When I arrive in detention centre
I forgot my name, because they called me by a number.
With the help of a lots of my friends
i find my name again.
If people are seeking a better life in Australia
then why would that be a problem?
When thousands of people are happy
for their newborn babies,
but thousands witness the death of their loved ones.
My name is Nahji Chu,
I was born in Luang Prahbang, Laos.
I arrived in Australia at the age of 8 as a refugee.
We ended up in three different Thailand camps.
My mother went first,
and she took four kids with her and headed down
to the Mekong River at the foot of the river,
we started painting ourselves with mud.
I was petrified
and there was a man sitting on the canoe,
with the hand over my mouth the whole trip over.
We were locked up in a tiny little cell.
There may have been about 30 to 40 people in a cell.
We remained there for three months.
We lived on rations of rice and eggs.
Those memories are what form
who I am today.
Horrible experiences in life can give you
more strength
than if you hadn't gone through them.
I decided to
do what I was really good at
which was Vietnamese food,
and namely rice paper rolls.
So I started really small.
I decided to use my name
and call it Miss Chu.
If you love Vietnamese food
you've also got to love my culture.
If you love Vietnamese food, and a lot of you do,
you've also got to accept
the fact that I came as a refugee.
That's the real story of how Vietnamese
got to this country.
And I hated refugee being
connected with negativity.
You'll find that most refugees
are exactly just like me.
They're hardworking
they want to do well,
and they'll do anything for a leg up.
I couldn't think of a better citizen for this country
than that of a refugee, because they come
with that headspace already.
I'm Rohullah Hossani from Afghanistan.
and I'm 27 years old
and I left Afghanistan
about three and a half years ago.
Since when I was 14 years old
I start travelling to - start running, actually
to keep safe myself and my life.
We come in a leaky boat, a fishing boat,
75 persons on the boat.
And for three months
when I was in detention centre
I forgot my name.
I had a number.
When they send me out
they sent me to Adelaide,
and after a month
I came to Swan Hill,
and I find a job
I find lots of friends in Swan Hill.
There's a lot of antagonism towards boat people
and we use this reference of boat people.
Without understanding that the people
who get in to boats to come to this country
are absolutely desperate to find security
and safety
and a new life for themselves and their family.
Why I come to overseas
and I don't have anywhere to go back
not actually me - all refugees.
I love Swan Hill.
I have a full time job,
I have lots of friends,
and I'm living in a limbo.
My name is Hani Abdile
I'm from Somalia
I live in Sydney NSW
and I go to Bankstown Senior College.
The war was not far, it was in front of our house.
it was on the corners of everywhere.
It was not an easy decision to make
and leave my loved ones
especially my mum.
At the end of the day my parents decided
they better send me somewhere
where it will be safe for me to survive.
There's no need for me to be sad
about what happened yesterday.
because it's already gone, it will never come back
the same.
Even if it hurts,
I have to forget it, just try to forget it,
and to continue my new day
with a new face and new happiness.
and smile because life is short.
For me, school means a lot to me.
When I get enrolled
it was the first time I was in a proper school.
It was the first time I had a pen and paper.
Bankstown Extensive English Centre
is a specialty centre.
Where English language is of course the prime focus.
Hani has come to Australia through a great deal
of challenges in her own personal world.
It's great to see that
Hani and other students like Hani
have aspirations in their life
I know my poems are really powerful for me,
and what I believe
also other people will believe the same.
I have a dream
a dream that will never fail.
The path I'm going is very rocky and really rough
but I have to go to high school, finish,
and then go to university
to do my dream career
to become an investigation journalist.
Our dreams come true
we make our life
interested and fullfilling.
Thank you.
What's our future?
Tonight, or maybe tomorrow
they could come in and send us back to Afghanistan.
The word refugee
was a positive word
it meant production, it meant good life.
it meant opportunities.
We have a problem with the media
and the politics of this country.
And we have a problem with the leaders
of this country.
I really don't think we have a refugee problem.