Literary Journalism - A hand to hold

From the outside, it appears to be an ordinary suburban home, hidden within the trendy Sydney suburb of Marrickville. The only distinguishing feature is a black and gold plaque that hangs by the door bell and reads “Rosemount”. But behind this door, magic happens and from the instant that I walk inside it is like being transported to one of my extended family get-together’s, surrounded by lots of smiling, chattering faces, clinking cups of tea and shrills of laughter.

The ‘family’ sitting around an oversized dining table in the back sun room are refugees, from all over the world, brought together by circumstance and a determination to better their situations. Settlement Services International (SSI), New South Wales’ largest humanitarian settlement organisation and Rosemount Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services community centre, run a program that supports refugees to establish their own businesses. The refugees had the talent and Rosemount Good Shepherd had the facilities and the budget, Honey Muir explains from SSI. It was a simple decision to combine their efforts in creating this project, that they have aptly named ‘Ignite’.

Sitting in the courtyard at a small wooden table and stools that remind me of childhood backyard barbeques, the woman sitting across from me is far removed from the image of a woman fleeing persecution. She is chic, with long shiny black boots, heavy, dark makeup, and long dark hair. Maria, 31, is of a refugee status in Australia from Iran and eager to tell her story.

Some mornings Maria springs out of bed and marches out her front door certain that she will become a famous photographer in Australia. Other mornings she finds it difficult to lift her head from her pillow, feeling heavy; consumed by doubt and fear. This emotional rollercoaster would be expected from someone who has fled to three different countries in four years. Five years ago, Maria made a short film about Iran’s oldest religion, Zoroastrianism. She has thought about the film every day since. This five minute film changed her life forever, tearing her from her family, her friends, her culture and her career as a photographer and film maker. Her intention was to tell a story but the Iranian government accused her of attempting to convert people away from the official religion of Iran, Shia Islam to Zoroastrianism, now a minority religion in Iran. Her family faced persecution if she stayed so she fled to Turkey where she was accepted by the United Nations as a refugee.

Maria arrived in Australia twelve months ago and is the face of the ‘Ignite’ program and the first person of a refugee status to have her business up and running. Already a successful photographer in Iran and Turkey, the program was there to help her navigate the Australian world of small business; organising business cards, setting up a website and providing her with the financial assistance to buy a camera and lenses.

When Maria arrived in Australia, she did not speak a word of English. Her inability to communicate left her frustrated and disheartened. “At first, I thought Australian people are very hard people, not friendly, not helpful”. Maria smiles, staring into the distance, reflecting on how her life has changed over the last twelve months. She tells me that she sees things differently now. She believes Australian people are “very helpful and very nice” and that Australians have a good sense of community. “All the people in Australia, they love together”. This observation of the Australian community is tinged with sadness because Maria receives little support from the Iranian community. She describes a similar experience in Turkey, “I had the same experience in Turkey, Iranian people doesn’t like together”. There is a stigma within the Iranian community against refugees and I am in awe of Maria’s achievements, as my eyes are opened to the isolation she must have felt arriving to a new country, a new language and being cut off from the people that she called home. “If Iranian people liked together like Australian people, then my country would be better”.

Maria does not know where her determination comes from but explains that photography is her identity. “This is just my way, you know, I have to do photography”. “If I am dying and I am born again, again, again I choose photography”. She has an eye for industrial photography; advertising, billboards, food and architecture. “Not for children” she laughs.

As she leaves to join the other refugees for the weekly program meeting, Maria explains that she is on a journey to make peace with the film that cost her everything, adding narration and music which she hopes to submit in Sydney’s Iranian short film festival this year.

Sitting at the table waiting for Sima to arrive, an old man walks past carrying ancient looking etchings of a Pharaoh and the Mona Lisa. They look as if they have been stolen from the Louvre museum. His name is Victor and he is a refugee from Egypt. Victor etches images into large sheets of copper that stand a metre tall. I watch him being photographed, proudly clutching his works of art in front of him. Victor is also supported by the ‘Ignite’ program, Honey tells me.

Sima arrives with enough food to feed every person in Marrickville, enhancing the warm family feeling of the community centre. In a similar situation to Maria, the last few years have been heartbreaking and uncertain for her. Sima and her family are of the Bahá'í faith, which is considered an unlawful minority religion in Iran. People are not afforded basic human rights, like going to school, to work or allowed to have visitors to their homes, if they are identified as following this religion by the government. Her father was killed and Sima knew that if she stayed in Iran, her and her family would be in danger. The family fled to Turkey where they were accepted as refugees. Two years later, Sima, her mother and her son came to Australia, arriving seven months ago. Sima tells me her story through a translator.

At home in Iran, she would turn the key in the front door and tiptoe into the lounge room, careful not to disturb the sleeping house and sit at her large wooden cutting table. She would start pulling the thread through the hand punched holes of the smooth leather until four o’clock in the morning. Sleep came between the hours of four and seven. The day would begin again, when she would knock door to door, selling health products in her home town, in Iran.

Sima explains that every girl in Iran must learn to hand stitch leather bags, in a tradition that is passed on from mother to daughter. She mastered the art of cutting the outline, punching the holes, stitching the edges and embroidering her designs on denim, before working with leather. Every bag is a piece of art, created with love, stitched with care, each with an individual design inspired from her life in Iran embroidered on the front. “You have to put your love in it; it’s not just making a bag”. She has brought a sample to show me and passes it to me as though it is made of glass. The green leather feels like silk, the stitching is perfectly aligned and the embroidery is three simple, elegant flowers stitched in yellow and red thread, in the top left corner.

Sima describes herself as “naughty” and I see a flicker of her cheeky confidence as she giggles telling me stories of when she was a girl, growing up in a small village in Iran. Her passion was the theatre and she loved to stand on the stage and perform funny character voices in front of an audience. She loved to watch people laugh. The smile leaves her eyes as she remembers how the people closest to her would tease and laugh at her. “Everyone put me down and told me I was not good at it”. She never stopped believing in her talent and continued to perform in spite of the criticism. “I will try and I will get somewhere. Women have a capability”. “If someone lives in the comfort, they don’t think and they don’t use their capability but if all the doors are closed to you, you use your capability. You find a way out”.

This self-belief led Sima to start a business four months after arriving in Australia. With the support
of the ‘Ignite’ program, Sima is buying tools and leather and tells me that her business will be up and
running within the next three months. “Maybe even earlier” she grins. The business is called ‘Bags of Love and Peace’ and if you buy one of Sima’s bags, that is exactly the message that you are buying. Her bags encapsulate hope, strength and determination.

She is happy in Australia. She likes that men and women are equal and that everyone has the same
opportunity to succeed. She likes that people are free to follow their own religion in peace. Since arriving in Australia, Sima has not been to the theatre. “I’ve played a lot of roles in my life and on my journey and I don’t need to go to the theatre because my life has been all the action and entertainment I need”.

The ‘Ignite’ small business start-ups for refugees initiative is a wide reaching community effort. From
the local business people that volunteer their time to share their business knowledge with the future
entrepreneurs, to the printing company R.M Gregory who printed Maria’s business cards for free. Every offer of a helping hand brings these inspiring refugees one step closer to realising their dreams. One of the most important offers of support for the program to date came from the local Addison Road markets in Marrickville. Rosanna, the general manager of Addison Road markets, agreed to give the program eight permanent tables, to be used for the sole purpose of giving people like Sima the opportunity to exhibit their work. This real estate is highly sought after, with no openings for the next two years. It will provide refugees like Sima and Victor the exposure they require for their businesses to flourish.

It is important to tell the stories like Maria’s and Sima’s, but it is not without its risks. Particularly in Iran, people are tasked with the job of trawling internet sites hunting for information on people who have fled the country. If information is found, the families that are left behind face the persecution intended for them. They are courageous and spirited women, choosing to share their stories, in spite of the risks. Their unsettled lives have left them with an unwavering determination and given me a raw insight into their strengths and capabilities as people and as women. With an entire community standing behind them to prop them up, they are certain to establish successful businesses and happy lives in Australia. Sima tells me that when her business is operational and successful, she wants to help the elderly and anyone else, of any age, origin or religion that might need a hand to hold in life.

Elissa Connely
Written in cooperation with Settlement Services International
2016