 Our days as immigrants in Australia Mamoonur Rashid
Our family, comprising my wife, Kaneez Rashid and two daughters, Dola (Rizwana Rashid) and Lopa (Sabrina Rashid), first migrated to the UK from Bangladesh for greener pastures. The weather and other factors brought us back to Dhaka after some years. Even the newly acquired British citizenship could not keep us there very long. But the dormant bohemian in me got me to our new home, Sydney, as a skilled migrant. On a cold June morning in 1989, I landed at Sydney’s Kingsford smith International Airport to find employment prospects as a Chartered Management Accountant from CIMA, London. Luckily, the job market for qualified Accountants in Australia appeared reasonable at the time. Lured by the warmer Brisbane weather, I first went there. However, I returned to Sydney because of the city's more extensive employment opportunities. I found my first job as the Chief Accountant of a private group of companies. Of course, there were hurdles, such as having ‘no Australian qualification, no Australian experience' etc. My British qualification helped me overcome that initial hurdle. After joining the company, I rented a house in Eastwood and arranged for the family to join me. Before that, I stayed for about four weeks in Marsfield with my friend Abdul Hannan. The rest of the family joined me in October 1989, and we started a new life in our adopted country. Everyone liked the weather and other features of Sydney. One thing was lacking, though: very few Bangladeshis lived in our locality at the time. However, after three months, we shifted to Eastlakes, paying the Real Estate Agent penalties for breaking the six-month lease. This was necessary for our mental health. In those days, Eastlakes and Hillsdale had many Bangladeshi families with similar backgrounds as well as young children to befriend our daughters. Moving to this suburb significantly diminished homesickness - our first obstacle. All the local Bangladeshi families accepted us and helped us in every possible way to settle into the new country. Before I passed the driving test and bought a car, we had to depend on our friends for our local movements, such as running errands, going to a party or invitation. They did this happily and willingly to help in our settlement process.  Family Picnic-Centennial park-1991 Summer Bangladeshi Cultural Association organised various cultural functions and national days, such as Independence Day, Ekushey February, and Victory Day. We all gave our time and effort and, most importantly, provided funds to make each function very special within the constraints of venue availability and participants' skills in singing, playing musical instruments and stage acting. Boys and girls did many hours of rehearsal for their parts in the total presentation. At that time, Dr Mukhlessur Rahman (late), Kazi Babul, Shamim Rahman, Mohua Haq (late), Mizanur Rahman Tarun and Mrs Nasim Kibria were prominent names in Sydney's Bangla cultural scene. Gama Abdul Quader, President of the Bangladeshi Association of Australia, was another community leader. One popular program was the Bangladesh Association's Annual Dinner, followed by a cultural event. The performing artists, - singers and dancers were all highly enthusiastic homegrown talents. In one such event, Shuvra Rahman, as Cultural Secretary of the Association, brought in TV personality Richard Morecroft as the Master of Ceremony. With a fast-growing child population, many birthday celebrations kept the community members active in the Randwick Community Hall or Centennial Park. Ujjal Bhai (late Gazi Ruhul Haq Ujjal) used to cook lovely dishes like polao, beef curry, and mixed vegetables in big pots in enough quantities to feed the small Bangladeshi community. Mr Fakhruddin Ahmed, Golam Hussain, Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed and Anwar Choudhury were a few other pioneering personalities active in community affairs. Our good family friend, Dr Fazlur Rahman, also had a keen interest in cultural matters. He joined the Bangla Proshar Committee, which, with significant efforts, made it possible for Bangla-speaking students to take up Bangla as an H. Sc subject. He introduced Mohammed Abdur Razzaque, his close, long-time friend from Singapore days to the community as a resource person able to contribute to the community's cultural arena. In mid-1990, Razzaque Bhai joined the University of New South Wales Marketing School as a doctoral student. He had the expertise in script writing, directing drama and organising other cultural functions in Bangladesh and Singapore. His addition to Sydney's Bangladeshi diaspora enriched the community's cultural domain. Our children were very keen to participate in cultural activities. They only needed a good script and direction from some seniors with experience in performing arts. Razzaque Bhai perfectly filled that void. Dola, Lopa, Sonia (Razzaque Bhai's daughter), Tumpa (Farook Khan's daughter), Jessie (Fazlu Bhai’s daughter), Mr Golam Hussain's two sons, Manju, and Babu, and only daughter, Rita, would regularly participate in most cultural events. Manju, an electrical engineer, took care of stage lights and sound. Pushkin (Dr. Mukhlesur Rahman's son) and Sherief (Razzaque Bhai's son) were always ready to help as volunteers. The following paragraphs briefly describe some of the cultural functions the community staged in the early 1990s. • If my memory is not failing me, the Bangladesh Association celebrated Bangladesh's Victory Day at Randwick Community Centre. Razzaque Bhai directed a dramatic rendering of Tagore's famous poem 'Juta Abishkar'. Children of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Sydney participated in the short dramatic presentation. It was a grand success. • In April 1991, the Bangladesh Association celebrated the 20th Independence Day of Bangladesh by staging a dramatic presentation of the evolution of Bangladesh from the debacle in Plassey in 1757. The presentation included a unique combination of 'punthi' reading, pantomime, silent improv, narration, light, and shadow. Razzaque Bhai, the scriptwriter and director of the presentation, acted as the 'punthi' reader, telling the story of how Bangladesh, which lost its independence in 1757, regained it in 1971. I played the role of Mr Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Gama Abdul Kadir, Waliur Rahman Tunu, and many other community members who never performed on stage also participated in that presentation, portraying various historical characters. Ashish Bhattacharya and Shaheen Shanawaz were involved in stage planning, setting and management. The show captivated the audience and remained the talk of the community for a long time. • On the late night of April 29, 1991, a severe storm hit Bangladesh, causing tremendous loss to human life, cattle, crops, vegetation, and properties worth Tk 60 billion. To raise funds for the victims of the catastrophe, the Bangladesh Association staged Tagore’s 'Pujarini’ under Razzaque Bhai's direction. Mr Christopher Legget, a UNSW academic, was the show's MC. Lopa, Kaneez Rashid, Sonia and Sherief played the leading roles. The show helped raise about three thousand dollars and made big ripples in the Bangladesh community. • In 1992, the Bangladesh Association decided to stage a full-fledged Bengali drama to be participated in by the children of the Bangladeshi diaspora. It was a big ask because many of the young people of Bangladesh origin could not read or speak Bengali well. However, Razzaque Bhai took the challenge and developed a script, ‘Chhaya Aloker Khela’ (A Play of Shadow and Light), with few characters. He wrote the Bengali dialogues in Roman Scripts. Shaheen Shahnawaz, Dola, and Babu were in the lead roles, supported by Waliur Rahman Tunu, Jessie Rahman, Rita, Sonia, and others. Dr Fazlur Rahman and Sonia Razzaque were involved in stage management. Each cultural function took months of careful preparation involving planning, artist selection, rehearsals, and troubleshooting. We took turns organising rehearsals at our respective homes. Where possible, the final rehearsal preceded the stage presentation. As parents, we participated according to our expertise in all these activities. We took pride in our children's artistic performances, songs, and dances; however, occasionally, we had to stomach lengthy and tedious speeches of guests, the President of the Association, and other dignitaries. During the nineties, community elders established the  Bangladesh Cultural Night - A group dance in Coronation Hall Botany - 1993 Bangladesh Islamic Association with Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed as President. Members other than me were Muhummed Alamgir, Gama Abdul Kadir, and Abdul Hannan. One of our functions was to diffuse the usual controversy concerning the date of celebrating Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Azha and reach a consensus. The other issue was to select the Imam to lead the Eid Prayer. Another noteworthy venture of the Bangladesh Association was running a Bangla School for the children of the migrants so that they could learn the mother tongue and the culture of Bangladesh. Keeping the children focused on the simple curriculum often proved difficult. They already had the regular school workload, various games, and other relatively more attractive pursuits, such as learning to play the piano or other musical instruments. I was responsible for opening the classroom used by our students at the local Eastlakes Primary School on Sunday mornings. Classes would finish around midday. As the parents accompanied their kids, we arranged tea and biscuits. However, in all these and other social activities organised by various community-based organisations, there was always room for disagreement, often resulting in disputes. Such disputes were commonplace in organisations linked to Bangladeshi politics or political personalities. For example, the Bangabandhu Association had 2 or 3 factions, often not very favourably exposed to one another.  Pitha stall in Burwood Girls High School - Bengali New Year – 1992 We were pretty happy in the Eastern Suburbs, albeit making some moving of the rented residence within Eastlakes and Mascot. Later, we purchased a house in Eastlakes. When our daughters finished their studies at UNSW, we decided to move to a bigger house in Carlingford. Property prices were much higher in the Eastern Suburbs, and moving away was the only way to afford a larger home. The frequent M2 bus service from Oaks Road was very convenient for me to attend my office in the city. After about a year in the private sector, I joined the NSW State Government as a Financial Controller. I gradually climbed to the top level (Senior Service- SO2 grade) to become the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Motor Accidents Authority of NSW (presently merged with other Government Departments). As the CFO, I hired many staff members of diverse nationalities to help the new migrants get their first jobs, which was exceedingly difficult for accountants arriving from overseas. They had to downgrade from their previous positions, like accepting a Finance Officer or senior Finance Officer position from being a Finance Manager, and it was not easy. I found the Chinese employees hard-working, efficient, and loyal compared to other nationalities. I did not encounter racial discrimination during my 18-year service with the NSW Government; racial profiling based on ethnicity and the colour of skin was much more common in the United Kingdom. After settling in Sydney, my wife, Kaneez Rashid, worked as a Customer Service Officer at the Australia Post. After many years of full-time service, she moved to part-time work and retired a few years after I did. That was useful as we had more time available for the grandsons. Our life in leafy Carlingford was cosy. The suburb was much greener than our East Lakes home, with more trees and open spaces. By this time, many of our friends had moved to neighbouring suburbs such as Baulkham Hills, Epping, West Pennant Hills, and Castle Hill. So, there was plenty of social interaction within an easy driving distance of under 30 minutes. Our family member and friend Azeems also moved from Eastlakes to Carlingford just ahead of us. My work-life balance was getting better moving forward. Indeed, our migrant tree's roots were spreading deeper, and the branches were growing equally robustly. As a first-generation migrant landing in Australia at 45, the settling process could have been rougher and more challenging. Our family, consisting of wife Kaneez Rashid, elder daughter Dola, and Lopa, had a pretty smooth sailing in the 'lucky country' (as Australians call it). Both daughters joined Randwick Girls School and made friends quickly as there was no language barrier. English medium schools in Dhaka gave them the confidence they needed. Dola already had 2 A levels. After her H.Sc., she graduated as an electrical engineer from the UNSW (University of New South Wales). Later, she did her MBA from UTS, specialising in IT. Lopa received her Degree in IT from UNSW and followed it with further qualifications in communications. The main reason for our coming to Australia was our children's higher education and independent careers. We did not like them to be full-time housewives. That dream has come true as both now hold high and well-paid positions. Australia cannot match the welfare society of Western European countries such as Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands. Australia is a welfare state even though not entirely; the incursion of some American systems like Private Health Cover has diminished the benevolent facets. However, it has been good enough for both of us, allowing me to look forward to my 80th birthday falling on December 25. Thanks to 'Medicare' - the Australian health care system - which ensures adequate follow-up, preventative treatment, and proper medical care as and when necessary. As our sons-in-law, Dr Reza Ali (Specialist in Emergency Medicine) and Dr Shamsul Muqarrabin (A General Practitioner), are medical practitioners, we have the added benefit of their protection umbrella. Our next move was to Holden Avenue, Epping, the suburb next to Carlingford. Because of the proximity of the two locations, the move had no adverse effect on us as we continued to frequent the same shopping malls: Carlingford Court, North Rocks, Castle Towers, and Macquarie Centre. We knocked down the old house to build a two-storeyed, five-bedroom home. During the one-and-a-half-year construction period, we stayed at the place of our elder daughter, Dola, in West Pennant Hills. Building a new home took much time and effort even though the Builder, Masterton Homes, completed all the construction work. We had to choose roof tiles, floor tiles, all fittings, bricks, doors, inside colours and light fittings. Then, it was the slow and expensive process of furnishing the house with curtains, furniture, carpets, and rugs. Our budget often did not cover the cost of items we liked; we had to settle within the mid-range price bracket. The arduous process of building a new home in the adopted country taught us a lot about local practices and construction methods. However, when we finally moved into the new house after the grant of an Occupation Certificate by Hornsby Shire Council, it was a rewarding experience. The kitchen flashback, feature walls in the Lounge and Rumpus and every little thing in the house bore our mental imprint. This contentment would have been missing if we had bought a readymade house. Now, in our retirement days, we feel genuinely privileged as we enjoy the company of our grandchildren Dilir, Rahil, Rehan, and Kiran. Nothing is more pleasurable than looking after and spending time with the grandkids and seeing them grow and scale newer heights. We have lived in Australia for 34 years; this adopted land is our home now. We have toured the state capital cities, Cairns, Uluru, Kakadu National Park and all the small touristy places in NSW and Queensland. The host country deserved that from us. My 'wanderlust' was satisfied by the beautiful scenic countryside of Australia. As time passed with its inevitable speed, like a little brook, Bangladesh, my sweet country of birth I once called home, became an array of fond, fading memories. It was a unique experience to see our grandchildren grow and learn about the world. Kaneez and I enjoyed the school pickups from Murray Farm School for Dilir, Rahil, and Rehan. We could only go to Kiran's school when we visited our younger daughter, Lopa, in Brisbane. As the grandchildren grew up, they followed their chosen life paths -their studies and work. Dilir finished his double degree from Sydney University and, in February 2022, married Tonny, the bride of his choice. They make a fine couple. Perhaps we are the second family here to see the marriage of grandchildren. Rahil is halfway through his Medicine at the University of Queensland. Rehan is finishing his first year in Computer Science and Finance (double degree) at Sydney University. Kiran will soon be moving to High School. When one has happy children and grandchildren, there is not much more to ask. So, we feel our journey to Downunder’s distant shores has been a success story. Some sceptics may argue that you lose more than you gain in economic migration. Still, every family has a unique way of interpreting things, and they may not necessarily converge. Mamoonur Rashid, Sydney, Australia |
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Home Page Published on: 2-Apr-2024