PODCAST:LIFEINAUSTRALIA-Transcript
EPISODE9
Relationships:“Weareallhumans,we’reall
equal”.
Person1
You’relisteningtoanotherpodcastfromTheAustralianRedCross
Narrator
ConnectLearnShareLifeinAustraliaPodcastexploresthelivesandexperiencesofyoungpeoplewith
asylumseekerandrefugeebackgroundslivinginAustralia.Theysharetheiradviceforotheryoungpeople
newlyarrivedtoourcountry.
IfyoulistenedtoourlastepisodeofConnectLearnShareLifeinAustraliaPodcast,wespokeaboutwhat
it’sliketobeemployedinAustralia.Today,we’relookingatwhatit’sliketomakenewrelationshipsin
Australia.
Comingtoanewcountryischallenging,andformingnewrelationshipscanbeagreatwaytomakethe
transitioneasier.Youcanmakerelationshipswithteachers,newfamily,neighbours,andpeopleatyour
schoolorworkplace.Havingastrongrelationshipwithfamilycangiveyousupportwhenyouneedit
most.
Person1
Ihaveareallystrongrelationshipwithmymother…IfeellikeI’mlivingwithmybestfriend,becauseshe
sharesallhersecretswithme,andIshareallmysecretswithher!Idon’tfeellikeshe’samothertome,I
feellikeshe’sabestfriend!
Narrator
InAustraliamanandwomenaregivenequalopportunity,nooneshouldbetreatedbadlyordiscriminated
againstbecauseoftheirgender.
Person2
Inourcountries,thegirlshouldnotworkandwecan’tmakeanyrelationshipswithboys:inAustraliait
seemsbitdifferent.Here,itismoreopen-mindedandyoucantalktowhomeveryouwant,andmakenew
relationshipswithboys:butjustasafriend,notromantic.
Person1
InIraq,there’sabigdifferencebetweenboysandgirls.Agirlcan’tgooutandwearwhatevershewants
andsheisexpectedtostayhomeandcookforaman.Buthere,there’snodifferencebetweenamanand
awoman.
Person4
Eveninmycountry,thegirlscan’tdrive...here,it’ssoeasy!
Person1
WhenIwassmall,mydadusedtoteachmetobestrong…andsincethatday,Iwouldlovetobea
policewoman,andIstillwanttobeapolicewoman.We'reallhumans,we'reallequal.
Person1
We'realltreatedequally...thewomen,shecandowhatevershewants...noonecancontrolherorstop
her!Andthat’sagoodthing!
Narrator
ItcanbechallengingtomakenewfriendshipsuponcomingtoAustralia.Rememberthatformingnew
relationshipscantaketimeandtrust.
Person2
It’shardbecauseourlanguageisdifferent.It’shardtojustsay,‘Hi,howareyou?’or‘What’syour
name?’,becauseIdon’tknowwhattheymightaskinresponse.
Person3Atschool,wespeakalotwithArabicspeaker,becausewesharealanguageandthey
understandyourculture,understandwhatyousay,yourthoughts.WhenItellmyfriendsthatIhave
issueswithmyfather,thathecan’tallowmetocometothisparty,sheunderstands,becausesheisalso
Arabic.But,theothergirls,maybethey’dbesurprised,orlaugh.
Person3
Ofcourse,whenourlanguagegetsbetter,wecanhavemorerelationshipswithpeople,we’llfeelmore
confidentwhenwespeakwiththem.Whenourlanguagegetsbetter,it’sbetterforourlife.
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Narrator
Therearepeoplearoundyou,likeyourneighboursorteachers,canbecomeyourfriendsandhelpyouina
lotofways.
Person2
WhereI’mfrom,youcan’tevensayhelloifyouseeyourteachersinthestreet!
Person3
Werunawayifweseeourteacher!
Inourcountry,weonlyrespecttheteachers,butcanneverbefriendswiththem.InAustralia,itseems
different,youcanformrelationshipswithteachers,andtheycareaboutusandhelpus.They’remore
open-minded.
Person1
Inourcountry,wehaveverycloserelationshipswithourneighbours.It’sasifweareonefamily...allthe
neighboursspendtimewitheachother.Sometimes,mygrandmausedtocookfood,andthenhandedit
outtoournextdoorneighbour,that’showclosewewere.
Person2
It’snotthereligion,becauseinourcountrieswehavedifferentreligionaswell,buthere,asI’vetoldyou,
it’sthelanguagebarrierthatmakesitchallenging.Ican’tspeakverywellwithmyneighbours,Icanjust
say‘Hello’,butinmyoldcountry,itwaslikeonebigfamily.Ireallymissthat.
Narrator
ComingtoAustraliaasayoungpersonisnotalwayseasy,butformingrelationshipsisjustonewayto
makethingsalittlesmoother.Thereareanumberofotherthingscanmakeyourintegrationinto
Australiansocietysimpler.
Person1
Watchcartoons,that’stheeasiestthingever!That’showmymumlearnteverything!
Person2
ThemostbeautifulthinghereinAustralia,whenyourEnglishisn’tverygoodandyou’respeakingto
Australians,they’relike,‘Yeahrelax,Icanunderstandyou,Igotthepoint.’It’sbeautiful!
Person4
Don’tbeshyinyourclass...butI’malwaysshy!Youhavetoasktheteacherifyoudon’tunderstand
anything.
Person2
Don’tstress,everythingwillgetbetter!Youcanmakenewrelationships,youcanstudy,youcanwork...
youjusthavetotakearest.Everythingwillgetbetter!
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Narrator
Asyou’veheard,inAustraliayoucanformrelationshipswithteachers,neighbours,andmakenewfriends.
Thereisequalopportunityformenandwomen.Itcanbechallengingtomeetnewpeoplewhenyoufirst
arrive,butremember,“Everythingwillgetbetter!”
Thesearethestoriesandadvicefromyoungpeoplefromasylumseekerbackgrounds.
Person1
ConnectLearnShare,LifeinAustraliaPodcast
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