Fibiyana

AGE 14

My name is Fibiyana. I am fourteen years old. I was born in Iraq. My dad passed away when I was three years old. I have two sisters. The languages that I speak are Chaldean and Arabic.

We went to Syria when I was ten years old and I went to primary school there. I studied in Syria for four years. I learnt a lot of things and met new friends who were good people. I got good marks in primary school and then I went to high school, where I always got good marks too. I went to one place that was like TAFE where they taught us new languages, and I learnt French and English. I went to school and to the place like TAFE at the same time and I met new friends who became my best friends. I used to go over to their houses to study and we went out to have some fun.

When I was in Year 8 I moved to another place and I didn’t get to say goodbye to my friends. I was very sad. I didn’t continue studying because I was waiting for a visa to come to Australia. We got it when the war started in Syria. I was so scared.

I wanted to come to Australia to make all my dreams come true. But life here is very hard. We need to work hard to be able to speak and learn English and fit in. I went to an Intensive English Centre (IEC) to learn English for three terms. I met so many friends through IEC. The school had programs to help us get to know each other and be closer. I graduated from IEC and am now going to high school. I am so nervous but I have to do this to make my mother happy. She is the one who has always supported me and who put so much effort to get me to Australia.

Being a girl in Australia is so much better than being a girl in my country. I was never confident wearing what I liked or even speaking my opinions out loud. When I came to IEC I saw how free girls are here. I was very shy about speaking at first, but I learnt not to be afraid of showing who I am.