My name is Halima, although on Nauru they wrote my name down as Helena….. I was born in Bangladesh. My husband Mohammad Sumon and I had to leave Bangladesh to seek freedom in Australia. We escaped by boat but sadly we arrived in Australian waters after the 19th July 2013. The Prime Minister said we had to go to Nauru and would never become citizens in Australia. We were sent to Australia from Nauru in August of 2014 for medical reasons and have lived here for nearly 12 years. I have two daughters who were born in Australia. The eldest who is 10 years of age is now an Australian citizen but her younger sister and we as parents are not.
We cannot go back to Bangladesh and so we have nowhere to go. Our dream is become Australian citizens. Thank you to all the people who have made us feel welcome in this country and for groups like Circle of Friends and Justice for Refugees SA for sharing our story with politicians. I want my daughters to have stories of success.
