Afghani refugees, now Australian citizens, Suleman Amiri and his mother Hoson Ara Amiri at Springvale Town Hall last week for theAustralia Day citizenship ceremony.Shaun Inguanzo
SULEMAN Amiri still finds it hard to comprehend the freedom and number of opportunities Australia offers compared to his homeland, Afghanistan.
The 21yearold fled with his mother Hoson Ara Amiri from Afghanistan in 2003 after the Taliban killed his father and hunted the family for disagreeing with the group’s politics.
But at last week’s Citizenship Ceremony at Springvale Town Hall, on Australia Day, the horrific experience became further embedded in the past as the pair were presented with their Australian citizenship.
In 2001, soon after his father’s murder, Suleman said the Taliban hunted his mother for teaching people democratic principles. Hoson was arrested and placed in prison for one night, and later placed under house arrest.
With the aid of a friend, the mother and son escaped to Pakistan, but Suleman said they were still not safe with many Taliban cells operating in the country.
After hearing of the democratic society and freedom on offer in Australia, Suleman and his mother sought the help of the Australian High Commission in Pakistan and underwent the process of migration. Two years later, they were accepted into the nation, and are both extremely thankful for the move.
“I am going to TAFE and am studying computer systems engineering,” Suleman said. “I have had job experience at (a friend’s) computer shop.”
For his mother, Hoson, the journey from Afghanistan to Dandenong has been enduring.
Suleman said she was recovering from a long bout of depression, brought on by the hardship in Afghanistan.
But now Australia’s newest citizens can enjoy their new home, along with the 128 other new Australians presented with their citizenship certificates on Australia Day at the Springvale Town Hall.
