THINGS WILL SORT THEMSELVES OUT.

Lisa gave her an impulsive hug, which embarrassed her a little bit. "Don't worry, it's only temporary. Things will sort themselves out." On the way back to the main buildings she found Dad talking...

BLINKING IN THE SUN FEELING HOMESICK

Saranda blinked in the sun. Where am I? She tried to get the world into focus. The magpies carolled in the tall eucalyptus trees scattered along the barracks' garden. A group of refugee's boys looked...

ARE WE REAL MUSLIMS, MUM ?

" It is locked, honey." Someone gently touched her arm. "You've come a long way, you are safe now." Saranda looked up at the kind woman's face. She was one of the barracks staff who served them in...

PART 1 THE SUNNY COUNTRY April 1998

Finally their family and four hundred other refugees began their interim new life in Australia.Saranda closed her eyes when hot shower touched her skin. She had dreamt about this moment the whole month....

' Don't look back, go ahead...'

" We are going to Australia." Dad entered their tent early morning. " What are you talking about?" Grandmum stood up with difficulty from the ground. " Come on kids, we are going to...

I'M EVER-CHANGING YET THE SAME

MY DEAR SOULMATES; I HOPE YOU LIKE MY NEW 'APPEARANCE'. I TOOK TO MY HEART ALL YOUR SUGGESTIONS AND TRIED TO MAKE MY 'BITTERSWEET' BLOG MORE ORGANIZED FOR YOUR CONVIENCENCE. I BELIEVE THAT CONTENT IS...

1. QUESTION TIME - HOW OUR KIDS HANDLE STRESS?

I hope you enjoy reading Saranda's story. I changed her name to protect her privacy although she does not live in Australia any more. I have tried to stay 'close to the truth' with her story as much as possible, relying on my observation notes from our conversations and notes from her diary I had a privilege to read / I mean the parts written in English as she liked to switch to Arabic often/. From the time I met Saranda I have taught many other students from different backgrounds, of different...

A GOLDEN BIRD FLYING TO THE SUN. DOES SHE MAKE IT?

The flood of refugees grew bigger as they slowly moved toward the border. There were dark mountains around them. "Up there is the village, where our Granny lives." Saranda poitned to the left, there...

KOSOVO CONFLICT 1998-1999

FROM SARANDA'S DIARY - MARCH 1998 The weather changed suddenly. Thunder grumbled somewhere beyond the horizon, or was it the sound of many guns. Saranda felt her heart beating wildly. " Keep quiet and...

MY STUDENT FROM A MUSLIM COLLEGE

When I think about my experience teaching for a year in a Muslim College in Perth, one particular student comes to my mind. Not long time ago I opened the West Australian Newspaper and there she was,standing...

Separation, challenge and return

WHAT DOESN'T BEND - BREAKSMy son kept me regularly informed about his travels. He longed to reach the ancient Inca city and his dream came true. To reach the upper stony structures the visitor travels...

An adolescent's journey into manhood

I want to tell you a story about my son's experiences with a passage to manhood. From birth to 7 years of age was his first passage when he started school in a new country, dealt with his first bullies...

HOW HEAVY IS YOUR HEART?

This poem I dedicated to my first born son. He was the most happy baby you could wish for, always smiling in spite of wet nappy or a late feed. As a boy he sailed with his good friend around the Rottnest...

WHAT MAKES US HUMAN?

This poem I had dedicated to my son born in Australia when he started to question: himself, people around him, place where he lives and his family. Before he was born he survived a car crash and battled...

MY Perception of people

Our children do not need psychological labels and medication, our children need love and trustI was a child once, a confused and insecured one, diagnosed as depressed and traumatised. People felt sorry for me and i felt worthless. I was naughty child as well, people felt angry with me and I felt unloved.I was a teenager once, giving my teachers a hard time and arguing with my aging Grandmother, my sole carer and was diagnosed as suffering from something likeappositional defiant disorder. They persuaded...

Special human beings

I regret all those times when I worried about my look, my weaknesses and flaws when I was child. I learnt to accept all my flaws. Flaws and weaknesses, strengths and abilities that is me. That what makes me special. When my children come to me wanting to correct their flaws, I remind them: ' Don't change, be who you are. There is only one you.'We need to teach children to embrace themselves as they are and to embrace other people as well.Bitter and sweet, they are unique traits that make me, you,...

Bittersweet Beata

there is nothing to compare with a deep bond with another, even if it means we feel the pain as well as the joy. Connection is about empathy, which is the ability to imaginatively feel the emotional state of another. This is the most remarkable skill.It is also a matter of understanding through bodily imitation. Children learn to speak, and nearly everything else, by imitation. Babies will imitate the facial expressions of adults within the first hour of birth. Later they learnt to distinguish difference...