This Refugee Week, we celebrate the theme Finding Freedom: Diversity in Community — a powerful reminder that freedom is not just about physical safety, but the lifeline a diverse community offers — to find belonging, rebuild and pursue dreams without fear. For the Ezidi community in Armidale, that safe space is nurtured every day by HealthWISE lived experience workers Akram Kudeedah and Jehan Darwesh.
Drawing on their own journeys of displacement, survival, and adaptation, Jehan and Akram work to bridge the gap between the Ezidi community and the Australian health care system as part of our Ezidkhan care navigation program.
When he first arrived in Australia aged 19 – with very little English and no knowledge of how things worked here – Akram says he felt blind and deaf. In his home country of Iraq, he was leaving behind intermittent access to electricity and running water… but he knew what to expect, and he spoke the language.
Akram grew up in the city of Shingal in northern Iraq. By the time he was 14, he and his family were forced to flee their home after a genocide of their people, the Ezidis, by ISIS.
When they finally returned to a city devastated by war, the family learned to live with electricity that worked for one day and shut off for two, uncertain access to fresh water and fearing for each other’s lives when they had to travel to a bigger centre for health care.
“It’s all kind of printed in my brain. Something that I’ll never forget,” said Akram.
His family left everything they knew behind to immigrate to Australia in 2019.
“Our entire life changed completely. It wasn’t just small changes. It was a huge change,” he said.
“It was a better change, but it wasn’t an easy change. Leaving all the family, the people, friends you care about in that situation that you just left.”
Jehan was also just a teenager and starting her last year of high school when her family had to leave their home to hide from genocidal attacks on the Ezidi community. After 12 days in the Shingal mountains, the family walked from Iraq to Turkey, where they lived in a refugee camp for four years.
“We changed our tent three times because there were fights, gun shots and unsafe places to be in,” she said. For the first two years, there was no schooling available for Jehan and the camp’s other high school students. When school did begin again, learning was difficult in the less than ideal environment.
“There was no place to study as the tents were too small, with no privacy and confidentiality – and too noisy,” Jehan recalled.
When the family immigrated to Australia in 2018, they were among the first Ezidi families to settle in Armidale – and the first to face all the challenges that came with the change.
“A new country, rules, culture and language for us,” she said.
The environment was completely alien to Jehan, whose sole knowledge about Australia was that the people spoke English. Like many in her family, Jehan spoke her mother language of Ezidi as well as Arabic, but English was entirely new. ‘I don’t speak English’ was one of the only sentences Jehan could say when she first arrived.
Now, Akram and Jehan use their personal experiences to help the Ezidi community navigate the unfamiliar Australian health care system and overcome language and cultural barriers to care – ensuring their people do not feel as blind and deaf as they once did.
This can include helping people book appointments, understand instructions from health providers and learn what services are available to them. Jehan and Akram can assist with travel arrangements for specialist appointments, help clients fill out forms and refer them on to other support services as needed.
The pair understand the trauma their clients have faced in their home country and why many have complex medical needs and mental health struggles. They also know what it’s like to go back to square one in a new and alien environment.
“For Ezidis to trust people is not an easy thing,” Akram said.
As trusted members of the community, and with their knowledge of the language, culture and background of their clients; Akram and Jehan are a vital link between Ezidi people and local health services.
“When you’re in a new place and don’t know how things work, having someone there to guide you makes all the difference. I know how that feels, and now I want to be that support for others,” said Jehan.
Recently Akram and Jehan helped bring the community together to celebrate the Ezidi New Year—a vibrant event symbolising hope, renewal, and resilience. In partnership with Mosaic Multicultural Connections, HealthWISE hosted an afternoon of traditional egg painting in preparation for the event.
The eggs are full of meaning for the community, representing the renewal of nature and promise of new beginnings. They were part of the local community’s New Year festivities, which included dancing, music, and colourful traditional dress—all captured by a videographer hired by HealthWISE.
Akram and Jehan both have a thirst for knowledge and continue to challenge themselves as they grow in their roles. Jehan has overcome her shy disposition to become a valuable confidant for many in the community. She volunteers to educate small groups on how to navigate the health system in a new country, and is front and centre in a series of HealthWISE videos designed to educate viewers in their own language about Australian health care and domestic and family violence.
Developed on a grassroots level with the community, Local Health District and a GP, Jehan leads a seasonal social walking group which aims to improve both physical and mental wellbeing. The group has helped break down barriers with participants, providing an opportunity to talk about their health needs in a non-clinical setting.
Akram is passionate about helping clients overcome language barriers. Language is a significant challenge for many, with existing translation infrastructure often missing the mark.
“I saw a lot of issues with language,” he said.
“Sometimes I had to be the interpreter between the interpreter and my friend or family member.”
Inspired by his father, who worked as a nurse for thirty years despite a lack of doctors and limited resources, Akram is eager to pursue the same field. He is now studying to be a pharmacist alongside his HealthWISE role. In addition to all he’s learning about health care, Akram says being a lived experience care navigator is very rewarding.
“I really enjoy helping people, especially people who are vulnerable and people in need. So, I saw a really good opportunity to be able to help my community,” he said.
The Ezidkhan program is possible thanks to funding from the Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network.
