Home is Here: Narges Shaterian

My name is Narges. I arrived in Australia in 2013 with my family, my husband and our three children, by boat. 

I was eager to study and learn English, with many plans and aspirations. However, upon arrival at Christmas Island, we were forced into detention centres, where we remained for a year before being transferred to Melbourne and placed in community detention.

Despite these challenges, I was determined to prioritise education for myself and my children. We began English classes while in detention and continued upon our release. Unfortunately, the government did not provide support for our education after a year, and we couldn’t afford international student fees.

We still attended English classes at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre for three years until we received permission to enrol in TAFE courses. However, my eldest son, who has a physical disability and is highly intelligent, was unable to continue his education due to accessibility issues at the ASRC.

Despite working to achieve an IT degree, he was unable to find employment due to visa restrictions and lack of support. I heard about a company that supports disabled people to give them jobs, but they couldn’t help him even if he has work rights, because he didn’t have a permanent visa. He’s since been homebound.

Meanwhile, I’ve continued studying and obtained various certifications, including an interpreting and translating degree. I also ran my own pizza shop last year, but sold that because my son was alone at home. I am now working as a support worker.

My husband has his own painting company, and my daughter is studying a Masters of Medical Imaging at University, while working multiple jobs to pay international student fees.

My youngest child, who was only 8 years old when we arrived, has graduated from high school and on to university, but wasn’t able to pay international fees so he was forced to leave and is now a real estate manager.

I want to emphasise that refugees like us are simply seeking a safe place to develop our abilities and contribute to the Australian community. Thanks, with love and respect.