Sami Sheebo

From a refugee camp to the Parliament of NSW.

I sat down with Sami, in his office on a hot summer’s afternoon. Entering his office, I am offered sweet tea and biscuits. Sami is an employment coach and placement coordinator in town, and a member of the Yazidi community. The Yazidi (Êzidî) community is an ethnicity and religious group indigenous to areas of the Middle East. It is unique in that it is non-Abrahamic and an orally transmitted tradition. It is an incredibly ancient religious tradition, dating back 7000 years which has been subject to persecution and terrorism since the 7th Century.  I have seen images of small Yazidi children standing in the stairwells of their large homes, only to be followed with an image of them standing in the same stairwell, yet the sky is exposed and rubble gathers at their feet.  Its adherents speak Kurmanji, a language not widely recognised. 

I have been so deeply embraced by the Yazidi community of Coffs Harbour. They have taught me their language, educated my husband on terminology and processes to better support their community in his role as a healthcare worker and of course, we have been given the most thoughtful of presents and eaten the best food. I have met Sami through the warm embrace of this community and his involvement in many community groups. My hope is that, as our town proudly holds the title of a Refugee Welcome Zone, we begin to embrace and uplift the voices of our wonderfully diverse and active refugee community. To see the unmatched value the Samis bring to our town. 

Sami’s Story

In 2014, ISIS attacked Sami’s community in Iraq which led to the enslavement of thousands of women, murder and capture of their people. In the village of Sinjar, Sami recalls his arrest by ISIS. 

‘We escaped to the mountains. No access to food and water’ 

Many of the Coffs Harbour Yazidi community members took refuge in the mountains for months, as their families and friends suffered around them. For Sami and his family to find safely, it took a long time. He spent 3 years in a Syrian refugee settlement. First, his sister who was taking refugee in Pakistan was granted access to Australia, and Sami and his parents followed. Before the war, Sami was working as a pharmacist assistant, having just completed tertiary education when the genocide broke out. I ask whether people knew the outbreak was coming. 

‘There was a lot of tension building or all of a sudden one morning everyone woke up and you had to flee or it was a long process of feeling unsafe’ 

Sami has established an organisation called Yazidi House. A main goal of the organisation is 

To have the Yazidi community formally recognised as an ethnic group on the Australian census. He explains that they are not Kurds. ‘Yazidi is a religion, a language. We have our own culture, our food and tradition’. Without this formal recognition and acknowledgement, Sami is worried that their rich culture and heritage will be forgotten. 

For his efforts, he has received a Certificate of Appreciation from the NSW Parliament and has connections which he has sown deeply within politics and local community. As more Yazidi community members settle in Australia, the role of this organisation becomes more imperative. As Sami says, ‘people are still coming from Iraq. They are still fleeing. Every few months a few more families are coming...[people] who has been subjected to injustice, persecution and hardship’. Sami knows of people that are still waiting since 2018 to be granted access to countries like Australia, Canada and Germany.

Sami speaking at the Commemoration of the Yazidi Genocide 

Yet, none of this has come easily. Sami arrived in Australia with no grasp of English, and no transferable education. He now works with an employment agency in town, managing a caseload of more than 50 clients. He initially began with non-English speaking and Kurmanji job seekers primarily but found that spending his home life and professional life speaking with non-native speakers was not improving his English. Sami works with all ‘Aussie clients, many of whom are Indigenous’. 

‘We have made a positive impact on many people’s lives," he says. 

I ask how his English has improved; ‘I, I feel like it is getting better. Because every day you're speaking. Sometimes still struggling, you know, with accent, but, yeah, but now I have good relationship with my clients’. He is very proud of his work and capabilities. Many of his Yazidi friends and family, he tells me, with similar levels of education back home are now working as blueberry pickers, Uber drivers and commercial cleaners. A handful are running small businesses like Iraqi grocers and restaurants. Sami sees that this improved English is a way he can better support his Yazidi community in being a voice and communicator, and to contribute and serve his new Australian home. 

Since arriving in Australia, Sami has married a Yazidi woman and has two small children. Last year he took his first overseas holiday visiting Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. He tells me, ‘I just want to travel over the world you know’.

In a world where our gaze is often directed at our feet, Sami’s eyes are set to the horizon. He has a gift to be truly present in the moment and see the wonder through the challenges.

Sami in Cambodia 2024