Key Points
- Ameen and Ayman live with a rare genetic disease causing macular degeneration in both eyes.
- Financial difficulties forced the twin brothers to give up their cats last week.
- A Queensland community has helped them get back on their feet.
Without jobs or a permanent roof over their heads, the financial strain became too much.
Identical twins Ameen and Ayman Almutawa described being heartbroken when they decided to surrender their cats, Remi and Tigress, to a Townsville-based animal shelter last week.
Ameen and Ayman were born with Stargardt disease, which has caused progressive loss of vision since they were seven. They've struggled to find jobs since their farm work dried up in Brandon, about 70km south of Townsville, in early October.
The 27-year-old brothers moved to Townsville after their rental went up for sale and as they've searched for new work they've been upfront about their visual impairment, to mixed results.
"They give us paperwork and then they say, 'I didn't realise this vision thing was going to be such an issue for me'," Ameen told SBS News about the job application process.
"When we hear that we think, that's not the place for us anyway. We don't want to be in a place that sees our vision as a liability because we work hard, we earn our way and we want to show we can earn the respect of a team," Ayman added.
"We worked doubly hard to make sure we don't hold anyone back," Ameen said.
The identical brothers consider their cats, Tigress and Remi, their family and were devastated when they surrendered them. Source: Facebook / Angel Paws Inc Pet Rescue NQ
Despite their positive attitude, their dream of becoming civil engineers felt like it was slipping out of reach. Until a Queensland community rallied behind them.
Angel Paws animal shelter reassured the brothers they'd subsidise boarding their cats, while they got on their feet and found both a home and place to work.
The shelter posted a photo of the twins on Facebook, wearing matching shirts and holding identical-looking cats, and urged anyone who could help to get in touch.
"They would love to stay in Townsville if they could find work and somewhere to live," the post said.
"These incredible men have made quite an impression on us. If you know of anyone that is looking to employ a couple of hard-working strapping young men."
Brothers feel 'free' to be themselves in Australia
The brothers were born in the US but raised in Kuwait, which they fled after high school when they received scholarships to study abroad.
They say they love living in Australia away from difficulties with their family as a result of the disease, which has no known cure.
"We have a lot more freedom here. We can be ourselves… they were always telling us not to tell people about it and they were always hiding us," Ameen said.
The brothers noticed they were losing their long-distance vision when they were seven-years-old and had to move closer to the board in their classroom. Source: SBS News / Supplied
He said what some see as a weakness, they see as their strength and a key driver behind their strong "honest and hard-working" values.
The brothers have a year left of their course at Queensland University of Technology but are on a break as they work to save the $100,000 needed for the remainder of their studies.
Once they graduate, Ameen and Ayman dream of opening their own civil engineering business and might venture into real estate or concreting too.
A family reunited
When the twins, who beam positivity as they finish each other's sentences, spoke to SBS News their luck had turned.
"You called us at a good time. We just found work with a recruitment agency. We'll be getting a lot more work from now on," Ameen said.
They'd also been contacted about a unit to rent and a concreting traineeship.
The brothers said they felt "hopeful about the future", thanking the staff at Angel Paws for all their help.
But it was being reunited with the "only family" they've got that had them most excited.
"We'll be reunited with Remi and Tigress next week," Ameen said.
"Finally [we'll] have the whole family together," Ayman said.
