My family is originally from Afghanistan, but when the Taliban took over, they started the genocide of the Hazara people there. Unfortunately, we are very easy to identify because we have distinctive facial features so it wasn’t safe for us to live there anymore. As a...
The area where I grew up in Perth wasn’t very multicultural, and when we arrived from Singapore in the mid-70s, I think it was the Asians’ turn to get bullied. Within the first few weeks we got a letter in the letterbox saying, ‘You dirty Asians, why don’t you...
I failed my English exams in my fourth year of my Finance degree in Colombia. At that time, I had a cousin living in Darwin who suggested I come here to learn English, so I said, ‘Alright. Why not?’ It was very hard for me at the beginning. Sometimes I felt homesick....
My parents were open minded and educated, so I was allowed to go to school in Afghanistan, but they were just small local schools and there were maybe seven levels in the same room. Also, there was always something going on that stopped me from finishing the term. I...
I come from a long line of politically active family members who were active socialists in Chile in the 1970s. So when the coup led by Pinochet occurred, it was inevitable my family was going to be targeted. My uncle was arrested and tortured, then disappeared. And my...
