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Arthur Weasley taught us that curiosity is a good thing.
Angela (R) with the author, Andrea
Angela @ Nagle
Angela @ Nagle
Angela Aoun arrived in Australia two years ago after escaping the war in Syria. She’s an incredible individual whose wonderful personality thrived throughout her interview. She’s open-minded, open-hearted and open to talk. We sustained a wonderful conversation in which a language barrier was non-existent. We communicated ideas and feelings, and it is through this interaction that I grew to know the kind character and the strength this girl holds and has developed. Angela has a passion for languages, having learned French in Syria and learning English within a year for her future in Australia. Her passion for languages has ensured she’s had a good time meeting new people and communicating with others, especially her teachers who have welcomed her warmly into the Nagle community.
She holds the memory of Nagle staff greeting her upon her initial arrival with many saying ‘Welcome to Nagle’. Thus, she feels that she is introduced to the Nagle community with a strong sense of one of our College values, WELCOME. This value ensures her overall comfortable transition between different lifestyles.
It has become evident that Angela has grown to be more than just her past experiences and holds her homes of Syria and Australia in her heart. There are a variety of things she loves about her home country and many things she has grown to love about Australia.
She reminisced to me about her favourite singer named Nancy whom she loved/s/ to listen to from Syria, and about the Arabic food that she loved to eat and about the village mountain called “old mountain” that she marvelled to look at. She smiled as she told me about the English she has learned to speak and the lessons in Australia she could learn a lot from.
These experiences at school have become her favourite ones in Australia. She has procured a great likeness to her teachers Ms Aquilina and Ms Elliot who have become her favourites. Ms Aquilina has provided her with good explanations during her lessons whilst Ms Elliot has taught her grammar, both of which have been entirely helpful in her learning at Nagle and in the greater community.
Angela’s story is like those of many refugees who seek safety and security in Australia. Nagle’s diversity represents this through the variety of cultures that have gathered in Blacktown with families who immigrated with dreams and aspirations. The value of WELCOME is one held in great regard at Nagle College and as a community, we should actively show this towards those in need. Angela was welcomed into a new life along with her family.
This interview is not the first you have heard of Angela. She shared her story with the entire school together with her cousin, Natalie. They were both given the opportunity to share their experiences during school assemblies. To publicly speak about their lives took tremendous amounts of courage as they recounted their sad memories with the whole community. After reading this you are not only discovering Angela the survivor, but Angela the student as well. She is metamorphosing into a beautiful, young individual with immense resilience destined for a magnificent future.
-A Abreu, Year 11
22 July 2019
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