Mi Familia
The legacy of my family spans across a plethora of countries, from Germany to Argentina, Argentina to Spain and Brazil, Chile to Australia and Australia to the UK. For generations we have been a family on the move, rarely confined to the borders of our birthplace. In a world where only 3.6% of the population are considered international migrants (World Migration Report 2022), our journey offers a unique perspective on both the power and potential of human mobilisation as it weaves its way through the ages.
For far too long, the media has painted a narrow and negative picture of migration, often portraying it as a story of exploitation, theft, and invasion. As someone who has witnessed firsthand the rich possibilities that migration can offer, from cultural exchange to entrepreneurship and creativity, I am determined to challenge this narrative. Through the lens of my family's intergenerational story, I hope to reframe this discourse into one that celebrates the many facets of potential found with human mobilisation.
Mi Abuela
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Santiago, Chile
YEAR OF MIGRATION 1983
COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE Sydney, Australia
A Story Of Courage
It takes a lot of courage to leave the security of your homeland in order to discover the possibilities found in uncharted shores. As a single mother of two boys, with a deep desire to discover life outside of her own context, my grandmother had the courage to leave the comfort of her known surroundings to venture across to the other side of the world, in hope to provide her sons with better opportunities in life.
"When I was getting onto the stairs of the plane, the magnitude of what I was about to do hit me." Courage is not without uncertainty, fear, and risk. To make a decision on behalf of one's family, as the sole caretaker, demands a certain audacity, a spirit of fortitude and bravery to confront the unknown in pursuit of a richer, more gratifying existence.
Through my own experiences of migration, I have come to realise that establishing a life outside of one's country of origin can be a challenging yet rewarding endeavour. During the first few years of acculturation, anxiety and doubt are commonly experienced. Having moved countries multiple times, I have developed a deep admiration for my grandmother's resilience and courage to undertake the journey with her two children under her care.
Mi Mama
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Munich, Germany
YEAR OF MIGRATION 1983
COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE Sydney, Australia
A Story Of Cultural Richness
Born in Germany, my mother's life has been marked by a sequence of migrations that have tested her resilience and shaped her into a dynamic and adaptable individual. At the age of 12, she migrated to her father’s country of birth, Argentina, having to learn a new language and assimilate into a foreign culture. Yet, just two years later, she was uprooted once again and transported to Brazil, where she was forced to undergo a similar process of acculturation.
Eventually, my mother returned to her native Germany as a young adult, only to find herself moving once more, this time to Australia. In the land down under, she faced the task of mastering a new language and adjusting to a new way of life once again.
These migrations have imparted my mother with an awe-inspiring resilience, and endowed her with an identity interwoven with a rich blend of cultures that have influenced her upbringing. Ludwig Wittgenstein once observed, "The limits of my language means the limits of my world." For my mother, her identity represents a crossroad of cultural exchange, a tapestry woven with limitless potential, cultural intelligence, and empathy.
Mi Papi
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Santiago, Chile
YEAR OF MIGRATION 1983
COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE Sydney, Australia
A Story of Entrepreneurship
The stories of migrant entrepreneurs and their contributions to economic growth and innovation are often overlooked. Growing up, I witnessed my parents work tirelessly to build a successful paediatric dentistry business from the ground up. However, many similar stories remain hidden from public discourse, leaving future migrants and their children uncertain about their own potential for success.
My father instilled in me resilience, perseverance, and determination, which eventually led me to start my own company in another country. His teachings of strategic thinking and creativity have inspired my innovation and resourcefulness. Migrants who take the risk of leaving their original contexts often acquire the entrepreneurial skills needed to build, grow, and sustain businesses, providing them with personal accomplishment whilst benefitting the wider host society. We must share more stories of migrant entrepreneurship to empower and inspire others to pursue their dreams.
Mi Tía Abuela
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Santiago, Chile
YEAR OF MIGRATION 1988
COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE Sydney, Australia
A Story of Cultural Preservation
My tía abuela has offered me an enduring safe and familiar space to explore the language of my heritage. With very little judgement, she is one of the few people I hold little shame or embarrassment to continue using the language that coloured and shaped my childhood. Spanish was my mother tongue, it was what formed the foundations of my identity during my infancy. All the nicknames I had for my beloved family originated from repetitive childlike sounds rooted in the language of my ancestry.
Throughout my life, my tía abuela has been influential in helping preserve the roots of my linguistic heritage. She was the one who helped expand my language within my youth, helped tutor me when I was studying Spanish at university and to this day remains the single person that I feel like I can freely explore the language without judgement and need to apologise for my mistakes and imperfections. She has not only preserved an important part of my identity but has provided me with an environment where I can find a way to use another language to meaningfully express parts of my identity, in ways that I cannot in English.
Mi Hermana
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Sydney, Australia
YEAR OF MIGRATION 2013
COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE London, UK