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First Day Stories

Landing in Australia...

Do you remember your first day in Australia? SBS takes a look at what sights & smells first struck these new migrants and refugees. #FirstDaySBS

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First day: The former child soldier practising law in Sydney's west

Forced to become a child soldier in South Sudan at six, Deng Thiak Adut thought he would never be able to escape. But a remarkable series of events allowed him to come...
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First Day: Dongup Kim became Australian to visit his family in North Korea

Born in North Korea, Dongup Kim volunteered as a soldier in the South Korean Army during the war. Separated from his family when he was very young, he finally...
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First Day: Sarah Yahya remembers people feeding birds, "Why would you do such a thing?"

Sarah Yahya was born in 1995 and has been living in Australia since 2007. This is how she remembers her First Day in Australia.
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First Day: Family reunited in Australia after six years in Kenyan refugee camp

Deo Masudi witnessed the rape of his wife and daughter when they were attacked in their home in Africa. The family fled the country but it would be years before...
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First Day: The pioneering surgeon who came to Australia on a leaky boat

Confronted by a horrific order to cut the ears off a group of army defectors, Dr Munjed Al Muderis fled Iraq in 1999 and has never been back. Now a leading...
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First Day: The Egyptian-born police officer proud of Australia's multicultural evolution

When Nick Kaldas’s family first moved from Egypt to Australia in the sixties, they moved to a suburb known to house migrants communities. Almost 50 years on, Mr...
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First Day: The trailblazing businesswoman who followed her heart from India to Australia

She left behind friends and family to move to Australia at 20. Now, Rohini Kappadath is now an award-winning businesswoman on a mission to help other women rise...
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January 2016
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First Day: "I was surprised by the low building architecture"

In 1992 Grace Otrebka arrived to Australia with her family. From the very first day the friendliness of the hostel staff made them think they could make it in this country.
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Author
Anna Sadurska
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First Day: "I was involved in this team spirit with my brothers and sisters"

The formality of Australian migration officials was rather scary for Roger, who arrived in Australia from Mauritius with his grandmother when he was 13 years old.
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Author
Bertrand Tungandame
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First Day: "I fell in love with the city when I first landed"

It was a magic day for Wendy who arrived in Australia on her birthday day, and fell in love with Sydney.
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Author
RO
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First Day: "I was surprised by how casual people were"

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Author
William Shi
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First Day: "For nine days I slept in a cupboard under the stairs"

When German comedian CJ Delling arrived to Australia in a rainy winter day, she went straight to the room she had rented online. But it was not available.
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Author
Wolfgang Mueller
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Share your #FirstDay in Australia story and win a Special Prize

This Australia Day, we want to hear your stories.
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Author
Mosiqi Acharya
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First Day: "It was very emotional because of the dimension of the decision I had made"

Lise de Robillard arrived in Australia almost fifty years ago. It was a big decision moving from Mauritius -where the family enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle- to Australia, not speaking English and bringing up five children.
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Author
Bertrand Tungamdame
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First Day: How did you start life in Australia?

First Day series: We are following migrants and refugees who have made a difference in their communities, starting from day one. We asked readers to submit their own stories of arriving in Australia and these are some of their responses.
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Author
SBS News
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First Day: Villawood migration hostel closed a week before Lidija arrived

"How clean, how big, how wide everything was. The sky was so blue; I had never seen anything like that."
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Author
Radica Bojkovska
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First Day: "In Australia I was reunited with my sweetheart of five years"

Domingo Perdon and his girlfriend were office mates in Manila. They both applied to migrate to Australia. She was accepted; he wasn't. She moved to Australia and he joined her the following year, in 1981.
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Author
Ronald Manila