Inspiring stories by young people about refugees who have found a safe haven in Australia followed a public service held at the Baha’i Temple in Sydney on Sunday, 19 June, to observe the beginning of National Refugee Week.
The service of prayers and singing by the Temple choir was centred around the theme of the week, “Freedom from fear”.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention, the 30th birthday of the Refugee Council of Australia and the 25th anniversary of the first observance of Refugee Week in this country.
A spokesperson for the Australian Baha’i Community, Venus Khalessi, said that Refugee Week is an opportunity to focus on the plight of many millions of refugees who have had to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution.
“It is also a time to acknowledge the many contributions made by refugees to Australian society,” Ms Khalessi said.
“Our own community is very grateful that since the 1980s the Australian Government has generously assisted Baha’is who have suffered religious persecution in Iran to relocate in Australia,” she said.
At a forum after the service in the Visitors Centre, children and youth from the Australian Baha’i Community read moving stories from the book “Dark Dreams, Australian Refugee Stories” edited by Sonja Dechian, Heather Millar and Eva Sallis.
The book includes short stories of young writers who relate, or imaginatively recreate, the experiences of someone who came to Australia as a refugee. The stories tell of the hardship, the journey and the sense of relief upon arrival.
An example of the accounts was a story written by Mina Hami and entitled “Life. You never know what’s ahead of you. Never.”
The story tells of an Iraqi girl from a Kurdish family who fled northern Iraq to the mountains of Turkey in 1992. The family reached Australia in 1998 and started a new chapter in their life here.
“I am very thankful for everything this country has done for me and my family,” the young girl says. “Coming to Australia is the best thing that ever happened to me in my entire life.”
After reading the story, one of the readers said that when she compared her life to the many challenges and difficulties faced by refugees she felt very lucky to have grown up in Australia.
Another story, read by Dominion Nasrabadi and written by Pharan Akhtarkhavari, was about Pharan’s uncle, who suffered persecution for being a Baha’i in Iran, including being excluded from tertiary education or obtaining a job. He arrived in Australia in 1991 as a refugee.
Pharan writes: “I hope after reading this story about my uncle and my family that you know what refugees go through to get to our great country.”