Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the City is proud to support the Living in Harmony festival and its important message of tolerance, understanding and respect for all cultures. “There are people from more than 200 nations living in Sydney and the festival gives us the opportunity to think about and deal with issues of cultural, racial or religious intolerance,” the Lord Mayor said.
Amir Javan, known as Alex, was born in Iran in 1974. He worked in the jewellery industry before fleeing to Australia via Malaysia in 2000 due to his political activities. Mr Javan was held in Western Australia’s Curtin Immigration Detention Centre and South Australia’s Baxter Immigration Detention Facility for four-and-a-half years, before winning his case in the High Court and gaining a protection visa.
At a special one-off night, People Just Like Us, at Customs House, Circular Quay, Mr Javan shares his story of fleeing persecution, his time in detention and new life in Sydney.
Despite being released from detention a decade ago, Mr Javan suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is haunted by images of his incarceration. But he appreciates his life as a new Australian citizen and works as a licenced real estate agent and investment property specialist based in North Sydney.
Mr Javan said he hoped by telling his story it would lead to changes in the detention centre system, so that no one had to go through similar experiences. “I also want to talk about how when I was released from the centre, everyone was so helpful and everything changed for me,” Mr Javan said. “When I first arrived in Australia, I was told in detention that I was not welcome here, and what I have since found is that this is not true.”
