Listen to Charles Odur:
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CHARLES ODUR arrived in Australia in 2004. He had been living in a refugee camp in Uganda. He went straight to live in Blacktown because he has family there. Initially he worked in a meat processing factory before going to a TAFE college and then university where he is now studying for a Bachelor of Social Science, specialising in criminology and humanitarian and peace studies. Charles wants to work within the local Sudanese community and possibly spend some time helping an Australian non-government organisation overseas.
English language is one of the barriers facing Sudanese people here … because if you don’t know English to get employment … to do work … to continue with further study, it is very hard.
I’m seeing that my future … is going in the right direction … but I can’t judge … I’m still going on the way, but hopefully I will achieve what I want.
Interview by Nadyat El Gawley
Photograph by Monir Rowshan, Blacktown City Council