Highlights
- Assyrian-Australian Elias Shamoon and his family fled their homes in northern Iraq following the first Gulf War
- They arrived in Australia in 1992 as refugees, after spending two years in a refugee camp
- Mr Shamoon has established himself as a successful businessman and a prominent member of the Assyrian community of Sydney
My journey to my new home is a weekly segment by SBS Assyrian that reveals the personal experiences of brave refugees and migrants, who risked their lives by embarking on the perilous journey from their homeland to Australia. Despite the trauma and hardships they endured, they managed to build successful lives in their new country through resilience and hard work.
Elias Shamoon, a stalwart of the Assyrian community of Australia, is one of them.
He arrived in Australia with his family in 1992 after spending two years in a refugee camp, in the aftermath of the first Gulf War.
Decades on, Mr Shamoon has established himself as the director of multiple businesses that collectively employ more than 500 people, in the security, cleaning, carwash, and events sectors.
But it almost never was.
Fleeing the dangers of Saddam’s army
Mr Shamoon’s journey to Australia began in 1990 following the Gulf War and the rise of Kurdish population in northern Iraq.
The army of dictator Saddam Hussein had moved towards Iraq's north to take back the provinces of Duhok, Sulaymaniyah and Erbil, proclaimed by the Kurds.
This military operation generated panic and fear among the population of northern Iraq which saw around 260,000 residents of Duhok leave their homes and move towards the mountains along the border with Turkey.
Like many others, Mr Shamoon uprooted his family and began the journey towards the mountains with whatever items of clothing and food they could carry.
He expected the journey to the border to take around two to three days, before they could enter as refugees.
But the journey in the dry and freezing mountains of northern Iraq lasted more than 13 days.
Luckily, Mr Shamoon and his family, before leaving their cars at the foot of the mountain, came across many abandoned vehicles that belonged to other fleeing people.
He saw that many had left all their belongings, food and water, in these cars. He says he was lucky he had his cousins with him, and they began picking up food left behind and carried it with them.
Elias Shamoon in the refugee camp in Turkey. Source: SBS Assyrian
Life in the camps
When they reached the Turkish-Iraqi border, they entered a refugee camp that was hosting more than 800,000 others.
International aid began arriving and food was airdropped by allied planes.
He recalls that those who were fit and young ran quickly to gather as much food as they could from the air drop, leaving the elderly and vulnerable with nothing.
“The desperation that people were in created a form of selfishness among them, everyone was thinking how to survive. Many people disappeared, but nobody cared, because everyone’s concern was how can I feed my family, my children and when will I enter Turkey so I can apply for refugee status?”
The large mass of people crammed into the camp caused the spread of many diseases that led to the death of over 1800 people within three months, an average of 20 to 30 people a day.
Mr Shamoon (centre standing) with other Assyrian refugees. Source: Elias Shamoon
A new start in Australia
Mr Shamoon says he was fortunate to have his cousin living in Australia, who worked very hard to sponsor the family to come to Australia.
Mr Shamoon, his wife, and a few of his cousins arrived in Sydney in 1992.
“I would like to thank the Australian government for accepting us as refugees, taking care of us at our arrival and giving us the opportunity to be alive today.”
He recalls that he received welfare payments when he arrived while he searched for a job, which amounted to around $150 per person.
But despite the assistance, he wanted to stop his dependence on the payments.
“After two or three months being on welfare payment, I started feeling tight and uncomfortable, I wanted to find a job”.
Three months into his Australian journey, he secured his first job at a takeaway shop in the city centre.
There, he worked hard and was getting good money, much better than when he was on welfare.
One day, the shop owner offered him partnership in the business. Mr Shamoon went home and discussed it with his wife. After much consideration, he decided not to accept the offer, but decided to start his own business.
Within six years of his arrival, he owned and operated his own security and cleaning business.
Looking back on that period in the late '90s, he stressed that people must be “courageous and adventurous” if they want to succeed in life.
He believes Australia “gives everyone the opportunity and liberty to do what they like, legally and ethically”.
"I always tell my children, never forget what Australia did for us, we should always be grateful.”
He says that when he arrived in Australia in 1992, he had no money, and on top of that, he arrived owing his sponsor more than $7000 for the cost of tickets for his family’s passage to Australia.
He used to have many businesses back home and was used to a good and comfortable life.
But in the first three months from his arrival, he realised that being on welfare payments were not enough for his family to get by.
He started his cleaning business working two hours a day, once a week. Now he runs multiple businesses in Australia and New Zealand with over 500 employees.
Mr Shamoon’s advice to the community and particularly to the younger generations is that he arrived with no academic qualifications, no capital, very little knowledge in English, but through planning and determination, he became successful.
Mr Shamoon in his head office in Sydney. Source: Elia Shamoon.jpg
He urges the young people who have always had peaceful and comfortable lives in this country, who have graduated from universities and colleges, to think about starting their own businesses.
He believes with their successes, they will be able to help others.
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