New Humans of Australia: Nader

When I arrived in Australia I had no language skills, it felt like being in prison. But now, I wish I was born in Australia, it’s a wonderful country. 

I was born in Iran, in 1986. It was a busy and happy home. My father was a farmer, and my mother was a homemaker. We had a huge family with brothers and sisters everywhere, and I was in the middle.  

My childhood was happy. I loved playing football and I went to the local primary school, and high school, but I couldn’t complete my studies.  

My wife and I married in 2014. When our fathers introduced us I remember thinking she was so beautiful. We both just wanted a simple life of happiness. We have had 4 beautiful children together; three daughters and a son, all of them born in Iran.  

One of my daughters was born with a disability and has been in a wheelchair most of her life. Iran didn’t have the medical support available to give her a full and healthy life, so my wife and I applied to move to Australia on a refugee visa; it felt the safest for our young family.  

After three years we were finally granted the refugee visa. I was hopeful about what lay ahead, particularly for our daughter, but I felt immediately very stressed when we got the news. None of us spoke a word of English and Australia felt very far away and foreign.  

We were all so anxious on the plane; the announcements and signs were in English and we had no idea what anybody was saying to us. I have never felt so worried; we were completely on our own.  

But when we arrived in Sydney airport, we were met by the team at SSI. They had a wheelchair for my daughter and someone who could speak to us in Farsi. It was so relieved. 

We were settled in Western Sydney and for the first few weeks, I still felt very anxious. I used an app on my phone to help translate. I remember going to buy bread and someone said ‘good morning’ to me. I had no idea what he was talking about! I felt embarrassed. For those first three months it felt like a prison. 

Slowly things started to feel a bit more comfortable. I enrolled in the Adult Migrant English Program at Navitas, and I made some friends – some of them spoke Farsi, it was wonderful to be able to communicate again. Little by little I started to learn English – first the alphabet, which is different from our own, and then a few words.  

We’ve been in Australia for 10 months now, and I can communicate better than I thought I would be able to! We feel safe and comfortable here. My oldest daughter is in school, and although she didn’t speak a word of English when we arrived, she is conversational now and has friends. It’s remarkable how quickly children learn and adapt, their brains are amazing!  

My wife is a full-time carer for our 9-year-old daughter. It’s difficult for us both, our family and friends are all still in Iran, and we speak to them every day.  

We are adapting to so many things at once in Sydney. The food is different, the culture is different. But I am just so grateful that we are here. I want to give my daughter the best chance of a happy healthy life, any parent would do the same.