Zynab Aalyooi
| First name | Zynab |
|---|---|
| Last name | Aalyooi |
| Country of Origin | Iraq |
| Date of Birth | 6/2/1974 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1997 |
| Submitted by | Zynab Aalyooi |
Story
My name is Zynab Aalyooi. I’m from Iraq. I was born in 1974 in South Iraq. I finished my studies in 1994 in Dental Hygiene in Baghdad. I worked on sewing bridal dresses for two years.
In 1996 I got engaged to my neighour who had left Iraq in 1990 because of the Gulf War and now lived in Australia so, I left Iraq to go to Syria to get married because at this time my husband couldn’t enter Iraq. It was a hard moment for me to leave my mother and three sisters in Iraq (just my dad came with me to Syria and he returned after that to Iraq).
It was hard to start a new life with a person I hardly knew (thank god he’s good person) and in a new place. I married in 1997 in Syria. I stayed in Syria for four months. After that my papers were approved by Australian Immigration.
We came by plane with other friends who had married in Syria as well, but they went to Melbourne. I was excited because I had heard and read a lot about Australia so I just wanted to see what it is looked like. The journey took 22 hours but I felt it was like many days. When we arrived at Sydney Airport there was a friend of my husband who was waitng for us.
I was excited and happy to see all the buildings and all the clean streets all the way to our flat.
I think Australia is a great place and Australians are great people and friendly, and Australia means peace and freedom and I hope all the world will be like Australia, MY HOME.