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notable australian refugees

Notable Australian refugees – Sarah Yahya

Sarah Yahya sarah-yahya

Sarah Yahya was born in Iraq into a family of the minority ethnic-religious group – Mandaean. The Mandaean people were violently persecuted against in Iraq since before she was born.

When she was six her mother received an anonymous note warning her that her family was in danger and they should flee.

In the dead of the night she fled on 12-hour journey across the border to Jordan with her mother and sister. She would later find out that the note was from her father, who was imprisoned because he opposed Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Seven years in Jordan, facing heavy discrimination

Her family spent seven years in Jordan, where they led a seemingly normal life, however Sarah’s mother got a job and so Sarah had to spend a lot of time looking after her sister, Sally. Her family’s problems did not end there, within the seven years she spent in Jordan she faced heavy discrimination from the local community and faced economic struggles.

Sarah’s family was finally granted humanitarian visas to Australia after a long seven-year wait. Once settled in Australia it was discovered she was hearing impaired and had been her entire life, she also found out that she was significantly behind in school in comparison to Australian children. Eventually, her father was also able to join the rest of her family in Australia.

Sarah also began to face numerous mental issues once settled. Her mother had kept her ethnic identity of Mandaean a secret from them in order to protect them from persecution. Sarah struggled to come to grips with who she was and faced identity issues.

Volunteering within her community

Despite these difficulties, Sarah worked very hard at school and spent all of her spare time reading, in order to learn in spite of her disability. She started to volunteer within her community. She now studies Journalism and International Relations at UTS. In early 2016 she became a representative at the UTS student council being a strong advocate for refugee issues.

She also became heavily involved with the Mandaean community and spent much of her time volunteering. She was awarded for her hard work, becoming a recipient of Rotary International’s Annual Youth Awards in 2013 and the Young Citizen of the Year 2015. She was awarded the High Order of Australia for Community Service in 2013.

ChilOut Youth ambassador in 2015

She also sought to help other refugees, by becoming a ChilOut Youth ambassador in 2015. Where she visited high schools across Sydney educating student on refugee issues and also being a key speaker at a refugee rally in front of Parliament House. She was also a youth ambassador for MYAN and she was a representative to the Refugee Summit hosted in Geneva by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

This however does not come close to covering the long list of achievements Sarah has made and it is truly remarkable that someone who has come from a disadvantaged background was able to give back so profoundly to the Australian community.

Megan Sturges
BA/BCom (Macquarie University)

Notable Australian refugees – Shukufa Tahiri

Meet a celebrated law student and a decorated journalism student – Shukufa Tahirishukufa-tahiri

Whilst the world debates the issue of refugees and asylum seekers at the United Nations and Malcolm Turnbull boasts about our heinous system of offshore processing as a success, it can be easy to forget sometimes that the refugee journey does not end there. Even after the trip to Australia on a boat, even after all that time spent in offshore detention and even after inhumane treatment by Government agencies such as the Department of Immigration, being settled in Australia is still fraught with challenges.

The process associated with the resettlement of refugees is so often overlooked and in all cases drastically underfunded. Refugees who have fled their home country in fear of persecution and in search of a safe homeland often find it difficult to settle into Australia due to a lack of resources and unwillingness of the Government to assist them.

Despite this, individuals who have resettled here as refugees whether young or old, male or female, Syrian or Tamil have thrived and been positive members of our society.

Shukufa Tahiri fled Afghanistan in 1998 due to the violence perpetrated by the Taliban against her ethnic race (Hazara). She initially settled near the border in Pakistan until the violence of the Taliban had even spread there. Shakufa then left Pakistan and fled to Australia and was resettled here in 1998 with her family. Since then Shukufa, despite a lack of advanced education and English, has recorded some extraordinary achievements.

At the age of 23 Shukufa is a student at Western Sydney University where she studies law. Despite knowing little English when she first arrived in Australia she was able to learn English and gain entrance to university to study law and continues to be an over achiever in all her classes. Four out of five of her siblings are either studying or have completed a degree at university. Her youngest sibling is still in high school and plans on attending university. Shukufa has also and continues to be a part of a program developed by the refugee sector where individuals of refugee background speak to students at high school educating them about the issue of refugees in Australia and also shares their personal story and history of being a refugee.

Shukufa works as an assistant policy officer for the Refugee Council of Australia. Here she has been involved in forming policy documents that are subsequently provided to the Government. These policies inform service and funding allocation decisions of Government agencies. Through her role at the Refugee Council of Australia she has regularly formed connections with refugee service providers, made contacts with numerous refugee communities and has positively contributed to a more peaceful Australian society.

Recently she was asked to present at the festival of dangerous ideas alongside leading experts in the refugee sector including; Jane McAdam the director of the Andrew & Renata Centre for international refugee law, Daniel Webb the director for legal advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre and Geoff Gilbert a professor of law at the University of Essex.

Shukufa has proved that refugees and asylum seekers are people who can positively contribute to society and achieve ambitious goals. She is a direct contradiction to Dutton’s so called ‘illiterate refugees’ and has been a positive role model to so many within her community. Shukufa continues to be a high achiever and as a result has been featured in articles within SBS, ABC, the Guardian and other major publications at the young age of 23. There is no doubt that this refugee will go on to achieve greater things and be someone the Australian community should be grateful to have.

Vijhai Utheyan, BCrim&CJ (UNSW)

Notable Australian refugees – 30th of August 2016

Meet a human rights advocate and a celebrated author

Isaiah Lahai

Isaiah LahaiIsaiah fled the conflict in Sierra Leone in 1991. After 14 years in refugee camps, he was successfully resettled in Australia.  He is a founder of the African Communities Council of Tasmania and also a member of the Advisory Council on Multicultural Affairs. Isaiah was awarded the Human Rights Award in 2011 for his role in advocating for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities in Tasmania. He also spends a lot of time speaking at schools and in the community in Tasmania, discussing grass-root multicultural issues and social inclusion.

Isaiah volunteers across a variety of NGOs and wishes to continue promoting multiculturalism in Australia.

Read more of Isaiah’s story here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/ 2012-06-22/refugee-week- profiles/4036618#Isaiah
(photo obtained from above website)


Tshibanda Gracia Ngoy

Tshibanda Gracia NgoyGracia is a freelance journalist and author who fled tribal conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since arriving in Australia in 2005, she has won multiple awards for her work with NGOs, including the prestigious 2011 Young People’s Human Rights Award, the NSW Young Volunteer of the Year Award, and the Wollongong Young Person of the Year Award (2010).

Gracia’s first book, A Little Recipe for Success, encourages and inspires young people to live with purpose. She has written many articles about the culture gap between Congo and Australia in an attempt to shed light on this issue. Her work often draws on her personal experiences growing up and escaping from conflict. Gracia is focused on helping the “many people living shattered lives who have been tied up by their past experiences and challenges.”

Read more of Gracia’s story here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/ 2012-06-22/refugee-week- profiles/4036618#Gracia
(photo obtained from above website) 

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