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New Humans of Australia: Fozieh

By Emma Prineas | January 28, 2025

“How do you balance what you gain with what you lose?” 


I was born in Bokan, Iran in 1979. My family are of Kurdish background, but I grew up in Iran and speak both Kurdish and Persian. 


Bokan is a medium-sized city and I lived with my large family in a huge house – there was my mum, my two sisters, my brother-in-law and his wife, their two kids and I all there together. 


I did a Bachelor of Literature at university. We studied the big poets and writers of the time like Rumi and I loved it. At the time my favourite hobby was to make the traditional Kurdish clothes, layered with a tapestry of beautiful silver threads. It started as a hobby, but I was so good that I would sell the clothes to people in the town. After university, I worked as a primary school teacher for around five years. I taught my students to love literature too. 

Two students sitting at a desk with headsets and laptops, with a teacher assisting them

I was married in 2015. My husband was in Australia at the time, and I knew his niece in Bokan. She knew that he was a good man looking for a partner so she mentioned me to him.  It was too hard for us to meet up so he sent his family over to meet me and everyone agreed that we were a great match.


We started to speak over the phone. The first time, he called me 20 times to try to say hello but I was sleeping and didn’t answer! When we finally spoke, we talked for a long time. I liked him immediately. We spoke often on the phone and agreed to marry. He had already been in Australia for 13 years, and I knew that I wanted to move abroad. 


My husband had been a politician in Iran but had to leave, and it wasn’t safe to return as Kurdish people like us are persecuted. We don’t have our own land, and are spread between Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. We have a very old culture which we are trying our best to hold onto it, but in school, the children learn Persian – we try to teach them about their Kurdish language and culture, but it is difficult. We do not have a place where we belong and are safe.  


So, my husband and I were married in Turkey. My mother and a lot of his family came too. After our wedding I had to return to Iran and wait seven months for a spousal visa. After I moved to Australia it took three more months for me to get my permanent residency. 


I had mixed feelings leaving Iran. I was so excited to start something new in a place with safety and prosperity, but it was a huge change. I underestimated how much I would have to give up, it was very difficult. 

“Its beautiful in Australia Fozieh, it’s safe and your family will prosper. You will do it for your children. But you will also lose a lot; you will feel isolated, you will miss your family and your culture.”

Fozieh, Adult Migrant English Program


Almost as soon as I arrived here, I fell pregnant. I had my daughter in 2016, and my son in 2021. They are the lights of my life. My daughter speaks both English and Kurdish, but my son only speaks English. We try to keep the culture alive in him, but he is a young Aussie boy!  


I haven’t seen my mother for eight years and she is 80 now. She would love to meet my children but there are rules that mean that my son cannot yet travel with me to Iran. I have my husband’s family here with me, and I love them – but I miss my own family, especially my mother, every day. 


When my son was two years old, I came to Navitas to learn English with the AMEP. I have been studying now for around 18 months. My teacher says that my English is very good, but I feel I have a long way to go. 


I am studying in the digital skills class to improve my computer skills and I’m also studying a Certificate 3 in community services. I’ll continue soon to a Certificate 4 or a Diploma because I want to work with children with disabilities and use my skills as a teacher to help give back.


My children? I want them to be successful and healthy in mind and body. I want them to know the Kurdish culture, to know their roots and not forget. 


If I was to talk to my younger self I would say, “Its beautiful in Australia Fozieh, it’s safe and your family will prosper. You will do it for your children. But you will also lose a lot; you will feel isolated, you will miss your family and your culture.” 


How do you balance what you gain with what you lose? 


Fozieh

Iran

Arrived 2015

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