joudy

Judy left Egypt due to a civil war and her family's initial reaction was not a surprise as political unrest had been building up. They considered immigrating to Canada but chose Australia because it was easier to move there. They left behind their extended family and most of their belongings. Judy and her immediate family visited Egypt once in 2016 but haven't been back since. They brought some cultural aspects like food and speaking Arabic with them. Judy didn't face much discrimination in Australia, but the language barrier was initially challenging. She learned English by observing body language and context. Judy was seven years old when they moved, and she was initially scared but didn't fully realize the impact until a few months later. Egypt was crowded and sometimes unsafe, with shootings and fires happening. They initially lived in Perth before settling in Melbourne. Being in Australia has provided Judy with more opportunities to meet diverse people. Being Australian means diff Just answer it, Judy. I'm getting a laugh, guys. Why did you leave Egypt? I left because there was a civil war happening, so we had to leave. Okay. What was you and your family's initial reaction to the current event? Like, what was happening in Egypt? Oh, I mean, like, it was like a long time coming. Like, you see it happen slowly and slowly. It's not like one day you wake up and it's like, oh, there's a war going on now. It's kind of just like more political unrest until you get a civil war. Did you and your family consider any other countries? Yeah, we were going to be Canadians. It was cute. Anyway, yeah. But no, Australia was the main one because it's pretty easy to immigrate to compared to other Western countries. Who did you – no, what did you leave behind in Egypt? I left behind my family. Like, pretty much everything. We kind of just, like, came here with as little as we could and just started a new life. Did you leave your mom and dad? No, no, no, no. It was just me, my mom, my dad, and my brother. We moved here. And then the rest of my family is still in Egypt. Same with, like, most of our staff. Like, all that. Like, literally, us four just came here. Whatever we had. All right. Who did you – oh, yeah, she just answered that. No, she said, what did you leave behind? Who did you go with, you guys? Do you ever go visit Egypt? I went once in 2016, but I haven't been back since. We were going to go in 2020, but then we couldn't. But no, I haven't been back since. What year did you leave? I left Egypt in 2013. Oh, yeah. OK. What cultures slash traditions did you take with you? I guess the food, unlike speaking Arabic. Yeah, that's pretty much it. When we moved, we just tried to assimilate as best as we could with, like, Australian food. Did you face much discrimination arriving in Australia? Is this supposed to be nice? I mean, no, not really. Like, the only part that was hard for me was just I couldn't speak English at all when I came here. So, like, I was too easy to understand what was going on. You just listen around and you kind of learn off that. After I got over the language barrier, no, I don't think I faced that much discrimination. And, like, how did you learn English? Well, in Egypt I spoke Arabic, obviously, and then I was, like, learning German in Egypt as well. And German and English aren't that, like, they're kind of similar. So I was just able to, like, go off body language and similar words and, like, the context. And I just eventually learned the more I listened to people talk. How old were you when you moved? I was seven. Oh, yes, I heard. What were your initial thoughts on the idea of moving? I mean, I was kind of scared because, like, I'd never been anywhere except Egypt my whole life. And, like, you don't really understand what's going on around you or your family. You're just kind of, like, there for the ride. And it didn't really hit me that we'd moved and, like, left everything behind until a couple of months of being here. What was it like in Egypt? I mean, it's kind of, like, it's, like, the same. I'd say, like, school was pretty much pretty similar to Australia, I guess. I was still young, so we didn't have, like, proper classes. But it's just very crowded because it's very congested cities. I think it's, like, 100 million in one city compared to here. The whole country is 20 million. So it's just congested, loud, kind of unsafe, I guess. Like, there's always, like, people just shooting each other on the street and, like, fires and random stuff happening. But you just kind of avoid that. I think I left it. I felt pretty sheltered in my life in Egypt just because I was always around my family or at school. Like, I was always just, like, out on the street at night or something. Did you originally migrate to Melbourne or did you migrate somewhere else prior? We actually didn't have enough, like, because you do, like, a test and all this stuff to immigrate to Australia. We were actually, like, two points away from being able to go to Australia. But then the WA gave my parents, like, a state scholarship, which is basically since my parents had, like, desired jobs in Australia, they were like, oh, we'll make up the points that you don't have and you can come here. So originally I lived in Perth for a couple of months and then we moved to Melbourne. Has being in Australia given you activities and opportunities that Egypt didn't have? Yeah, I mean, I meet lots of different types of people here. Compared to in Egypt, everyone's pretty much the same. Like, we're all very, like, homogenized country. So I think I've got the opportunity to meet and talk to people that I wouldn't have seen if I'd stayed in Egypt. What does it mean to you to be Australian and why? I don't know, honestly. I think it depends. I think it depends. It's just, like, there's culture, people you're around. It's not even just, like, the country you live in or anything. It's just kind of, like, what you personally feel you are, I guess. Like, I don't know if I really see myself as fully Australian or if I can be fully Australian. But I don't know, it's just, like, a feeling, I guess. You feel Australian. Like, it's just who you are, something you culturally believe. Are you happy in Australia? And if so, why? Yeah, I'm happy because I've met people, like, my friends and, like, my community and stuff. And I would have met them or experienced anything that I've experienced or, I think, had the same level of opportunity if I'd stayed in Egypt. So I'm happy to be in Australia. Have you met Pantale? No. Pantale made me question whether I need to go back to Tunisia or not. Yeah, that's true. That's true. Yeah. That's true. I love that.