family moral values and principles - an outstanding feature of his legacy both here in Australia and Chile.
TELL US YOUR STORY
We migrated to Australia for a range of reasons: Since 1973 Chile was living under a dictatorship, and with that came many restrictions on freedom of expression and all kinds of relentless abuses to human rights. The lack of job opportunities and the very high unemployment level due to the economic crises that occurred particularly between 1982 and 1984, were enough reasons for me to explore the idea and possibility of looking for new and better horizons or job opportunities abroad.
I started working in Chile a couple of years before graduating as Engineer and Civil Constructor in 1979. It was then at the end of 1981 in which, for basically the reasons described above, I lost my stable job as Head of the Department of Inspection of Works in the Illustrious Municipality of Ñuñoa in Santiago de Chile. It was appalling, I was just one more of the many officials dismissed. The economic, social and political crises in Chile worsened in 1982 - this was also seen in a large part of Latin America and Europe. This left me no alternative but to seek the option of emigrating to a country that could provide more job opportunities and a better quality of life. In 1984, after numerous visits to the Embassy of Australia in Santiago, I began the process to comply with all the requirements of immigration to Australia under the Technicians and Professionals program. We obtained the permanent residence visa in early 1985 and we had until October to enter Australia without problems.
In January 1987 and after having greatly improved my English language and as a result of having attended an RMIT course for professional engineers, builders and architects, I was able to find my first professional job as a Construction Engineer in Melbourne in Telecom Australia, currently known as Telstra Corporation Limited. A formidable professional work experience in a company that at that time was fully owned by the Australian Government (it was later privatised). I held that job at Telecom Australia for approximately seven years. During that time my work was recognised and the company offered to finance a postgraduate degree in Building Project Management. This was with the purpose of making me one of the two Operations Managers responsible for re-establishing the entire infrastructure and cell phone network destroyed in Iraq during the “war” between the USA and Iraq in the early nineties. For my own personal safety and that of my family, I did not accept.
German and Cecilia enjoying Mornington Peninsula in 2019
After that I decided to resign and look into a new and totally different work area - mining. An opportunity that presented itself to me in Chile was to provide consulting, advisory and project control management services to CODELCO, a Chilean company. The contract agreed was for only one year, but we actually left Australia for nearly 8 years as job opportunities in North America and South America came up.
In 2000, I went back to work in Telecommunications for Lucent Technologies in Melbourne and also started studying my Master's degree in Engineering and Project Management. I was able to return to work in mining initially in Melbourne, then in Brisbane and then in Adelaide for different engineering and mining companies such as BHP Billiton (BMA), WorleyParsons, Fluor Australia and some other smaller consulting and advisory companies.
My wife Cecilia attended and successfully completed a diploma in Information Technology and then a Certificate IV in Age Care. She is well known for her work in the Age Care sector. Our only daughter Andrea completed her primary education in Chile but continued her studies at Balwyn High School which later enabled her to pursue studies at LaTrobe University as occupational therapist. A highly sought-after career in the field of Health in Australia.
Even though I am retired, I like staying busy and maybe I am busier than I was before. I am a part time consultant for a builder, and since June 2019, I have worked for Paramount/FGM Consultants as trainer and assessor of the employability skills training course. Over the last two years I have sung with Excelsis Choir around Melbourne, part time coach at a social soccer club and when possible I play the keyboard at our local library.
CHALLENGES
Settling in - The most difficult thing for me was to accept the mistake of not migrating together with my wife. After two longs months of staying at a friend’s complicated household, Cecilia arrived and we rented a small apartment in Brunswick West. Close enough to our first general English courses at the Migrant Brunswick Resource Center. Like most migrants, English will always be a second language with the challenges that it entails.
First jobs - We got some part-time jobs distributing pamphlets of commercial advertising and a few other occasional cleaning jobs, to pay for large part of our expenses. Savings were few, but positivity, willingness to work and improving the English language kept us going.
CONTRAST
Migration opportunities - Canada and Australia offered me very good options and opportunities for migration. We were lucky, as upon arrival, we found opportunities to work and study available to all regardless of being skilled or unskilled new immigrants. There were also quite a few social security benefits (CES) at that time. The Prime Minister of Australia was Bob Hawke and he did incredible things for us all.
Culture - The differences between Chile and Australia are vast in their social, political, economic and cultural well-being. In Chile, care for public use goods is very low. However, these differences are understandable when you consider the recent history in Chile of living through long social, economic and political crises.
Work recognition - In Chile, there is not always good recognition in the job one does: "no one is a prophet in their own land”. Also, to get recognised in Chile, you need to be working ridiculous hours to be seen. The vast majority of wages are low and are not in line with effort or cost of living. The same is true of most government pensions. Additionally, there are systemic injustice that are political, social and economic. Unfortunately, things have only changed for the worse since we left.
PIECE OF ADVICE
German with his daughter Andrea in 2020
Do you research & set clear goals - Make sure you research well ahead of a big life move. See if it’s a right fit, it may or may not be. Talk to other people and do not be shy to ask simple questions, these may save you a lot of time. Also, have a clear picture of what it is you would like to achieve. Remember this is your life and achieving your goals will be on your terms.
Plan for challenging times - When you are in the planning stages of migration or any other project you have to consider what you could do should you face a challenging time. Look for support and advice locally, approach the community center and talk to counsellors. In Australia there is a lot of free support options.
Retirement - Life is not ended just because you stopped working in a job, you have so much to share with others. Find what makes you happy and engage with the community. There are so many memories to make. I love singing in the choir! Find what makes your heart sing.
IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS…
German and his family will continue living in Melbourne as a family group. He has been retired since the start of this year, but he is continuing supporting young people through his part-time job, in particular to those job seekers in employability skills. Cecilia still works in Age Care and plans to retire in a couple years’ time and Andrea also plans to continue working in her Occupational Therapy field as she is happily and successfully doing now. They also hope to continue to be healthy in order to help their Latin-American Community and others. However, German is open to change: “who knows what can happen in five or more years' time in this country and world?”