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 Jeremy's story
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 Jeremy is 24 years old and came to Australia from Kenya ‘seeking a better place to live and get some education.’ Life was hard for Jeremy in Kenya in 1992 at the age of 9 when he settled in Kakuma Refugee camp. He recalls the harsh 35+ weather conditions with no green vegetation apart from dry scrub bushes. Separation was evident with the camp being divided into zones according to tribal/ethnic groups but being part of the last zone which consisted of a mixture of tribal /ethnic backgrounds.
Whilst in the camp, Jeremy witnessed conflict and violence and the death of a few people from fights, illness etc... He began schooling and remembers his classroom outside under a large tree. There was a lack of facilities and resources until 1993/94 when the UN started providing books and stationary and finally built a school.
Jeremy says ‘means of getting food to eat was harsh as you had to travel at least 10ks by foot each way to get a couple of kilos of rations of grain and maize’. These rations were adequate until the number of refuges in the camp increased. This lead to smaller rations but also an increase in class sizes from 30-50 students per class to around 80-100.
‘This made it so hard to concentrate and learn as it was noisy and there was no room to spread out yourself to write,’ comments Jeremy.
‘This was when I also got my first pen,’ says Jeremy. Though they now had a building for school it still lacked basic and common resources some of us take for granted such as chairs and desks. The students used rocks as chairs and Jeremy recalls everyone having to find and bring their own to sit on.
This was the least of their concerns though; the most important thing, as Jeremy puts it, is that ‘we finally had access to some resources to gain an education.’ Through a sponsor, Jeremy received some formal structured education at a Kenyan boarding school where he gained access to computers and other technological resources.
He successfully completed years 9 and 10. Again with the help of his sponsor and his sister an application for resettlement in Australia was lodged in 2003 and nearly a year later it was granted.
In early 2004 on his 21st birthday he departed for Australia. Jeremy now lives with his sister and her family of five children.
‘I love basketball,’ says Jeremy. Playing basketball and being athletic is something that Jeremy did all through high school although schooling was interrupted in the transition to Australia. Jeremy completed high school and now studies at TAFE.
‘Peaceful,’ is how Jeremy describes his first impression of Australia, but Jeremy is dismayed by the recent comments by the Minister for Immigration and the resulting media coverage. ‘The whole thing really irritates me,’ he says. ‘It’s really shocking and I’m not happy about it. If we say Australia is for everyone and that there’s no racism in Australia, then why single out African’s? I honestly believe the way this has been handled has generated hatred of us, and has stirred things up.’
Jeremy has a calm optimism about the future and hopes to be a lab technician ‘in a few years time.’ He also has a dream to represent Australia at the Olympics in basketball and is currently working towards that.
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