ESTHER’S CRUSADE
19/01/2014
Published in The Sunday Mail, page 61
She spent half her life in refugee camps as civil war raged in her country. Now this brave single mum is embarking on a new challenge to become a politician SHERADYN HOLDERHEAD POLITICAL REPORTER E STHER Simbi’s story is one of true triumph from the outset the odds were stacked against her. Born in a country embroiled in civil war and crippled with polio at the age of three, you would forgive her for believing she had no future. But Ms Simbi was able to find a way to stand on her own two feet and to start a new life in Adelaide where she now hopes to be a voice for people like her who are often overlooked. She came to Australia in July 2005 from a refugee camp in northern Uganda and moved straight to Adelaide. Three years ago she gave birth to her daughter, Destiny, and has been raising her as a single mother while studying and working. In the March state election she will be the lead candidate for Dignity for Disability, hoping to secure a seat in the Legislative Council alongside the party’s first elected candidate, Kelly Vincent. Ms Simbi, 36, was born in Sudan in 1978 but her family fled when she was six after civil war erupted, leaving 2.5 million people dead and four million homeless between 1983 and 2005. “I migrated to Uganda as a refugee when I was six and I lived in northern Uganda for three years, not in a refugee camp. Then I went to a refugee camp and, from that time on, I lived in three different refugee camps for 19 years in Uganda,” she said. Her sister, brother and father all died during the war. Before the effort to eradicate polio picked up in 1988, there were about 350,000 cases reported each year in more than 125 endemic countries. “It’s very common, all over the place, because there’s not immunisation,” Ms Simbi said. “When I was born, it was a home birth and even now a lot of women give birth at home, they don’t go to a hospital, there’s no immunisation, no medical assistance. “My mum is really a brave woman. She gave me physiotherapy which just came from her mind; she has never been to a classroom and from what she told me my whole body was paralysed but from the physio she gave me I have been able to gain strength in my upper body.” While Ms Simbi thanks her mother, who is in Sudan, for the home therapy, as a child it was excruciating. “She (Ms Simbi’s mother) tied me between poles. Because I was young, too, I didn’t know what was going on. I would scream and scream and scream but she was not bothered by what was going on,” Ms Simbi said. “She made it like a task I had to stand there for one hour and then she would take me off.” Now living in Black Forest, Ms Simbi has made the most of living in Australia. She chose not to live among the Sudanese community, preferring instead to settle in her own way. She has completed a diploma in social work in Uganda and since being in Adelaide has completed a bachelor degree in social work at UniSA and is now studying for a Masters in conflict resolution and mediation. “A lot of people tried to discourage me from going to university, saying a lot of African people have not been admitted,” Ms Simbi said. “But I said I’m going to do it my way and see how I go.” She has worked as a social worker and in various other positions within the SA Government in Families SA, Disabilities SA and the Migrant Resource Centre. At 20, while still living in Uganda, Ms Simbi told her sister she wanted to become a politician some day. The opportunity came along when she saw Ms Vincent being sworn in after the last election almost four years ago. “I heard about the party and because I watch a lot of news, the first day Kelly Vincent came to Parliament, I saw that in the news and I was like `OK’,” she said. “I had a meeting and it was from that time on that I came to join Dignity for Disability and now I’m the lead candidate for the election. “Sometimes I still ask myself `is this really happening’. Sudanese people, African people, they don’t know what services are available in their area and a project I’m really passionate about is to see that they are informed about what’s in the community. “And also equality, so that people with disabilities have access to education, to jobs without discrimination.” Three-year-old Destiny is Ms Simbi’s biggest support, clutching her mum’s leg and cuddling her at every opportunity. “It’s just Destiny and I; it was hard when I was pregnant and I needed support but I did all that by myself,” she said. “When I was lying there in the hospital bed, I was really worried they would not let me go home with Destiny because I had a caesarean and I have a disability, and I have no support except my sister who does help me a little. “When they gave me the form to sign to take Destiny home and I was so happy. She understands a little bit about what I’m doing and when she saw my photo in the paper recently, she said ` I’m proud of you’. She’s my biggest support. “She kisses my feet, and asks me `you have problems with your legs?’ I say `yes’ and she says `it’s OK, Mummy’ and she will say `sorry feet’ and she’ll kiss them.” Ms Vincent said the party chose Ms Simbi as number one on the Upper House ticket because she displayed a depth of understanding of the issues of disability gained not only through her OVERCOME ADVERSITY: Esther Simbi and daughter Destiny in Parliament House. Picture: TAIT SCHMAAL experiences but also through her profession as a social worker. “In Esther Simbi, Dignity for Disability recognises a woman who, despite the considerable odds stacked against her, has moved into a position where she is able to play an important role in the community by working towards a fairer society for all,” Ms Vincent said.
