Tasmania loses two of its most accomplished and community minded migrants

“A better and greater Australia is the responsibility of all Australians and I believe that if
Australia is to be a better place, I have a part to play in the building of it” – Isaiah Lahai

The Tasmanian Council for Adult Literacy today celebrates the publishing of the stories of three
men’s journeys as asylum seekers to Australia. The three books are the second part of the
Namaste Series – a high quality, locally-authored and produced, adult literacy resource.

The three books recount the extraordinary lives of Eh Eh, Isaiah, and Faisal, three exceptional
asylum seekers who have made Tasmania their home.

Eh Eh Tin was 15 years old when he was forced to flee his home in Burma to escape the
marauding military. He spent the next 15 years surviving in Thai refugee camps doing whatever
was necessary to gain an education.

Isaiah was 14 when war broke out in Sierra Leone and he spent 14 years in various refugee camps
in Guinea and Liberia, losing one of his children to illness before he was accepted under
Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program.

Faisal was living in Australia as a student when he renounced Islam, and so could not return to
Saudi Arabia.

Each man has suffered great personal loss and made enormous sacrifices for their families and
communities. All three have attended university and excelled at their studies overcoming
challenges of language, culture and climate. They have contributed to their own communities as
well as participating in the Human Library program, and multicultural programs and forums.

Sadly, Eh Eh, a professional IT expert, has already left the state to work in Canberra, as he was
not able to gain work in Tasmania. Isaiah, with degrees and much experience in social work, is in
the process of moving with his family to Melbourne as he also was unable to find work in
Tasmania. Both are a great loss to their communities and Tasmania.

The three stories are the second instalment in a planned ten book adult literacy resource called
the Namaste Series. Funded by 26TEN and auspiced by the Tasmanian Council for Adult
Literacy, the three books published today complement the first three books in the series,
published in 2014, which recount the amazing stories of three women on their journeys to
Australia as refugees.

The publication of the stories is being celebrated on 26 November 2015 at the Newtown Rowing
Centre at 2pm. The Hon Elise Archer MP will be speaking along with the book subjects.
Tendekasha De Feat will provide music for the occasion.
Keiron Galloway, author, Steve Cooke, TCAL President