Reflections on living In Australia: Lemlen

BY Lemlen Gebremedhin

 MELBOURNE - I am one of the 20,000 Ethiopians now living in Australia,  along with hundreds of thousands of other people from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and so on that now make up the multi-cultural mix of this country.

I came to Melbourne in 2006 and I found the people to be very friendly. I was surprised by those I met in the street while shopping, who would say” hello” and smile. That was very welcoming.

The city is famous for its multicultural community and food. When I saw the people of Melbourne for the first time I was very amazed, because I found people from every part of the world. When I want to know about Asia or see Asians I don't have to go to Asia, because I can get it all in Australia. This makes the country unique and special. I really like that. I am pleased to live with all of these different people.

On the other hand, when I look at workplaces I have found there are some people who are racist and hard to work with, who think that they know everything and that  you don't. But sometimes it depends upon your self esteem and strength. 

In their social life, I have found most Australian people don't mix with people who came from other countries. They have a boundary, which is not good.

I think that it is good to learn from other countries' mistakes or failures -- for the sake of a better future for this country, to be able to bring up a healthy generation, to be a good example for the world and to be able to make history.

We all came from other parts of the world. We are all different in race, background, culture, language, colour and character,  yet we all have the same blood.  While we do have differences, we also have similarities. We now live in one country, we live for one country, we work hard, we should study hard for ourselves and for the country that brings us together as one.

Reflections on living in Australia: Banana

My name is Banana and I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. I am  Karen, one of the ethnic groups in Burma.

Many Karen people live in Burma but also in Thailand refugee camps. The life of Karen people in the camp is very difficult --  we have no freedom, no rights to do what we want to. We can’t go out of the camp to find a job and we don’t have enough opportunities to study.

We have schools in the camp but not enough. We can’t continue to study even though we finish high school because there aren’t school in camp except high school. Because of this situation many people, especially young people, they lose their future and lose their dreams.

If we compare Thailand and Australia, it’s very different. People in refugee camps are very poor, they want to move to another country but they don’t have a chance.

I’ve been here nearly a year. I was very excited and nervous on the first day that I arrived in Oz and I was very happy to live in here because I had a chance to study. Now I’m studying at AMES, CSWE 3. I’ve learnt many things and am gaining lots of knowledge. Everything is new for me.

If someone asks me why I came to Australia the answer is I want to study to improve my education. If I’m good enough, I’ll try to be a nurse. This is the dream that I have had for many years.

If I become a nurse, I can help my people. I’ll try my best. This is my goal!!!! 
 

Reflections on living in Australia: Bindu

My name is Bindu Madhavi Pendyala. I came to Australia from India one month ago.. When I first arrived, I felt homesick and called my home to talk with my parents.

My husband has been in Australia for the past five years. He is working here in a software company. I came here because my husband is staying here.

When I came to Australia I couldn’t understand the language and pronunciation of  words. I want to get a job in Australia. My husband told to me if you want to do the job you must improve your communication skills. He told me without having the communication skills you won’t get the job in Australia. It is very hard to get the job in Australia.

My husband told me to go and enrol at the AMES institute, which I did. It is very nice to learn communications skills and to communicate with other people. We make friends while we develop our skills. I have learned that, if I want to get a job here,  employers are asking for local experience and good communications skills.

I have found a very nice place to see and enjoy as it is very quiet. But it is difficult for Indian girls to adjust to weather and culture.

My “Dream” job is to do work in the IT industry.
 

Reflections on living in Australia: Christina

My name is Christina Augustine. I come from Thailand but I’m Karen. I lived in Mae La refugee camp,  before I came to Australia in January with my family and we now live in Laverton.

Before coming to Australia,  my life in the camp was very difficult because people who live in camps don’t have freedom.  They may have knowledge,  but they don’t have a chance to go out of the camp to find a job.  They must live and work in camp.

My family decide to come to Australia for our future. We got visa from Australia government so we came to Australia.   I’m so excited as Australia is a beautiful country and very different to Thailand. In Australia I have a chance to study to gain more knowledge.  Now I’m studying  CSEW 3 at Footscray AMES. In the future I want to be a nurse, so when I finish CSEW 3 I’ve decided to study at VCE and than go on to university.
I think if I was still living in a refugee camp everything I want to do and want to be would still be just a dream. But now I live in Australia my dream can come true one day.

I’m so lucky as others don’t  have a chance to go to another country to find their freedom and their future,  to make their dreams come true -- which is a pity.

I can’t do anything except hope that one day they  too will have a chance to go to another country and find freedom.
 

Reflections on living in Australia: Tam

My name is Tam. I’m 21-years-old and  I came to Australia six months ago from Vietnam. I came here with my family because my father has to look after my grandmother. I remember the first day when I came here, everything was so strange here.
 
I had to learn everything and start a new life in a new country. Life is not easy like I thought.  Sometimes it makes me tired and I just want to give up everything but, I know I must try my best to start a new life and  that, eventually, everything will be OK.
 
I went to AMES to study English. I was nervous. Fortunately, they have good teachers who help me a lot. They not only teach me English but also they have helped me settle here. They gave me many opportunities to learn about Australia,  showed me how to travel on  public transport in Melbourne and even about Australian sports such as swimming, lawn bowls and football.
Now, I feel more confident about my English and about myself.
 
When I finish my study at AMES, I will go to university or TAFE and I hope I can find a good job in the future.
 
Thanks Australia for giving me many opportunities to settle here.
 

Reflections on moving to Australia - Zack

Questions About the Closing of a Refugee Camp
What?
The refugee camp comprising about 1500 people from Liberia and Sierra Leone, including me, was being closed. We were still living on the camp.
Where?
In N'zerekory region, Guinea West Africa.
When?
In 2007 June.
Who?
Among those refugees, were women and children that the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) claim to protect.  But they closed the refugee camp on us.
The abandoned refugees had their claim. They say: "we are undecided'' meaning that they are not certain to go back to their countries because they are not sure of their personal security.
Why?
But the thing about this story is that there was nobody to attend to their claims, not even the UNHCR.
They had no protection, food, or safe drinking water. Not even good sleeping place, school for their children and the worst of all is lack of security and health care.  I worry about them.
How?
Then there arose these questions ... How will they sleep? How will they eat? How will the women and children have protection and health care?
What is their hope? I kept on thinking about them as I was fortunate to travel.
Even now I am still worried about them, because there was no sign like help coming for those women and children. Oh how can that be?