While studying law in Sydney, Ben began volunteering with immigration detention centres and saw first hand the enormous challenges that refugees face upon arrival in Australia.

After graduating in law and social science in 2007, Ben became a policy officer with the New South Wales Justice Department in Sydney.

Then, driven by the desire to help people outside of his community while having close contact with them, Ben started working as a lawyer for the Sydney Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS). His job involved representing asylum seekers applying for residency in Australia and assisting refugees held in desert detention centres off the Australian coast and in the outback in obtaining refugee status.

Looking to gain overseas experience, Ben applied to the ICMC resettlement roster and got hired to work with Afghan refugees in Iran. As an ICMC deployee, he spent ten months in Kerman, Southeast Iran, supporting UNHCR operations identifying and assessing refugees for resettlement. His role involved improving the refugee identification process and better address their needs. It allowed to Ben hone the sophisticated interviewing skills required with survivors of conflict and domestic violence.

Working in Iran, Ben learned that many socioeconomic pressures add onto the legal rights and protection needs of refugees. This realization convinced him to explore these less obvious refugee challenges through a Masters in Conflict and Development Studies at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.

In June 2013, the ICMC-UNHCR Resettlement Deployment Scheme< offered Ben the opportunity to work part-time, filling in for Priscila Antoni-Piossek during her maternity leave. As recruitment and outreach officer, he can now share his expertise and mentor new deployees on the ground.

-- Carolina Prandelli/lb