Whitlam Institute
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What Matters 2017 Finalist Entries

What Matters? Finalists 2017

Joint Overall Competition Winner | 2017 What Matters? NSW/ACT Year 5/6 Winner

 
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My Dreams Matter

Anhaar Kareem

Greenacre Public School

War,
Tragedy,
Destruction,
Where she grew up.
Everything gone…
Her school gone,
Her home gone,
Her people gone,
Her heart gone.
Her dream of becoming a vet, Vanishes before her tired green eyes.

Boat,
Moans,
Cries and life haunting screams,
A petrifing journey…
At last,
Arrived,
Just another refugee in Australia.
Missing her home and family,
Isolated,
Terrified,
But alive…

Her circumstances,
Her background,
No English,
Being a refugee,
Being Syrian,
No friends,
So many limitations.
Does her dream matter?

A ten year old,
Thriving at school,
A wealth of knowledge,
Enjoying every bit of his science project.
From then on he dreamed of becoming a computer engineer.

He worked day and night,
Worked his heart out,
His dream finally came true,
Creating state of the art software.
He loved his career,
He truly was living the dream.

After a holiday,
Going back to his family and beloved job,
Could he be banned?
Banned from entering the country he now calls home?
His background,
Discrimination,
#Muslimban,
Will he be forced to say goodbye to his dream?
Does his dream matter?

Dreaming,
First female Prime Minister,
Working hard,
To achieve her dreams.
At last she achieved the impossible,
Prime Minister of Australia!
First female,
Going strong,
Ready to prove them wrong,
She pursued her dreams.

Oh,
Underestimated,
Treated unfairly,
No one thinks a girl can run a country,
She didn’t feel her dream fulfilled,
Gender discrimination,
For her whole career.
Does her dream matter?

A young boy,
Dreaming of becoming an Australian TV star,
Constantly practicing in front of the mirror,
Gazing wondrously at the screen,
Loving everything about the telly,
The endless magic,
The touching stories,
The intriguing characters,
The various voices,
It is his dream.

As he grows older,
His dream slowly fades,
He is restricted,
Racism…

Wait,
A glimmer of hope,
A job opening,
An amazing opportunity,
His dream,
Since he was a child,
He can see himself on the screen now.

Finally he faces the sad truth,
In order to fulfil his long life dream,
He must change his name,
The first word he learnt to write,
The name given to him by his beloved parents.
Does his dream matter?

A nine year old,
Public speaking state finalist,
Debating champion,
Loving politics and government,
Dreaming of being The Prime Minister of Australia.
For the people,
True to the people.

First Muslim Prime Minister in Australia?
And female?
And wearing a Hijab?
I must be dreaming…

Cultural discrimination,
Racism,
Hate speech,
Section 18c,
Gender discrimination,
Bias,
My dream appears far from reach…
Does my dream matter?

Everyone’s dream matters,
No fear,
Dream big,
Limitless…
My dream matters!

 

 

 
What Matters 2017Guest User