Interviewer: Noelene Pullen

Date of Interview: 18 May 2009

Transcription: Glenys Murray, May 2009

I was born in Abadan, a city in the south of Iran in 1955 many years before the revolution. We had a normal life with a large family following the Muslim Shii beliefs as the majority of the Iranian population did.

My father worked for an oil company in Abadan and when the war between and Iraq and Iran began they moved to Mashhad as it was safer.

In 1981 I married and on the recommendation of my doctor my husband and I in July 1994 we came to Australia for a special IVF treatment. At first we lived in the city as it was closest to the IVF centre. Later we moved to surrounding inner suburbs.

Nahid's daughter, Athena, aged one

Life was lonely without my family but I felt comfortable. At the end of the year 1995 when my daughter was born we applied for residency in Australia, as we really wanted to live here and we wanted the best for my daughter.

We came to live at Northmead in 2001 and then we bought our home in Baulkham Hills as we liked the relaxed atmosphere in The Hills Shire.

As a Shii Muslim I attend the programmes in the Islamic Centre at Annangrove. I wear a scarf when I leave my home. We celebrate Iranian New Year in March with our friends.

I enjoy attending the Islamic Programmes at Annangrove. I belong to the Hills Middle Eastern Women’s Group which organises some swimming, cooking, craft lessons. This group is supported by The Hills Migrant Resources which helps the ladies coming from overseas to be involved in their community. I attended Harmony Day in The Hills Shire.

It is very convenient to live in the Hills Shire as we have the Islamic Centre, convenience shop, hair dressing. My daughter loves horse riding she gets lessons in The Hills Shire. We have wonderful neighbours, we enjoy helping each other. We swap plants for our gardens.

It was difficult to get a job in a new country despite my qualifications as a teacher and a librarian. But my daughter was my first priority. At the moment I’m working in the Vinegar Hill Library in the new Rouse Hill Town Centre. The staff there are very wonderful and I enjoy helping the customers. I appreciate the relaxed atmosphere.

Nahid's framed Iranian carpet

A traditional Iranian New Year table