Lana

AGE 15

Hi. My name is Lana. I’m fifteen years old. I was born in Baghdad, Iraq, on 29 July and I had a great childhood with my family and friends. It was a really nice childhood. Then the situation in Baghdad got worse and worse so my dad decided to move us to Syria.

It was a nice life in Syria. I met many people and I had my best friends there. I still talk to them every day. But we’re separated now. In Syria, the first two years were perfect, then we had to wait for travel documents to the United States, but it took a lot of time. I loved going to church and going out with my friends and going to school. Then the war started and the situation in Syria got worse and worse. We were still waiting for our travel documents and there was one question always on our minds. What would our ending be – would we die in Syria or travel to the USA? Then we had a new problem. My mum was pregnant. And we had to wait for the baby’s birth. When my brother was born we went to the American Embassy and we told them that we were seven now: my father, mother, my two sisters, brothers and me.

The war was getting closer and closer. The day the war came to our place I was in school and it was a Thursday. We were in a maths class. I still remember all the moments – my friends crying, shouting and running to the gate so they could get out and save their lives. I was so sad and afraid of dying. It was the worst day of my life.

Then, after that, the UN told us that they had to change the country that we were going to travel to and that it would be Australia. I was so happy and excited; it was like I was blind and saw the light. They gave us the date for travel. Everything moved so fast. The last six months before we came we had hope that we were going to live.

Finally we were able to travel. It was so hard for me to leave my best friends. I cried so much because I loved and had got used to my friends. But my dreams had come true; I could finally travel. In Australia I’ve met many new friends and lovely people. I sometimes feel like I’m Aussie, and that’s funny ’cause I’m not, but it’s just a feeling I have. I love my new country. I feel like I have to be a good person. I have to be a positive person. I want to get a job and buy a car in the future so I can live like any Aussie girl here.

Thanks, Australia!