Irene and Norman
the trade-off of having to do it all on their own . Moving from one country to another is never an easy journey , I ’ m sure that many people reading this will have moved here or had parents or grandparents who moved to give their families a chance at a better life .
While it is exciting and a true adventure to change your life to this extent , it ’ s not an easy path to take . Irene told me what part of moving here had been most difficult for them .
“ We had already made a move to South Africa and had lived in a different country and that helped us to be prepared for coming here . We had just started to find our feet when COVID hit so we had to deal with just getting comfortable when we were essentially locked down for two years !
“ We found that building a community has been hard , we are part of a church which has also made things easier , but we have missed our support structure in South Africa and because of lockdown I think we are still trying to find our ‘ tribe ’ of people .”
I asked them what they liked most about living in Australia and they both had similar answers . Norman loves taking advantage of the weather and outdoor life .
“ We can enjoy the beautiful scenery , the beaches , the countryside - you can stop anywhere and enjoy it and you can go for a walk and not be worried . Safety was a big issue for us in South Africa , I enjoy cycling and here I don ’ t have to be concerned when I go out for a bike ride , it ’ s not like most other places in the world .”
Feeling safe to enjoy the outdoors with their family was also a big deal for Irene .
“ Coming here was a trade-off , we let go of our support structure to have the security in Australia , not just financial but physical security .
“ I like that we can just go for a walk or to the park and enjoy it ; in South Africa we used to have to drive to a café or restaurant which had a park attached to feel safe outside with our daughter .”
The couple are keen to point out that being accepted as a citizen is more than just having access to an Australian passport . Irene believes it is important to understand about the land on which you live and the people who have come before us and is learning more about Australian history and teaching her children about it .
“ We are proud of being Australian
Mayor of The Hills Shire , Dr Peter Gangemi and Member for Castle Hill Mark Hodges MP welcomed our newest |
citizens on September 17 . |
citizens , I think it is a privilege and want |
and that plays a part in their identity and |
to know more about this land . Before |
belonging .” |
coming to Australia , I didn ’ t know much |
It was a pleasure to speak to two of |
about the history and that ’ s a gap I am |
the newest citizens in our community |
working to fill and know more about . |
and to all the people who became True |
“ I don ’ t want my kids to live in a |
Blue Aussie ’ s last month I ’ d like to say |
bubble and almost be unaware of whose |
congratulations and “ Aussie , Aussie , |
land they are on and what that means , |
Aussie !” |
THE HILLS INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 100 // OCTOBER 2023 7