I was born in South Sudan, in war. In 2009, I escaped my country with my three brothers. From South Sudan we went to the Kakuma Refugees Camp in Kenya, where I stayed for five years.
We decided to try and come to Australia because we had a cousin here, so we lodged our form with the Australian High Commission in Kenya. And then, thankfully, they accepted our case. We came to Australia as refugees in August 2003.
I really love Australia, because it gives us freedom. And, if you’re not able to work or become sick, the government supports you with some money for food and clothes. Compared to my country, the government is helpful, so I like living in Australia.
I worked for long time with the laundry and other jobs, like a chicken factory and car factory. But then in 2007 I was diagnosed with sarcopenia [a gradual loss of muscle mass that happens with age and can affect the musculoskeletal system]. After this diagnosis it became harder to do this work. I worked as long as I could but had to stop doing these hard jobs in the factory in 2022, because my diagnosis slowed me down a lot.
Thankfully, I was accepted for the NDIS and one of their coordinators connected me with The Big Issue. I started selling the magazine at the start of this year. I like it, because I just stand there and say, “Hello, do you to want to buy the magazine?” or something like that. Selling The Big Issue, being outside, talking to different people and doing something like this is good for my mental health. It’s much better than staying home every day, which is not good, you know?
I do have regular customers. Sometimes, we have a little chat and they buy the magazine, and sometimes we just have a little chat. It’s all good.
I don’t make a lot of money, but I like the job because of the people: the support office, the vendor support managers and coordinator help you. And not just in your job but in other parts of your life. If they can help with something else in your life – financial hardship or school and training or even with your passport – they will. Like I said, working for The Big Issue is much more than just having a job.
I have three children. One is seven, another is two years and a half, and we have a little baby, four months old. I am thankful for my family and for raising them in Australia. My mum passed away two years ago, but my father is still alive. He’s in Sudan. I’m planning to save some money to go see my father because he’s getting very old, so he likes me to go and visit him.
In future, I hope I can afford to buy a small house for my family. That is my dream. That is my Australian dream.
Mathok sells The Big Issue at the corner of James Place and Rundle Mall, Adelaide.
Interview by Jen Vuk
Photo by Ben Liew
Published in ed#764