My parents don’t like to talk about what happened during the Pol Pot regime but …
My parents don’t like to talk about what happened during the Pol Pot regime but in the last few years, they’ve started to share their story. I never thought about it much growing up but as I’m getting older, I am learning to appreciate the sacrifices they made, how...
*This is the first in a sequence of stories where I am speaking for the first ti…
*This is the first in a sequence of stories where I am speaking for the first time to children of migrants. My parents both migrated to Australia from Iran in the 70s. Dad worked for the Iranian embassy at first, and later as a public servant, and Mum was a biochemist...
CONTENT WARNING: VIOLENCE / RAPE I come from quite a racist family, particularl…
CONTENT WARNING: VIOLENCE / RAPE I come from quite a racist family, particularly my dad, who would still say ‘kaffir’. My primary and high school were completely white, and there wasn’t a person in my neighbourhood that was black, unless they worked there. In 1988, I...
After school, I did a Bachelor degree in Psychology, which was quite unusual for…
After school, I did a Bachelor degree in Psychology, which was quite unusual for a Hazara girl in Quetta at that time. But my father was a very broad-minded man. He told me to go and study whatever I wanted. Still, when I was ready to start a job he said it was time...
ISIS forced 250 000 Christian families out of their homes in our village in Iraq…
ISIS forced 250 000 Christian families out of their homes in our village in Iraq. If you didn’t leave your house, you would be killed. They were also taking girls, and those girls never came back. My sister and I had been trying to get my parents to leave for a while...
I was eight years old when we migrated to New Zealand from Bangladesh. Unfortuna…
I was eight years old when we migrated to New Zealand from Bangladesh. Unfortunately, at that time medical degrees from non-English speaking countries weren't recognised, so my father couldn't practise. It was hard for him. It wasn’t great for his...
My dad left Iraq after he was called up to be an army doctor under Saddam Hussei…
My dad left Iraq after he was called up to be an army doctor under Saddam Hussein’s regime, which meant he would have to be part of either committing or covering up torture. He actually left without telling my mother, as escaping an army conscription was a major...
I was very excited about coming to Perth as a student, but then 2 weeks before I…
I was very excited about coming to Perth as a student, but then 2 weeks before I left, my mum was diagnosed with chronic renal failure, and she was still in hospital when I left Burma. So I had only one thing in my mind as I left - to do well in Australia so I could...
After doing two Masters degrees trying to ride out the GFC in Ireland and there …
After doing two Masters degrees trying to ride out the GFC in Ireland and there was still no sign of it ending, I decided to move to Australia to try to start a better life. Growing up, I had always had a fascination with Australia. I think I watched too much Home and...
By the age of 25, I had a great job, my own import business which I was running …
By the age of 25, I had a great job, my own import business which I was running on the side, my own apartment, a very good car, and a good group of friends. Life was treating me very well. But then all that changed. In 2009, our president was re-elected, but as most...
