C R E A T E D B Y 7 B B A S S H I G H 2 012

HomeTalking to Islamic

Migrants

Table of Contents

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1

Acknowledgments 2

Wafa’s Story 3

Khaled’s Story 5

Badih’s Story 7

Mrs Abbas’ Story 9

Amna’s Story 11

Hillal’s Story 13

C H A P T E R 2

Acknowledgements

Bass  High  School  teacher  Ms  Koutzas  wanted  to  create  an  oppor89nit:  for  st9dents  to  inter-­‐

act  with  their  local  communit:  while  meeting  their  histor:  syllabus  outcomes.    Such  an  oppor-­‐

89nit:  arose  in  histor:,  whereby  year  7  st9dents  were  beginning  a  topic  on  Islam.  Aster  consul-­‐

tation  with  the  class  teacher  Mr  Kelly,  it  was  decided  that  a  relevant  task  for  year  7  st9dents  

would  be  to  focus  on  Muslim  migHants’  interactions  with  the  West.    As  this  book  has  shown,  

this  task  has  been  an  enriching  exLerience  for  ever:one  involved.

Specifically,  teachers  decided  to  organise  an  oral  histor:  project  where  st9dents  Oom  Mr  

Kelly’s  year  7  histor:  class  would  interPiew  Muslim  AustHalians  about  their  exLeriences  as  first  

generation  and  second  generation  migHants.  The  Communit:  Liaison  Officer  –  IngHid  Winter  

and  the  director  of  Bankstown  Youth  Development  SerPices  (BYDS)  –  Tim  CarHoll,  helped  or-­‐

ganise  the  following  generous  people  to  come  to  the  school  in  order  to  be  interPiewed  by  the  

year  7  st9dents:  Zoubaida  Abbas,  Wafa  Zaim,  Amna  Elghoul,  Khaled  Sukkarieh,  Badih  

Habib  and  Hillal  Kara-­‐Ali.

This  oral  histor:  project  allowed  the  year  7  histor:  st9dents  to  develop  their  interPiewing  

and  writing  skills  as  well  as  increase  their  confidence  when  interacting  with  members  of  the  

communit:.  Last,  and  by  no  means  least,  this  project  allowed  histor:  st9dents  to  appreciate  

the  breadth  of  events  exLerienced  by  the  different  members  of  the  AustHalian  Islamic  commu-­‐

nit:  and  their  interaction  and  integHation  into  AustHalian  societ:.

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I N T E R V I E W 1

Wafa’s Story

Wafa Zaim, a Lebanese born Australian Muslim, is the current Centre Manager of

the Muslim’s Women’s Association, an association which she helped found in 1983.

Both her and her husband decided to immigrate to Australia from Syria with

their 2 children 30 years ago.

When Wafa first came to Aus-

tralia, learning English was not

too difficult since she had a

background in French. It was hard moving to a new country but she felt very wel-

come in her new neighbourhood at Georges Hall. She also felt very comfortable and

at home when she moved to Belfield. Her and her family lived there for 7 years.

Wafa’s neighbours in both Belfield and Georges Hall played a large role in Wafa

feeling so welcome and at home in Australia. Although they did not speak Arabic,

they made an effort to assist Wafa and her family in their settling. Wafa felt very

safe in Australia and loved it because the landscape and weather reminded her of

her home back in Lebanon.

Wafa misses her family and relatives who are still in both Lebanon and Syria, but

is glad she can keep in contact with them via the internet. She is able to contact

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them much more frequently these days because of the introduction of things like

Facebook and Skype.

Wafa has travelled to many countries around the world but feels very at home in

Australia. However, she did identify 2 main changes in the last thirty years since she

migrated to Australia, one positive and one negative.

One positive change is in the equity and accessibility of services in Australia. Ex-

emplified in services for new migrants, interpreter services and access to govern-

ment and non-government agencies.

The main negative change involves the sense of safety and security people previ-

ously felt compared to now. People used to leave money at the front door for the

milkman and the newspaper, whereas now you do not feel safe walking down the

street after sunset.

Wafa really enjoys her work at the Muslim Women’s Association because she has

the chance to help and influence so many people in the community – both the Mus-

lim community and the wider community. Wafa believes that education is very impor-

tant, and is very proud of her own educational achievements as well as her children’s

achievements. There are numerous Masters Degrees in the family. She was a private

school teacher when she first came to Australia . When she became a Social Worker

at the Muslim Women’s Association she organised English lessons, parenting classes

and other social services for many Muslim women.

Wafa has had many great experiences over the

years and has enjoyed contributing to the Islamic

and Australian community. Wafa also believes that

multiculturalism in Australia is one of the country’s

greatest achievements, due to the way it encour-

ages belonging and integration in the community.

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I N T E R V I E W 2

Khaled’s Story

Khaled was born in 1964, in Lebanon and moved to Australia at the age

of 14 in 1978. He had to get to Egypt with 5 siblings and his parents to get

his visa to go to Australia. He felt excited and upset because he left his

family and friends behind to come to a different country.

Khaled learnt English in Brisbane and attended Oxley high school in

Brisbane, where he lived in Milton a street away from Suncorp stadium.

Khaled lived in Brisbane for a year before moving to Parramatta in Sydney

with his family in 1979 where he attended school years 8-12.

Multiculturalism was very good back then. He wants his children to em-

brace multiculturalism. His country has a lot of history and he wants his chil-

dren to be proud of a having a Lebanese heritage. Although he has a new

family in Australia he misses his grandparents In Lebanon. He has four sis-

ters, with three in Australia and one overseas.

Khaled also helps his local community by being involved in Islamic organi-

sations. He is currently a project manager and a trainer. He volunteers in

the Islamic council of NSW. He used to work for Telstra for 18 years but re-

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cently his job was made redundant. As a child he wanted to be a lot of

things like a football player and many more things but it was many years

ago so he can’t remember. He recommends that everyone should have a

goal and it is important to have a dream.

He always thinks about his past and won-

ders what life would be like if he didn’t move to

Australia. He felt strange visiting Lebanon be-

cause he has been in Australia for a long time.

He went to Istanbul, Rome and Mecca, as he

likes to travel a lot. In some countries there were mosques that were up to a

thousand years old. Khaled likes to travel be-

cause you have the chance to meet different

people from different cultures. Out of all the

places he has travelled, his favourite place is

Mecca and his favorite food is gelato.

Khaled wants us to be grateful for what we have because there are

poorer people that don’t have the education, clean places to live and food

that we have. Lebanon and Mecca are Khaled’s favorite places. He remem-

bers praying on the steps and street outside the mosque in Mecca, where

there seemed to be millions of peopleat the Hajj (pilgrimage).

Khaled has 4 children and encourages them to value education and to

travel to Lebanon to learn about their culture and heritage. In Lebanon he-

experienced many deaths and tragedies and he was very sad but helped

when he could.

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I N T E R V I E W 3

Badih’sStory

Badih Habib, a 57 year old man who migrated from Lebanon, does not

show his years. Mr Habib migrated to Australia when the war broke out in

Lebanon, where he worked as a teacher. As the war spread to his area he

had the urge to move to a peaceful country and decided to choose Austra-

lia. He arrived here in 1977, at the young age of 22. He also decided to move

to Australia because he had family here.

Mr Habib first worked for a week in a carpet

factory when he came to Australia. He later

worked in an electrical business for 20 years. Mr

Habib highly values education and now works as

a Community Liaison Officer at Bass Hill Public

School. This seems to be a very fitting job for

somebody who values community and parental

involvement in student education. Mr Habib has also been involved in count-

less parent information sessions and Parent and Community meetings at

Bass High school, where he now is the Vice-President of the P and C asso-

ciation. He believes it is essential for parents to be involved in their chil-

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dren’s education and that requires them to support school events and at-

tend information nights that would benefit their child’s future.

When he first arrived in Aus-

tralia he had to gesture with his

hands to make himself under-

stood when buying food and

water. This was a difficult expe-

rience at first, so he tried his

best to learn English when he attended English classes. His English im-

proved considerably and he was able to communicate without any prob-

lems, and now he is able to represent and interact with parents as they help

their children at school.

Mr Habib went to Lebanon for holiday in 2008. He misses many as-

pects of Lebanon, but he wants his children to

stay in Australia because he has been in Austra-

lia for more years than he has spent in Lebanon

and he believes there are more economic and so-

cial opportunities in Australia.

Mr Habib likes the level of multiculturalism in

Australia but believes politics should not be

brought too much into the policy and the de-

bate as this can cause tension among differ-

ent groups and identities in Australia.

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I N T E R V I E W 4

Mr’s Abbas’ Story قصة السيدة عباسMrs Abbas is a kind, polite woman who is the mother of current and former

Bass High students. She is a gentle person, with lovely manners, and she

was happy to share her story with us.

Mrs Abbas was born in Lebanon and was one

of 11 children. She moved to Australia at the age

of 15, due to the civil war in Lebanon. She felt

that Australia would be a safe place for her, and

she was excited about coming here though sad to

leave her family. She really looked forward to seeing the Opera House.

After she had been in Australia for three months, she married. Austra-

lia was a chance to make a new life, and although there were difficulties liv-

ing in a new country, and having to learn a new language and way of life,

she believed that Australia would provide opportunities for her and her

family that were not available in Lebanon due to the war.

Children are a huge part of Mrs Abbas’ life, and it is not surprising to

find that she has nine children. Raising her chil-

dren well means everything to her and it is a full

time job. The family spend most of their time to-

gether and on their farms. One of the main

crops they harvest is tobacco.

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Mrs Abbas believes that education is important, and she has taught her

children to respect their teachers and to value education. Two of her sons

are studying law and she is very proud of them. While the children are at

school or university, she cooks and cleans. There is not a lot of time for

other activities, but Mrs Abbas is very happy to serve the family.

Cooking takes up a large part of her day, and a huge plate of food is

prepared each evening to feed all eleven people in the family. As some peo-

ple like different things, she often prepares

more than one type of dish. Mrs Abbas enjoys

weekends, where the family gets together with

her brother or sisters’ family for lunch. At

these lunches, there are more than 20 children.

Although she is only 37 years old, she has

older children and one of them, Rayanne, is married and expecting a baby.

Mrs Abbas is looking forward to being a grandmother.

Mrs Abbas teaches her children about their religion, Islam, and how it is

important to be kind and to do the right thing by others. She prefers that

they spend time at home together, rather than going out with friends.

Mrs Abbas is extremely generous. When she realised that some of the

students had never tasted Lebanese food, she made

us a delicious lunch of chicken, rice and nuts with a

large bowl of salad. We wish that Mrs Abbas had been

able to share the meal with us. She is such a friendly,

caring person, and we are pleased that she shared her story with us.

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I N T E R V I E W 5

Mrs Amna Elghoul is currently a Primary school teacher, who works

at Auburn Public School. She also works at the Muslim Women’s Society

in her spare time. Overall she is a determined, intelligent and friendly

woman, who has made valuable contributions to both her religion as well

as her community. Her father came to Australia when he was in primary

school due to the civil war in Lebanon. She has two small children, which

makes them fourth generation Lebanese. Amna considers Australia her

home and is excited about the opportunities that this provides for her chil-

dren’s future. She hopes to integrate the Australian way of life with her

Lebanese and Islamic heritage, because this is a major part of her life.

To begin her wonderful story we will start

with her struggles in the first years of her life. It

all began in Auburn West Primary School and

this was a bright beginning for her early life.

There was no such thing as bullying or racism

in Primary School. However, things changed by

the time she got to high school. Amna believes

that the tragic events of the September 11 ter-

rorist attacks affected the way some people see Muslims around the

world. She experienced and saw racism after the attacks on New York.

Amna’s Story

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Amna believes the media has not always played a positive role in represent-

ing Muslims and their beliefs.

Moving to high school was a major event in her life. But it was unfortu-

nately very hard for her, because back when she

was a teenager, the image of Muslim people was

dark in everyone’s mind. Even so, with her great de-

termination and her family’s encouragements, she

pulled through those difficult times.

She did extremely well in her HSC, and continued her education by at-

tending University.At university, she chose to be what she loved most, a Pri-

mary School Teacher. Her family placed little to no pressure on her and it

was probably this reason why she also achieved great results at University.

She once again, after finishing University, visited her old Primary School.

This is where she began her teaching career.

At present, as mentioned above, she still works at Auburn Public

School. Her goal now is to make a difference to the thinking of the

younger generation. In her spare time, she dedicated her talents and expe-

rience to the Muslim Women Society. This is where they provide ESL (Eng-

lish Second Language) classes for both adults and children and provide

other important educational and social activities for Muslim women in the

community.

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I N T E R V I E W 6

Hillal ’s Story

Hillal is a 22 year old male whose parents came as refugees from

Lebanon. They wanted to give their children a better life and escape

the civil war in Lebanon. Australia was a peaceful country full of prom-

ise and opportunity.

They have spent the last 17 years in Gran-

ville. It is Hillal’s favourite place and this is

where he attended school. This area feels

like home to him.

Hillal has plenty of relatives in Lebanon.

He considers them to be very hospitable,

but doesn’t want to return there because he considers Australia home.

He has created his own personal history here now

and has many memories. It is no surprise that he

feels that this is the place for his future family and

ambitions.

Hillal sees Australia as an amazing place due to

its great diversity and many identities. He believes

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the policy of Multiculturalism has worked well in Australia because it is a

place where everyone is accepted for their

uniqueness rather than be judged for being dif-

ferent from others.

Hillal is proud of his family history and wants

to preserve it and pass it on to his own family

one day.

Religion plays a major part in Hillal’s life. It influences and motivates all

his decisions. His belief in Islam impacts on how sees the world and the deci-

sions he makes for his future.

Hillal really values education. At the moment he is about to complete a

Master’s degree.

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