When Sazan was just eight years
old, she moved from Iraq with her
family to seek asylum as a refugee
in Australia. Now, back living in Iraq
with her partner and 17-month-old,
Sazan is an inspiring and remarkable
young woman. Undertaking a Doctor
of Philosophy, working, being a
mother to a toddler and living over
11 500km from Australia, Sazan
certainly has a lot to juggle in her
everyday life.
Sazan decided to study the Doctor
of Philosophy because she wanted
to inform people, the decision
makers, policy implementers
and large organisations, about
how important education is in a
humanitarian context. To do this,
she knew she would need to have
the research to back herself. Sazan’s
doctoral research topic is peer
education in humanitarian context
and by living in the Kurdistan Region
of Iraq, she is surrounded by her
research topic every day.
With four of the five countries
surrounding the Kurdistan Region
currently involved in war, Sazan leads
a very different life compared to
when she lived in Australia. Sazan
works for organisations that involves
creating programs and projects for
young people (girls in particular) who
are internally displaced persons (IDPs)
or refugees. Every day she is faced
with overwhelming challenges, but
what keeps her going is her passion.
Sazan knows that even small things
can change people’s lives, leading to
a happier and healthier future.
Through her research, Sazan has
come to the realisation that the
majority of social, economic, personal
and political issues the Kurdistan
society is confronted with stem from
the poor education system. This
poor education system has impacted
previous generations, this generation
and, if nothing changes, it will affect
future generations too.
By being back in Iraq,
Sazan has realised
how much people in
places like Australia
take having an
education for granted.
For Sazan, having
an education means
much more than
obtaining a degree,
‘Education is future, opportunities
and hope’. It’s about being educated
to deal with life decisions, be who
and where you want to be and
havin g the opportunity to achieve
anything you set your mind to. Sazan
strives to ensure the people in the
Kurdistan Region are provided with
an education so that they too can
make healthy life decisions.
When we asked Sazan what she
hopes to be doing in 10 years, one
of her responses was, ‘I want to
earn enough to empower those who
were not as fortunate as I was, to be
able to have a hand in reforming the
education in this country.’
With self-encouragement being her
best friend, Sazan’s key advice to
other students is ‘to do something,
anything, every day’. This advice has
kept Sazan going in her research and
work. Every day, Sazan continues to
make a difference in her community,
whether it’s through her research,
work or through showing the world
the Kurdistan Region via her Twitter
and blog channels.
Sazan is an inspiring person who
strives to help create a brighter future.
She encourages others to achieve
their dreams and to make their own
life decisions. With an end goal in
sight, there is no doubt that Sazan
will have a significant impact on the
Kurdistan Region in changing people’s
lives by creating a safer and brighter
future for generations to come.
If Sazan’s story has inspired you,
check out USQ’s other HeyU
feature stories.