From war to peace for new Aussies welcomed at Lake Mac citizenship ceremony
- intouch Magazine
- Nov 26, 2021
- 2 min read
Most parents send their kids off to school worrying about whether they’ll hand in their homework and get their times tables right.
Buthaina Al Tawil’s fears used to be far more serious than that.
As bombs rained down daily in her home city of Damascus – the Syrian capital – in 2013, Mrs Al Tawil farewelled her children each morning unsure whether she would ever see them again.
“It was very hard – it was never safe,” she said.
“I would be at home very worried. Sometimes the bombs would fall on the school, and I would run fast to get them and take them home.”
Fast forward eight years, and Mrs Al Tawil, daughter, Alyssa, 15, and son, Yanal, 17, have embraced a much more peaceful existence in Lake Macquarie after fleeing the conflict and seeking a better life in Australia.
Mrs Al Tawil and Alyssa were among 85 people from 33 nations to become Australian citizens at two separate ceremonies at Rathmines on Friday – the first in-person citizenship ceremonies in Lake Macquarie since COVID lockdowns.
Yanal became a citizen earlier this year.
“We are happy to be here,” Mrs Al Tawil said.
“We have found a better future. People are all so helpful. You go out and they will say: ‘Good morning’, and things like that. They’ll talk to you and help you find things.”
Lake Macquarie Mayor Kay Fraser, who presided over Friday’s ceremonies, said it was always enriching to meet new citizens, hear their stories and find out what prompted them to officially become ‘Aussies’.
“Mrs Al Tawil’s story highlights how we as a community can provide a place for people of all backgrounds and cultures to live happily together,” she said.
“It also demonstrates how much our new citizens contribute to our society – through their history, their culture, their skills and their ambition.”
Mrs Al Tawil is currently studying English, with a view to entering child-care, while Yanal hopes to join the army after completing his HSC next year.
Friday’s two ceremonies saw new citizens aged from three to 82 take the final step in the journey to becoming an Australian.
Cr Fraser said extra ceremonies were planned for early 2022 to ease the backlog of applicants following the COVID-19 lockdowns, starting with the traditional Australia Day ceremony on 26 January.
