DTP Alumnus Basim Shamaon is a respected leader and advocate for the community. Living in Sydney he is Chair of the Refugee Support Network (RSN) for New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
Basim arrived in Australia as a refugee and a teenager. In 2005, when he was 14, he was forced to flee his home in Iraq with his family. He still remembers that journey. During that 18 hours-long journey in a car, Basim held his brother’s hand. “My eyes were closed most of the time out of fear, but I remember gunshots, explosions, it was a nightmare.”
Basim also remembers the challenge of a teenager in a new country:
“When I arrived in Australia with trauma of forced dislocation, it was challenging. English was my fourth languages, I had to restart learning English alphabets at the age of 14.”
However, Basim found his true calling through community service, where he quickly distinguished himself as a passionate and dedicated young leader. From an early age, he volunteered with numerous organisations and charitable initiatives, demonstrating a strong commitment to supporting others and creating positive change. His contributions were recognised when Fairfield City Council awarded him Young Citizen of the Year as part of its Australia Day honours. Since then, Basim has continued to receive recognition for his outstanding service to the community, including the Community Service Award from the Government of NSW. A few years later, he was further honoured with the NSW Humanitarian Highly Commended Award, presented by STARTTS and the Refugee Council of Australia, acknowledging his ongoing humanitarian and community-focused contributions.
Basim retains his passion and commitment to advocate for refugees. He understands the pain and trauma associated with fleeing one’s home to seek refuge in another.
“I could not live my life as a teenager. I did not have normal life as a boy growing up. I was born in a war. I grew up in a war, and I left the country during the war.”
Basim is a strong believer in the value of the special human rights advocacy training programs developed for refugee and diaspora community leaders in Australia by DTP and NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS). These programs bring together different communities and build knowledge and the skills to engage government.
“Such collaborative training initiatives for refugee and diaspora communities in NSW not only get us together but also raises awareness about critical human rights issues. This type of training enables us to learn new knowledge and help us to connect with other community leaders. Such training makes a huge difference in the community.”
Basim particularly appreciates his experience on participating in the training on the UN Covnention Against Torture and engaging with the UN anti-torture mechanisms.
“DTP training enabled me to understand the legal definition of torture and how we could use the UN mechanism against torture in our country of origins. That was very significant, because it’s crucial to raise awareness in the community about this topic.. Only people who have lived through discrimination, torture, trauma, mental health challenges, they would understand the value of this training.”
Basim believes that it is important for DTP and STARTTS to continue the diaspora training programs. The programs build understanding, empathy and solidarity between communities, and mutual understanding and respect of human rights in Australia. Basim was deeply saddened by the Bondi terror attack against the Jewish community and believes in the need to continue work for increasing social inclusion and cohesion in Australia. He suggests that DTP and STARTTS also consider delivering these trainings in different languages alongside English.
Basim attended the DTP-STARTTS Special Human Rights Advocacy Training in 2023
