From hell to heaven

By Bridget Brady
FELIX Tibursio survived two days of torture before he fled war-torn Sudan to escape a living hell and start a new life for his family.
Now, he crams his 10 children into a two-bedroom house in Hampton Park, battling the rental market to find a bigger home for his wife and children – but he calls himself one of the happiest people in Australia.
Refusing to conform to conscription and join the military service, a valiant Felix risked retribution, and felt the full affects.
“To fight your own people…I can’t do that,” he said.
Felix was arrested in Sudan in 2000, placed under indefinite house arrest and was tortured for two days, an experience he says will “haunt” him forever.
But Felix said luck was on his side, as he managed to escape to Egypt by train with his wife, Agnes, and their seven children, one of whom was gravely ill at the time.
“I just had to get out of that hell before it was too late. I just wanted to be alive. It is very scary. You have to try your best.”
Felix’s family lived as asylum seekers for four and half years until they were recognised by the UNHCR as refugees and given permission to arrive in Australia as permanent residents.
“We explained our case to them and the government came to our rescue and they brought us here,” he said.
But life in their Hampton Park house is crowded, as 12 people share one bathroom and five children share a bedroom. Felix said he is constantly getting knocked back when applying for larger houses to rent.
‘Sorry, but your application has not been successful’ are words Felix has heard all too often.
“We are really stuck. We need a bigger house,” he said.
“We are literally stepping on each other.”
Felix said he gets his children up at 5am so everyone can use the bathroom and be ready for school.
“However, they become very tired and some are lagging a little behind,” he said.
To make matters worse, Felix fell in the bathroom recently and damaged tendons in his shoulder, which required him to have an operation. He is presently out of work.
Despite the strain of searching for a more spacious home, Felix said he felt privileged to be in Australia.
“My children can go to school, they eat and drink. This is a safe haven for them. This is a place God gave me.”
Windermere has explored the issue of hidden homelessness, where people continue to live in a cycle of housing crisis.
* Windermere Child and Family Services, the City of Casey and Centrelink Dandenong will host a housing forum at Narre Warren today, raising awareness about the issues and challenges for multicultural communities in the growth corridors.
The forum will be held at the City of Casey civic centre from 9.30am to 12.30pm.