My father was executed when I was 9. I remember visiting him in jail, walking do…
My father was executed when I was 9. I remember visiting him in jail, walking down this dark corridor and he was at the end of it. He had made me and my brothers necklaces from date seeds. After he was executed, they didn’t give us a gravestone or anything. I remember...
(Part 2 of 2) After university, I became a high school teacher, but I stayed inv…
(Part 2 of 2) After university, I became a high school teacher, but I stayed involved with the UCM, publishing a booklet, which was very tame by today’s standards, mostly it was poetry about freedom! But still because we had links to the Black Consciousness movement,...
(Part 1 of 2) As a child, I lived in an almost exclusively Afrikaans speaking co…
(Part 1 of 2) As a child, I lived in an almost exclusively Afrikaans speaking community, and English speaking people were bullied terribly at school - we even had rocks thrown at us. One day, the teacher just laid into me with a ruler, saying I was ‘a damned...
Our whole family came to Australia by boat. Sometimes in Iran, the government ‘d…
Our whole family came to Australia by boat. Sometimes in Iran, the government ‘disappears’ people and nobody knows where they have gone. Our father had already been harassed a few times, and we were very worried about what might happen next, so we made the decision to...
The part of London that I grew up in was expensive, not great to raise kids in, …
The part of London that I grew up in was expensive, not great to raise kids in, and of course the weather was terrible. There was also a rise in knife crime and gangs. We had a 5 year old son, and wanted him to have a better life. We decided on Adelaide, because we...
My mother always discouraged me from studying. She said, ‘We are not the ruling …
My mother always discouraged me from studying. She said, ‘We are not the ruling class, we are working people, why are you studying? They are never going to give you a job even if you are educated.' She even burnt my books a few times. She had been married at the age...
When I first came to Australia, I never felt like I belonged. No matter how much…
When I first came to Australia, I never felt like I belonged. No matter how much I tried, there was always something missing. I didn’t know what it was. Then, a few months ago, I went back to Iraq. I was very excited. I thought I would be going to a place where I...
In 2005, everyone in the whole of Iraq wanted to leave except for me! I was only…
In 2005, everyone in the whole of Iraq wanted to leave except for me! I was only in Year 9, but I knew I wanted to be a doctor, and I thought it would be too hard to study in a different language if we were resettled in a Western country. Studying was my life. At that...
Initially, I came to Australia just to study English for 6 months. But my brothe…
Initially, I came to Australia just to study English for 6 months. But my brother was just about to start uni in Colombia and I still had a year to go in my IT degree, and I knew it would be too much financially for my parents to have 2 kids at uni at the same time,...
When I was 17, I was in a band and wanted to be a musician, but my father wanted…
When I was 17, I was in a band and wanted to be a musician, but my father wanted me to be an engineer, so I went on to get a degree in Civil Engineering, and a Masters in Construction Management. As soon as I finished, I decided to leave Iraq. We Christians were never...
Get in Touch
newhumansofoz@gmail.com
Privacy Policy