(Left to right) Dalal Ali, Nanssy Ali, Dima Ali, David Rashid, Siham Bibou and Oday Rashid have made Wagga their new home eight years after fleeing persecution. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
When ISIS (Islamic State) launched a genocide against Yazidi people in the Iraqi town of Bashiqa, residents Siham Bibou and Oday Rashid took their three young daughters and left life as they knew it behind.
Oday had been a bus driver and a mechanic. When ISIS first attacked his village he was left without a job for four months, so the family was already enduring hardship.
They fled to the country’s north in the Iraqi summer of 2014 without so much as warm clothes for the winter.
“My youngest, Dalal, was only 40 days old and we left everything, including her milk,” Siham said.
“We had a very hard life.”
“Very hard” was an understatement, but the Yazidi family eventually moved on to Turkey and registered themselves with the United Nations.
Their trials were not over yet. Oday toiled to earn a meagre income to provide the basics for his family.
They endured a further two years of adversity in Turkey but their life changed in 2016 when Australia received them for resettlement.
Under the resettlement program, the couple moved to Wagga with their three daughters Dima Ali, Nanssy Ali, Dalal Ali and their youngest son David Rashid, who was born in Turkey.
“We didn’t know anything about Australia at the time and we didn’t know anyone here,” Siham said.
“It was like a strange country, but we liked it very much from the first day we came to Wagga.”
The mother of four said the family had received an immeasurable amount of help from volunteers and neighbours.
“Belinda [Crain] from the Multicultural Office is a great woman,” Siham said.
“Whenever we needed something, we would go ask her and she always helped us.”
The family received their Australian citizenship at the April 2022 ceremony. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
The father of four said the family struggled with English when they moved to Australia.
“Even though we had studied a little bit of English back in my country, the conversation style is different,” Oday said.
The family now officially calls Australia home, having received their Australian Citizenship in April 2022.
“It was our dream to get citizenship,” Oday said.
“Wagga is quiet and safe, and it’s good for my family.”
Siham proudly added that she had passed her citizenship test on the first try.
“I’m so happy and proud of myself,” she said.
Nanssy and Dima attend Wagga High School while little Dalal and David attend Turvey Park Public School. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
Eight years after fleeing persecution Siham is now a stay-at-home mother, while Oday works for Flipscreen Australia after completing his builder apprenticeship.
Nanssy (18) and Dima (16) attend Wagga High School, while eight-year-old Dalal and six-year-old David attend Turvey Park Public School.
Having rebuilt and been welcomed into the Wagga community with open arms, it is difficult to imagine the displaced life this family once lived.
Young Dima said she and her siblings didn’t really understand what happened when they were little but realised the gravity of their situation as they got older.
Both Dima and Nanssy love their new lives, attending school and knowing they have a future in Australia.
Nanssy said she wanted to pursue a Bachelor of Health in Medical Science at Charles Sturt University, and Dima is keen to follow suit.
“I don’t know what I want to do yet, but it’s definitely something in medicine and helping people in need,” Nanssy said.
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