{"id":18715,"date":"2024-02-06T12:54:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T04:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/?p=18715"},"modified":"2025-07-23T13:27:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T05:27:24","slug":"writer-to-advocate-for-most-vulnerable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/writer-to-advocate-for-most-vulnerable\/","title":{"rendered":"Writer to advocate for most vulnerable"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Amer Saleh.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author | Carmelle Wilkinson<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born to a Syrian mother and Palestine father, Amer Saleh is all too familiar with the conflict, and trauma that comes from severe political differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Days from graduating with a Master of Arts in professional and publishing writing, the 24-year-old reflects on her parents\u2019 brave decision to flee Syria for London when she was just two, and her personal journey as the child of immigrant parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy parents really are my refuge,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir resilience, strength and faith have made me who I am today, and their love and unwavering support gave me the courage to leave the UK four years ago and chase my dream of becoming a writer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watching the carnage unfold in Gaza and Israel, Amer is reminded why her desire to fight for human rights and freedom of speech is so important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGiving the world\u2019s most vulnerable a voice and writing about things that matter the most to me, is what I want to do when I leave Curtin,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would love to make a difference and work for an organisation that advocates for something bigger than me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up, Amer said she would often have conversations with her dad about Palestine\u2019s past and his response was always the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d call dad crying saying and he\u2019d say it\u2019s ok, the Palestinians are tough. They will get through this. They have faith,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think when you\u2019ve gone through so much as my dad has, you build a thick skin to it. He\u2019s made room in his heart for it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaving behind their family, friends and established careers, Amer credits her parent\u2019s bravery for wanting a better life for her and her younger brother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Curtin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Amer with her parents and younger brother in the UK.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy parents are smart. Mum has a degree in computer science and dad a degree in business, which must have made it even harder to pack up and leave,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen they relocated to the UK, they left everything behind and had to start all over again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy father left behind a good job where he was a respected boss and started working two jobs to provide for us.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe would work at a laundromat during the day and then would drive to his evening job where he was a waiter. He was up early hours in the morning and came back in the early hours of the following day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe had Sundays off though and would take my brother and I into town, which I loved. It was my favourite day of the week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amer said it was her father\u2019s incredible work ethic that she most admired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe never had a sick day, he never once slept in and he taught me it\u2019s OK to start from scratch,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpending the next couple years in London proving to everyone who he was and reminding himself of who he used to be, I\u2019m sure wasn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut despite this my father never let me feel like there wasn\u2019t anything I couldn\u2019t have, and he still spoiled me. He made it look so easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amer said her mum on the other hand was the brains of the home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Curtin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Amer with her mother.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMum knew the answer to everything. While that quickly became annoying, she never got tired of saying \u2018I told you so\u2019,\u2019\u2019 she laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mum is the epitome of wisdom. It was like she had lived many lives before. I suppose she had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was never a topic I couldn\u2019t go to her for. Maths, fashion, friends. No one knew how to solve algebra better than she did. She also taught me how to be self-sufficient, self-soothing and selfish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago, Amer said she came very close to losing her mum after open heart surgery complications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mother is the strongest person I know. I\u2019m not sure angels are meant to roam through the trenches down here with the rest of us. But it\u2019s a miracle to know her, and a privilege to have her as my mum,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDespite everything she\u2019s been through, losing her home, her father, surviving cervical cancer and enduring two open-heart surgeries, she continues to stand up for herself and always reminds me I am deserving of a home, a country and a future.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Amer said it was her family\u2019s roots, bloodline and battle scars that has moulded her into the person she is today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud to be the daughter of immigrants,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the midst of burning flames so to speak, my parents walked out unscathed, undefeated and most importantly, undivided.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amer said stepping out of her comfort zone and moving to Australia on her own, gave her a glimpse of what it must have felt like for her parents to move to a new country and start a new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile the first few months was a struggle, looking back, the experience definitely gave me confidence and made me believe I could do and be anything,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I leave Curtin and find my place in the world, I can only hope I will do it with the same amount of perseverance and integrity as my parents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author | Carmelle Wilkinson<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

___<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \n\n

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