Online Session: Overcoming Bullying

Coming to Australia at the age of 7 with her family as a refugee, Sumaya and her family were settled in the suburb of Brighton East, a predominantly Caucasian suburb. She started at a nearby primary school, the only English she knew having learnt from Sesame Street. She was bullied and ostracized for being different, the language barrier hindering her from being able to fit in. In 2001, after the 9/11 attacks, her parents moved her and her brothers to a private Islamic school, they could not afford, in fear that she would go through islamophobic comments or attacks. Her experiences caused her to develop social anxiety and a diminished self-worth which she did not know about until into her mid-20s.

Topics covered:

* Bullying
*Overcoming adversity
*Islamophobia

Delivery platform:

Zoom and Skype.