TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:02] Tracy (interviewer/producer):
Welcome to Choice and Control, a podcast by Carers Queensland celebrating the inclusion of people with disability in our communities. Each episode features stories from people with disability, their families and carers, as well as insights from community members and leaders to give you more opportunity and more choice and control in your life.
Welcome to our special Harmony Week 2025 podcast. This year we're celebrating the theme of Everyone Belongs, which emphasises the importance of embracing our differences and fostering a sense of belonging for all Australians.
In this episode, we talk to Rawah and Samah - two young sisters who successfully obtained entry to Australia from Iraq via humanitarian visas. After meeting access to the NDIS, the sisters say they have been ‘reborn’.
[00:01:01] Samah and Rawah (interviewees):
So basically, what we've been doing with them is, is sharing our story and how disability is like in our community and in our country compared to here in Australia.
[00:01:10] Tracy (interviewer):
Can you tell me what it is like, what it was like, having a disability back in your home country? Iraq?
[00:01:20] Samah and Rawah:
So having disability in Iraq, it's a really, really difficult thing. So basically, there's no support at all, no education. So, people with a disability are not accepted in education area, so they don't give them education and they just kind of ignore in the whole community or the country, mostly, they don't get any support in any way.
[00:01:50] Tracy:
When you came to Australia, what differences did you notice?
[00:02:00] Samah and Rawah:
A lot. Like it was a life change, like a whole new life to us. So basically, the first day we came to Australia, we know that's a whole different life. So, the way we describe the way we live in Australia, we just call it reborn. We were just reborn.
[00:02:24] Tracy:
Now you are sisters. Yes. You support each other in your journey, do you? How do you support each other?
[00:02:36] Samah and Rawah:
I guess you like how we support each other. So, we have basically we, not just sister or not this family, like kind of one soul in just two different body. Because you are like sharing, like we both have the same disability. So, we support each other in whatever decision we make because you know that decision will be effective for both of us, will be helpful for both of us. So, because like we are one soul.
Almost in our country, like all the time, the only thing we do is stay at home because there was nothing else for us to do. As there was no education, especially when other kids go to school. So, we spent our whole life sitting together right next to each other.
[00:03:47] Tracy:
So, you feel like you're one person in two bodies.
[00:03:55] Samah and Rawah:
Yeah, that's the exact. That's the only way I can describe it.
[00:04:15] Tracy:
That's beautiful. You must be so grateful that you have each other because I can imagine that, you know, life must be pretty challenging sometimes.
[00:04:38] Samah and Rawah:
It was really challenging, especially back in our country, Iraq. So of course it's really challenging for the family as well, having two people with the same disability, physical disability, at the same house. But for both of us, in a way, it kind of was a good thing.
So, if I was by myself or she was by herself in our country, she would be more than devastated because, like, even thoughts together, we will... But having one alongside the other, we can kind of understand each other.
Folks like, say, oh, I've got someone by my side. If the other kids go to school, I still have my sister with me.
[00:04:50] Tracy:
How do you guys feel about Harmony Week and why it's important to celebrate diversity and inclusion here?
[00:05:11] Samah and Rawah:
I actually really like the idea of Harmony Day. It's like really important everyone to know the culture because Toowoomba is really multicultural. So, it's really good to bring everyone together to share that diversity and culture together so everyone has an understanding of what that culture is. And so, if some people don't know much about one culture in particular, then if there's an event like a Harmony Day, they will get more understanding of it.
[00:05:41] Tracy:
And with that understanding, how does that help, do you think?
[00:05:47] Samah and Rawah:
I guess it makes the community to settle in, in the area they are, like more freely, and they feel like they are a part of that community, the whole community and that area. So, when we came to Australia, our community, Ezidi, are really small community compared to now. After we came and we saw people from our community and the community from like other community, when they came to us and welcomed us, we felt like we were at home in our own country. Because it was a big, big change for us coming to a whole different world. Basically, a new country, a new language, new culture, everything was new to us. So, when people really make you welcome and comfortable.
[00:06:25] Tracy:
When you first arrived, how did people make you feel welcome and comfortable?
[00:06:28] Samah and Rawah:
Especially from our community, we had families coming visiting us - so that they will know, oh, we've got people from our community, because we did not speak English, no English at all. They will get traditional food for us; whatever we need to make us feel at home and then multicultural Australia as well - they were a big part of our journey. They show us everywhere around, they settle us in educational places like schools; pay for all the people to learn English and they show us all around so that made us feel way more comfortable.
And I think also like the way people in Australia treat you is like treat you equally. Doesn't matter where you are from, what disability you have or not, they treat you equally as everyone else. They don't make you that you are feeling any different. They don't make you say “oh I have a disability; I don't belong to this kind of group of people”. They just treat everyone equally. That's what we really like in Australia.
Yeah, always when we say, like it doesn't matter how many times you say we are really thankful for this country. It's like we are not saying it enough because it doesn't add up to what they have done for us.
So basically, they gave us a whole new life, a brand-new life but a life full of opportunity and rights because we never experienced that in our previous life. No opportunity, no rights.
[00:08:31] Tracy:
When you made contact with Carers Queensland, we would have assisted you to meet access for the NDIS. How has Carers Queensland helped you and the NDIS, how has that helped you?
[00:08:45] Samah and Rawah:
Oh, I guess NDIS was also like for me as someone was the biggest, like that they played the biggest role in our journey. They gave us support beyond our imagination like they gave support that we could never imagine we can access to get, and we never thought they exist in this world, and they made us more independent we than we ever thought we would be.
[00:09:10] Tracy:
What are some of your goals that you'd like to achieve now that you have support?
[00:09:17] Samah and Rawah:
So one of our goals with the NDIS we have set, as both of us are now over 18, we set our goal to drive, to drive a car basically so we never ever thought we could even like the idea didn't come to our mind that we could drive and when we talk to people like around NDIS that we could actually drive. As we got over 18, one of the goals we add to our NDS plan was driving a car.
[00:09:53] Tracy:
Do you have a message that you'd like to share with other people about the importance of inclusion and diversity?
[00:10:03] Samah and Rawah:
I would say like for me it was like… so I was in Iraq and I thought I will never have an opportunity in my life to achieve like a dreams I want, or experience like the things I want but then doesn't matter like if there's a door closed there'll be always other doors of opportunity be open for you. So just wait patiently and then one day there'll be opportunity for you. So doesn't matter if you have a disability, just like have a dream so you can work towards that dream so you will achieve it more like faster and you are working more toward that dream.
[00:10:47] Carers Queensland promotion
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[00:11:38] Tracy (voiceover):
As part of their advocacy work, Rawah and Samah have created their own podcast called Our World to share their lived experience.
[00:11:48] Samah and Rawah:
Oh yes, both of us, me and Rawah, we are really shy because you know, in our country we didn't get to, be with people much because as we said, people are not equal at all, especially people with disability.
So, we are really shy. We don't talk to people, people around us much unless we really get to know them with time. And our OT said how about if you do a podcast? The only idea of podcast was making us so that we can be more socialized. And we said what is a podcast?
We had no idea what even a podcast is. So, we go to listen to a couple of podcasts and then we went to meet with someone to do a podcast and we start telling our story. And as we start telling our story there was like, yeah, that's great. And we talk more. Once we started, we didn't even know how. We keep going and going. We just sit there and sometimes talk for a couple of hours straight after school and then we interview other people.
So, after the first couple of episodes are basically our story, our journey to Australia and our journey in our country in Iraq. And then we interview people who play a role in our life, not just like me and Rawah, but like people who come from a different country, like multicultural Australia, NDIS, people from TAFE for those adults in learning English. And we all of our dream are to be doctors and we actually interview Dr. Palispana, Dennis Palipana Sorry. As a doctor and when we interviewed him, we got so inspired by him that we can actually be doctors even with a physical disability.
[00:13:59] Tracy:
With your physical disability, what are some of the barriers that you've overcome?
[00:14:07] Samah and Rawah:
I think a lot. So, first of all, in our country we had no technology assistance at all, not a single thing. So, no power wheelchair, no hoist, not even like, you know, maxi taxi, not even that. So basically, our all moving around was family have to carry us around. Every, like everywhere we want to go, a family has to carry us around.
[00:14:37] Tracy:
So, you didn't have access to wheelchairs or anything like that?
[00:14:42] Samah and Rawah:
No. Yeah. After we got power wheelchair, we felt we have our legs back. We really feel that we are using our legs to move around independently.
[00:14:55] Tracy:
I was looking at your podcast and one of the episodes is using a motorbike as a wheelchair. Growing up with a disability in Iraq. Can you tell me about that? How do you use a motorbike as a wheelchair?
[00:15:08] Samah and Rawah:
So, you know how like when the kids like three years old or two, there's a small motorbike, they like made of plastic, they like ride. So, me, I sat up because we didn't have any wheelchair or anything back in Iraq. So, my parents, they saw it and they bought two of those for me and summer. So, we couldn't move around more easily or anywhere we went. So, we actually were riding those two instead of the wheelchairs.
We used them, I think we were like 9 and 10 years old. We were using that just to lift some weight, even a tiny bit of weight from our family and parents’ shoulder. Instead of carrying us around, we would just use that where we could. Of course, like it's not accessible in Iraq. Like especially houses, they are not accessible at all. So, we just use where we could.
[00:16:05] Tracy:
So, with that lack of accessibility and you know, you have to sort of be creative in using motorbikes and various things. It must be very difficult in terms of getting around.
[00:16:18] Samah and Rawah:
It was really difficult at both, at the moment, my parents, both of them have shoulder and back pain problems because of since we born and until we just came to Australia. I was 14, until that age, they will lift us all the way from the floor up to move us somewhere or if we want to go somewhere by car, they will lift us, put us in the car and when we arrive, lift us again and take us out of the car. And that will be repeated for two persons.
[00:16:54] Carers Queensland promotion
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[00:18:03] Tracy:
Can you tell me about how Multicultural Australia helps refugees find a home?
[00:18:09] Samah and Rawah:
So, as I told you before, Multicultural Australia, especially when you are new arrival, they play a big role in your life. For that time being the other one makes you settle in. So, they made refugees that will come here to Toowoomba, to settle in Toowoomba. So, they enrol us in a school. They enrol like adult at pay for English to learn English. They show us like even shopping how to go around shopping. They show us transport to use transportation. So, they are the one showing you all around to settle in. It's a really difficult thing when you come to a new country, and you know nothing about it. So, when we put our name for Australia, we did not even heard Australia before that, not even as once.
[00:18:45] Tracy:
What are some of the things that you have achieved that you are most proud of?
[00:19:17] Samah and Rawah:
Obviously being the first one to share our story through a podcast like from our community. And for me being able to finish high school, so I never ever thought in my life I would go to school. Not just finish it but even go to school like access education. And I was always interested in education, really love to get education, educated. So, like we at school at the last day we have a walkout where all school will make two lines and year 12 students’ and staff will walk between. And the second I reach that line to walk out, I got really emotional because all that back, all that thoughts come back to me like you didn't even know you're gonna go to school. And look, you now are walking out his last day of school to finish high school.
And so, all of that memory that I, like all the thoughts that I couldn't do in my country, came back to my head. And then at the last one it's always like whatever the thought came, one would hear say look, you did it, you finished high school.
[00:20:42] Tracy:
You just must have been so grateful. It must have been such a mix of emotions for you.
[00:20:49] Samah and Rawah:
It was really emotional, and it doesn't matter how much you say. And the, the thing is that we can't describe how grateful we are to this country. It just, there is no word to actually describe it.
I would say, like for people who have a disability, I would say never give up because there'll be always an opportunity coming for you. So never give up on a life. Be inspired by other people.
Take opportunities, like whatever opportunity you have, take them, chase them. Don't like to say, oh, I can't do this, I have this disability. It doesn't mean you can't do it. You just have to put your mindset on it and consider you don't have that disability. You are just different abled. Doesn't matter. Don't say I have a disability; I can't do it. Just like chase that opportunity. Yeah.
(Samah) As Rawah said, just take any opportunity you get. It was like for both of us, we didn't have a single opportunity. So, after we came here, we take whatever opportunity came in our way and then we think about how we gonna do it. So first we take opportunity because there's always a way around it. Of course, if you are with disability, you will take a little bit different pathway to take it, to achieve that goal or even might take some time or some effort, but that doesn't mean you can't take that opportunity and you can't work towards that opportunity.
[00:22:07] Tracy:
Wonderful message to end on. Thank you so much for talking to me today and all the best with your future.
[00:22:15] Rawah:
Thank you so much.
[00:22:20] Samah:
Thank you so much.
[00:22:29] Tracy (announcement)
And that was Rawah and Samah, two young Ezidi migrants who are celebrating diversity this Harmony Week.
If you would like to enjoy more stories from Queensland’s vibrant multicultural communities, or access our Harmony Day resources on our website, follow the links in the episode transcript.
[00:22:43] Tracy (announcement)
Thanks for joining us at Choice and Control, a Carers Queensland podcast. If you've enjoyed this episode, please rate, review and share. For more information on the NDIS or Carers Queensland, visit our website carersqld.com.au or call our enquiry line on 1300999636 or follow us on Facebook.
