Beijing's policies against Uyghur Muslims kept Sadam separated from his wife Nadila and young child for years. Now they are settling into life in Australia and the couple has welcomed a new baby boy.
It was something the Adelaide man missed the first time around — when his first-born son Lutfi started walking, it was thousands of kilometres away, in Xinjiang, north-west China.
For years, Beijing's policies against Uyghur Muslims kept Sadam, who migrated to Australia in 2009 and became a citizen in 2013, separated from his wife Nadila and the young child he had never met.Sadam first shared his story with Four Corners, which brought a new focus to the plight of Uyghurs in Australia.Since then, Nadila has started learning English, Lutfi has started school, and the couple has welcomed a new baby boy.
But he is embracing fatherhood now — he loves being Lutfi's "favourite friend", and even the sleep deprivation and nappy changes are a gift.Sadam remembers how nervous he felt the first time Lutfi went to preschool — his son couldn't speak English and he worried he might be bullied."That's the good thing about kids, they don't discriminate against each other by their colour or their religion.
He was smitten and flew to meet her in China, where they became engaged and later celebrated a religious wedding in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.She travelled back to China to give birth with her family nearby, while Sadam rented a home in Australia and filled it with furniture and toys for the baby.
Sadam says his wife Nadila's strength inspired him to keep campaigning for her to be brought to safety in Australia.The timing of their temporary goodbyes "could not have been worse".
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
COVID cost Qantas more money in three years than was made in five years prior: JoyceQantas CEO Alan Joyce has addressed various issues the company has been struggling with as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “On a statutory basis, Qantas … has seen COVID cost us more money in the past three years than we made in the five years before that, including some record years of profitability,” he said during a media conference on Thursday. “That fact that we have been able to steer through it is really remarkable, and now that we are through it, things are improving even faster than we expected.”
Read more »
Qantas records $1.9 billion loss as it takes off again after pandemicQantas has recorded an underlying loss of nearly $2 billion, the third year in a row the airline has lost substantial amounts of money.
Read more »
Missing Ramsay Street? Don’t worry, Neighbours is planning a comebackEveryone’s favourite residents of Ramsay Street will reunite in Melbourne next year for a live farewell show, held at Melbourne’s Hamer Hall in April. | Nell Geraets Neighbours
Read more »
Missing Ramsay Street? Don’t worry, Neighbours is planning a comebackBarely given a chance to go cold in the ground, the Australian soap opera will be back – this time at a live farewell event in Melbourne next year.
Read more »
Missing Ramsay Street? Don’t worry, Neighbours is planning a comebackBarely given a chance to go cold in the ground, the Australian soap opera will be back – this time at a live farewell event in Melbourne next year.
Read more »
Travel has never looked so good as the Amazing Race tries a world firstFor a world that’s spent the best part of two-and-a-half years in lockdown, the chance to actually use one’s passport seems tantalisingly real.
Read more »