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 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...
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...
My first job was with the Taipei City Government Department of Environmental Protection. But I don’t think I’m too good at working with government – sometimes I’m more loyal about doing the right thing than being loyal to my boss! So, after that, I formed my own...
In the Broome detention centre, they said, ‘Outside this fence, there are snakes, crocodiles, and kangaroos and if they bite you, you’re going to be dead in two seconds!’ So we were too scared to try to escape. There were 1000 people living in that camp, but it was...
