I am a writer and Software Engineer passionate about antiques, art, and literature. This is a unique online store and blog to share my thoughts, passions and creations with you. This is My Story!
At the beginning of My Story
My story begins in January 1975 in Tehran, the capital of Iran. I was born into a middle-class family with roots established in that part of the world for thousands of years. I had a memorable and could even say happy childhood even though I was only 4 years old when the 1979 revolution happened and only 5 years old when Iraq attacked Iran and started a war that lasted for 8 long years.
I went to school a year earlier than I should have and even though I struggled at first, with the help of a lovely family friend who was a teacher assisting me with private lessons, I soon started to catch up and even race ahead. I studied mathematics and physics in high school and Computer Software engineering at the University of Science and Culture in Tehran. I fell in love and got married when I was 19 to a distant family member who also worked in the IT industry in Tehran/Iran. We had our first beautiful daughter when I was still studying at uni and our second beautiful daughter a couple of years later.
Life wasn’t always easy for us but like so many other Iranian families, we always managed to find a way to laugh, play and party. We had each other to rely on, there was always a family member, a parent, a brother, a sister, a cousin, or a neighbour who could help or knew someone who could help if we needed.
Immigration
Despite a socially and financially settled life, we weren’t happy and wanted more for our daughters and ourselves. So one hot summer day while we were comfortably resting at our beautiful apartment in the north of Tehran with no worries about the cost of our energy bills, we decided to apply for a permanent Australian skilled migrant visa. Seventeen months later, we got our visa and entered a beautiful country on the other side of the world.
We didn’t know anyone in Australia and we didn’t have any job or accommodation waiting for us. Our English was good enough for us to be ineligible for English as a second language classes but not good enough to understand Aussie accents and slang. Our temporary 3 weeks accommodation in CBD was rented through the internet for $3700 in 2010. Yep, we came to Australia with lots of cash but did not know the rules of our new country, soon we experienced financial instability and learnt about the word ‘anxiety’.
Unknowns
We had qualifications and years of experience in Iran but didn’t know how to play the game and represent ourselves in our new country. What’s more, not having local experience and citizenship, as we were told every time we applied for IT or managing positions for over a year, left us working in unrelated positions below our qualifications and capabilities.
Life was tough for me, surprisingly tougher than when I was a kid and I had to stay quiet in the dark waiting for sirens to announce the end of aerial bombardment by Iraqis.
Eleven years have passed since the day we landed in Australia. We are all Australian citizens now, I have local experience and I have met lots of lovely people who intentionally or unintentionally have helped me along the way.
Working long hours under the pressure and insecurity of being a proud immigrant from Iran, mostly underestimated and hardly trusted by her fellow countrymates, caused me to not only miss precious years of my daughters’ childhood but also to develop a couple of health issues. It took me ten years to accept the reality of my new life and to start to appreciate the valuable experiences I had gained through the life challenges.
Future
Creating this website and brand has been one of the first steps towards creating my dream life. A life wherein I am proud of my roots but also appreciate the opportunities given to me in my new country. I value any love or positivity you can bring to this new world of mine.
If you don’t acknowledge and appreciate where you come from, You will never understand, appreciate and settle where you are now.
Zahra Pedram Jafari (Zarzar)
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