AUGUSTA — When Adil Karim lived in Baghdad, Iraq, he had 25 years of experience as a barber. When he came to Maine, however, learning English was a barrier to his ability to cut the hair of fellow Arabic speakers.

“I have an Arabic community here in Portland; they need a barber,” he said. “I don’t need to use English when I work.”

While Karim plans to serve those who speak Arabic, not requiring his ability to speak English, despite his more than two decades of cutting hair, he couldn’t get the licensing needed to earn a living as a barber in Maine until he passed an exam. While the test is offered in multiple languages, Arabic is not yet one of them, and it took Karim multiple attempts to pass the exam.

“The language is spoken different,” he said of English in comparison to Arabic, his native language. “(The subject of a sentence) is sometimes in the middle, sometimes in the end.

“In Arabic, we write left to right, everything is opposite,” Karim added. “If I want to tell you (about) the car, the first thing is ‘car.'”

Mohammad Abdalnabi, a 19-year-old Egyptian immigrant living in Augusta, was fortunate to have spent time at Cony High School, giving him a chance to learn English that helped him pass the exam.

“I studied for two days,” he said. “I passed. I was so happy.”

While Karim and Abdalnabi have passed the exam, they and officials at the Augusta-based Aveda Institute of Maine are looking to shed light on a problem they say is increasing in Maine: Talented barbers and cosmetologists struggling to get state licenses because necessary tests aren’t offered in some languages.

Anthony Coco, owner of the Aveda Institute, said Karim is a talented barber but he speaks limited English.

“It’s not a matter of whether (Karim) can do it or not; his challenge is the language,” Coco said. “We’ve had lots of (students) from the Middle Eastern … and Asian countries (and) it’s definitely a challenge (for them).”

Anthony’s brother Frank Coco, director of the Aveda Institute, said the test should be offered in every language, because it is taken on a computer and could be easily translated into any language.

“In our day and age now, it should be opened up to every language that’s out there,” Frank Coco said. “(Students) come to me struggling.”

Barber students in Maine obtain licenses after passing practical and written tests administered after the completion of an 800-hour education program or a 1,600-hour apprenticeship, according to Jeri Betts, an administrator at the state’s Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation.

The test is created by the National Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology, Betts said. According to the NIC website, tests are available in English, Korean, Vietnamese and Spanish. In Maine, the test is administered by D.L. Roope Administrations.

Betts said her department hears complaints “once in a while” from people who speak languages outside the four in which the test is available. As more immigrants come into the state, Betts hears more complaints about language barriers.

Anthony Coco said some students opt to travel to other states to take a more accommodating test. In places like Michigan, he said, testing centers allow students to have a dictionary to translate some words. But that has its drawbacks, especially financially. Anthony Coco said taking the test multiple times — which costs about $100 each time — could put a financial strain on the student, who may be out of a job and trying to settle in after coming to Maine.

“They are trying to financially reestablish themselves in a new country,” Anthony Coco said. “A lot of them are being given some sort of support through the state of Maine, but they’re definitely on a budget.”

Abdalnabi came to the United States in 2016 after growing up in Egypt and living in Syria and Jordan. He said he moved to Arizona, and then to Augusta and attended Cony High School. Abdalnabi wanted to become a barber at a young age, he said, because it was a glamorous trade in his home nations; you got to work inside, out of the sun and not get your clothes dirty.

He said he learned how to cut hair before he came to the U.S., but couldn’t get a job here because he lacked a license.

Frank Coco said Abdalnabi was one of the best cutters in his class and would frequently attend study groups with other Arabic-speaking students and benefited from his time in high school, which some immigrant students may not have had.

“Mohammad, actually, said he wanted to do it normally,” Frank Coco said. “He passed, he didn’t need (accommodations). I also think (it helped that) he, not too long ago, graduated from Cony High School.”

Abdalnabi, who graduated last month and now works at Millenium Kutz at 55 Cony St. in Augusta, said it would have been difficult to pass the test without his short period of schooling at Cony, so the state should “probably” consider adding to the list of available languages.

Frank Coco said he hasn’t reached out to any local legislators to make changes. He said he has suggested to his students that they reach out directly because they are the ones affected most. He said some lawmakers have come into the institute and identified the issue, but have hit dead ends.

State Sen. Matt Pouliot, R-Augusta, said he hadn’t heard about issues related to barber licenses, but said “we must ensure that all Mainer’s have equal access to opportunities to advance their skills and prepare themselves to be a part of the workforce.”

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