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Mihriban Astare
Mihriban, originally from a Kurdish village in Turkey, arrived in Australia in 1975. Born in Pas (Turkish name Akkus) in April 1956, Mihriban grew up on a large farm with five sisters, living a strong Kurdish cultural life. While the laws in Turkey forbade speaking Kurdish, until the age of six that was the only language she knew and therefore had to learn Turkish quickly to attend school. When Mihriban was 13 years old her father married for a second time in the hope of having a son to carry on the family name. Feeling abandoned, she made plans to leave. First she tried to move to Australia, as one sister was living in Melbourne. Her father would not allow it, so she moved in with another sister who lived in the capital city Istanbul. In Istanbul Mihriban continued her studies.
Mihriban was surprised with the realities of Melbourne, it was not what she had expected. She thought that this was the 'land of hope' and soon realised it was not. She had hoped to buy a car immediately, however this was not possible. Instead she attended English language classes while working in a factory. Later she completed a childcare course at TAFE. Her sister provided a home for her until her father arranged her marriage. The ceremony took place in Turkey. Soon afterwards she rented a small flat in Collingwood and eight months later her husband came to live with her. They had three children.
On her return to Melbourne, Mihriban worked nightshift and looked after her children during the day. When her children were old enough she worked in childcare and at a women's refuge while doing volunteer work for the Turkish and Kurdish communities. Currently she is studying Social Science at university to provide her with the opportunity to have a well earning job in the public service. She feels like a Kurdish Australian, and believes that Australia is a good country to live in with its great multicultural diversity. "
Thankyou to the Ethnic Communites' Council of Victoria for providing these stories. |
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"Overseas
Australia is promoted as the 'Lucky Country', a place where there
are untold opportunities waiting to be taken. This promotion has
captured the attention of hundreds of thousands of people and many
have packed their belongings to start a new life. 
When
Mihriban was 18 years old her Australian sister visited Turkey and
took Mihriban to the Australian Embassy and helped her apply for
a family reunion visa. The approval came eight months later and
her sister gave her money for the plane ticket. The journey was
terrible. During a stopover enroute to Australia officers searched
her and upon arrival in Australia customs officials confiscated
her passport. Her passport was returned two weeks later. Mihriban
believes that someone in Turkey had reported her to customs, accusing
her of bringing in drugs. 
Australia
was a much harder place to live in than Mihriban ever thought and
in 1985 she returned to Turkey with her children to decide where
to make their home. Both countries had many things to offer yet
ultimately they realised that while Turkey was nice for holidays
and to visit friends and family, Australia had better care facilities.
