Victoria University refugee Ghanieh Daghagheleh fled Iran and travelled by boat to Australia

HUNDREDS of asylum seekers who have narrowly escaped death among life-threatening waters are living, working and studying in Melbourne’s west.

Ghanieh Daghagheleh arrived from Iran in 2013 by boat. She is now doing a Bachelor of Nursing/Midwifery at Victoria University. Picture: George Salpigtidis

HUNDREDS of asylum seekers who have narrowly escaped death among life-threatening waters are living, working and studying in Melbourne’s west.

Speaking on the eve of this week’s Refugee Week, Victoria University student Ghanieh Daghagheleh said she fled Iran in 2013, jumping on a boat bound for Australian shores with her parents and three younger siblings.

Only 17 at the time, Ms Daghagheleh did not know if she or her family would make it to Australia alive.

REFUGEE FAMILY’S MESSAGE TO AUSTRALIA

REFUGEE LEADS BY EXAMPLE

But like many others, the Daghagheleh family faced the stark predicament — stay and risk death in Iran or flee and run the risk of death at sea for a chance at a better life.

“It was very scary and the most challenging experience of my life,” Ms Daghagheleh said.

“There was a 50-50 chance of getting there or drowning and dying in the ocean.

“But we had to leave; it wasn’t safe in Iran anymore.”

It took six months for the family to arrive safely in Australia.

This period was spent in detention centres across Indonesia, Christmas Island and Darwin.

Days in detention were mainly filled with English classes.

Detainees had no access to phones and computer use was limited to just 30 minutes a day in an internet room.

It was in an art class where Ms Daghagheleh experienced racism for the first time.

“I remember drawing a heart and writing ‘I love AUS’ inside … the teacher said ‘you’re not an Australian citizen, you shouldn’t have drawn that’,” she said.

According to Refugee Council statistics, 1389 people were in Australian detention facilities on March 31 of this year.

Figures show 335 of those people were asylum seekers who arrived by boat.

The average time spent in detention centres was 826 days.

Victoria University Polytechnic has 113 students with an asylum seeker background — the highest number studying at any tertiary institution in the state.

Vocational education vice-president Grant Dreher said the university was proud to support students from diverse backgrounds achieve their career goals.

“Education and training provide opportunities for asylum seekers to engage with their community, contribute to the economic growth of Australia, communicate better and begin to rebuild their lives,” he said.

Ms Daghagheleh began her Australian education on a scholarship at Victoria University in Footscray.

She is thriving in a Bachelor Nursing/Midwifery course, with hopes of entering a career in medicine in the future.

The 22-year-old says she couldn’t be happier.

“The university is a great support, it is definitely a place to grow,” she said.

Refugee week runs from June 17 to 23. World Refugee Day is today.

To donate to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, visit asrc.org.au/telethon