My name is Rahan and I am a Rohynga Asylum Seeker from Myanmar (Burma). I left my country in 2013 seeking safety and searching for a better future because I am a Rohynga, which meant that I had no right to citizenship and no access to basic services. My family and I were targeted because of our ethnicity.
Our journey was long before arriving to Australia and included traveling to Thailand and Indonesia. Eventually, we hopped on a fishing boat with 210 people, and we spent about 4 long days and nights in open water. At the age of 16, I was terrified and hopeless.
When I arrived in Australia in 2014, I had studied an intensive English course while in detention. I enrolled in school and completed year 11 and year 12 schooling in NSW. After completing HSC, I achieved an ATAR of 83 and I was awarded Vice-Chancellor Scholarship at the University of Sydney. I then completed a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) in 2019.
Currently, I am working as a full-time mental health worker at Flourish Australia and I speak for the Refugees Council of Australia Face-to-Face program to advocate for more awareness on refugees and asylum seekers.
