Marian Hristov is 26 and tries hard not to think about what it was like back then. When he collected soda cans, begged and lived in a tent.
"It wasn't good," he says in fine Swedish when we meet in the warmth of Stamstället in Forum Medicum, after the lunch session.
"I'm quite shy, it was hard. You live outside, the tent is cold.
Moved out of the tent
He comes from a small village in Bulgaria called Montana and came to Sweden six years ago with his father Hristo, 51. Hristo's sister and brother are still in the village.
Sweden began in Södertälje: cans, begging, tents. On crooked roads the two came to Lund. Marian with the begging cup outside a sushi restaurant. He bonded with the owner, was taken in and got a job in the restaurant. Then a few more restaurants and then he and his father had found a room to rent.
Petter Lorensson and Marina Bergström are co-owners at restaurant Stamstället in Forum Medicum. One day three years ago, Petter got a call from a colleague who said: "I have a guy here who works so damn well,".
He was talking about Marian.
"So Marian started working with us. He was so incredibly fast and extremely a quick learner. And he works like a horse. The potential in this guy is absolutely enormous, we noticed that very quickly, says Petter.
“And then you have worked with us and learned and taken more and greater responsibility, he says to Marian.
Permanent employee
For the past year, Marian has been a permanent employee of Stamstället's sister restaurant Moroten & Piskan.
"It feels great to get my life in order. Have a job, be able to pay rent. And now it feels easier too because my dad also got a job.
It was Marian who told the co-owners about his father.
"And we needed people at the dish washer. That was six months ago” says Petter.
The restaurants have long collaborated with organizations that help people with disabilities, or who are vulnerable in various ways, into working life. Why?
"It's a nice and important thing, we've always thought so. I myself come from a troubled past and was first into working with vulnerable young people. And then it's so sad when you come across people with potential who want to work, but can't or don't know how. So we're trying to get Hristo into the system," says Petter.
Catch-22
"But the bureaucracy is enormous, almost impossible right now. Sfi (Swedish for immigrants), the Swedish Migration Agency, the Swedish Public Employment Service, tosses us around. It's frustrating," says Marina, who makes calls, fixes and rows to get all of Hristo's paperwork in order. And does her regular job.
"It's like banging your head against a wall sometimes, it's a catch-22. Hugely disappointing. Here we have Hristo who wants to learn Swedish at SFI, but he can't do that unless he has a part-time job, which he can't get if he doesn't go to SFI," says Petter.
Hristo struggles with his Swedish on his own. Marian translates: "I'm stressed because I can't speak Swedish," says Hristo.
And the job?
–Beautiful! I really enjoy my job as a dishwasher. And to have an income.
Future?
Hristo:
"I want to learn Swedish, buy a laptop. I'm not longing for Bulgaria, but I'm going there for Christmas to visit my siblings and order glasses and false teeth. It's cheaper there.
Marian:
"We're going to try to integrate here in Sweden. We hope that my father will soon be able to start studying Swedish. Maybe I'll get my own place soon.
Petter:
"Marian and Hristo are both very appreciated by us. My experience is that our best employees often come from quite difficult pasts. Here in the service industry, it's important to be able to think quickly, and people who come from a messy background think quickly and are usually good at solving problems, so it works well in our industry.
