During Refugee Week (14 – 20 June) we spoke to four members of our community who have experienced life as a refugee seeking asylum. This year’s theme Unity – the way forward highlights the importance of working together to create a thriving and welcoming community.
MUSTAFA AMIRI
From a young age Mustafa found ways to adapt to his environment and the challenges he was presented with:
I am pretty determined about what I do and I find ways to do it.
Spending time as a child in an orphanage with his younger brother Mustafa soon left Afghanistan with his mother due to threats against their lives. They found a new home in India where as a 12-year-old Mustafa worked long hours to help support his family. His family lived in New Delhi for eight years until they were accepted into Australia. Arriving just before international borders closed due to COVID-19 Mustafa is now able to pursue his passion of acting and teaching other refugees English – one of four languages Mustafa speaks.
What is your life like now in Geelong?
Mustafa: Life is pretty busy I’m doing my English classes and volunteering at St Vincent de Paul once a week. I used to volunteer in a street kitchen where we were serving people food on the street for free. I am now a full-time actor so when I get gigs I go to gigs.
BADRIYAH EESO
In her homeland of Iraq Badriyah spent her days teaching physics and fostering knowledge in her community. After many years of war uncertainty and the dangers of ISIS in their community Badriyah and her husband left all their belongings behind and joined two of their eight children in applying for asylum. On 5 July 2016 they landed in Melbourne to start their new life in Australia.
What is something you would like people to understand about refugees?
Badriyah: Refugees from my community most of them are educated they don’t come from nothing. Most of them have been to university and even some of them have not been to university but they have experience in working making counters painting – they have experiences. I know my community are very good hard-working positive people.
MOO K’PHRU SAY
Born in a refugee camp located on the Thai-Burma border this was the only life Moo knew and understood for the first nine years of her life. She had no experience of her homeland aside from the stories of her parents’ lives before they fled persecution in Burma which resulted in thousands of Karen and Karenni families having to leave their homes. After years of waiting Moo and her family were accepted into Australia in 2009. In 2018 Moo visited the refugee camp where she was born and gained an appreciation for how hard their life truly was.
I can see now that it was a very hard life. You wouldn’t know that if that was the only life you were exposed to when you were born.
What is your life like now in Geelong?
Moo: Awesome I really appreciate Geelong. People tell me ‘Would you move?’ and I say ‘No I want to live in Geelong forever if I can’. Born in a refugee camp located on the Thai-Burma border this was the only life Moo (pictured above) knew and understood for the first nine years of her life. She had no experience of her homeland aside from the stories of her parents’ lives before they fled persecution in Burma which resulted in thousands of Karen and Karenni families having to leave their homes.
After years of waiting Moo and her family were accepted into Australia in 2009. In 2018 Moo visited the refugee camp where she was born and gained an appreciation for how hard their life truly was.
I can see now that it was a very hard life. You wouldn’t know that if that was the only life you were exposed to when you were born.
What is your life like now in Geelong?
Moo: Awesome I really appreciate Geelong. People tell me ‘Would you move?’ and I say ‘No I want to live in Geelong forever if I can’.
SALMA GUL
Growing up in Afghanistan Salma’s parents were constantly aware of the dangerous environment for their children caused by the Taliban – with her mother often shaving Salma’s hair and disguising her as a boy to prevent kidnapping. As a young adult passionate about advocacy and women’s education Salma was involved in organising a fashion show fundraising event with a group of friends and as members of the Young Women for Change organisation. Due to misleading and harmful reports by the local media Salma Gul became a target with threats against her life. She then made her way to India and for seven years used her skills in making traditional Afghanistan embroidery to get by. After being accepted into Australia Salma was on the last flight into Melbourne before international borders shut.
What does a ‘united’ community look like?
If you be united you can do anything you can change many things but individually you cannot do anything.
"For me being united is really good for a society for a country for a city for a town... It’s really positive way of living and staying together and supporting each other without judgement without seeing the colour without seeing the language without seeing the background – we are all human and we have to support each other."