‘I work on an international project in the HIV sector.’
If you could communicate one point that would make people more aware about the issues associated with living with HIV, what would that be?
‘In Australia, having HIV is not a crime and it’s a stigma about HIV that’s the biggest issue that we have.’
During one of the meetings he got arrested but managed to get out of the country through the help of one of the senior members. I didn’t know where he was. The police were after me because of my husband’s involvement in the rights. He was a serious member of the movement.
It’s a government that nobody asks questions of. What happens happens. I have a Masters Degree in Communication but sometimes I am really scared to be a journalist because we know some of the things that happen. I was worried my husband would go to jail or be killed. Most of the members have been killed.
I didn’t know anything about Australia but when I came I had a warm welcome. The people have been very nice even though the whole visa process has been slow.
I’ve been training at Parliament on King for five weeks. I’m not a coffee person but now I get to make coffee and have been learning about all the different types. I am now in contact with my husband – he made his way to Austria. We speak every other day.’
‘I’m doing this because I’ve been struggling with mental illness – primarily depression – for most of my life. I know what it feels like to not have anyone listen or not to have anyone to be there for me. I know how busy everybody is and I know what it feels like to be alone. I hope that by doing this that people start caring about each other and lending a hand, you know?’
Spotted in Newtown.
‘When I was in year 10, my mother and I had one of many very big fights and I ended up leaving and living with my friend for 3 months but then after that I came back. My mum left the next day to go to New Zealand for 6 weeks and so I was apparently a responsible teenager and could handle that. I had a job and all the rest so it wasn’t that bad.
‘After she got back we managed to live together for another 3 months but everything was getting worse and worse. There were definitely forms of abuse whether or not she realised it was a different thing.
‘I got in to crisis care and from there I have been living in a local refuge called Lillian’s for the past two years. Sadly though, the government has decided to cut funding to Lillian’s so it will close at the end of October.’
How do you feel about the refuge closing?
‘I find it’s helped me through so many things living there – through my depression and anxiety – as well as finish my HSC. My biggest fear when it closes is that I will end up with nowhere to go. That’s scary for me because it’s just a stable environment and it feels like home. There are so many other girls there as well and the bonds that you form with them are not like any others.’
What would have happened to you had you not been there?
‘I probably would have bounced from crisis refuge to crisis refuge which isn’t a good thing. That would have been difficult for me. There are people who have been through that and they’re ending up on the streets and I don’t think that’s a good thing.’
If you could describe the Oud as a human, how would you describe it?
‘It’s pretty much like me – short necked, half pear shaped. It’s perfect. I’m exactly like the instrument!
‘I’m playing next Thursday (26th) at Camelot Lounge Marrickville in a repertoire called Angel. We only play that repertoire twice a year to commemorate my parents’ passing. It’s nice to commemorate them through music. This one is to commemorate my mother’s passing two years ago.
‘She was quite sick towards the end. I think there were quite beautiful moments within the short space of time you spend with them in the end. It doesn’t get easy not having your parents around. I think it really gives you fuel for your music. It helps you as a human being and helps you grow. We’re constantly healing and that’s the beautiful thing about music. I guess you’ve just got to take these things as a lesson and grow from them.’
Chris Martin from Coldplay arrives on King Street.
‘I’m from Florida. I go to the University of Florida and am here studying at UNSW.
I saw Coldplay in 2012 with a friend. It blew my mind – I’ve always been a big Coldplay fan but it wasn’t until Viva La Vida was when I really started to like them.
I knew that they were going to be here in Sydney on June 19 and I tried to buy tickets while I was at the airport flying here and they sold out in three minutes. My flight got delayed and I was distracted. All these things went down. I was really resigned to the fact that I wouldn’t see them even though I was going to be here. Last night we were sitting at home. We’re big Game of Thrones fans and we’d just downloaded it. And then I saw their tweet about coming down here to get in line to be in their video.
That was around 8pm last night. We showed up here at the Courthouse last night around 9pm but there was nobody in line. We went back home and came back at 6 this morning and we were first in line.
They haven’t said anything about what they’re going to do. That’s the exciting part. I don’t know if they’re filming here at the Courthouse or I think they’re going to take us around and film. They have their plan and we don’t know it. I’m assuming I’ll see the band.’
How did you get in to this?
‘It’s weird. I studied business. I thought that was the smart thing to do. I didn’t study art and drama like I wanted to because like that’s ever going to make you a living. I picked up fire twirling just by randomness and started getting work for it. I then started to diversify. I went from fire dancing to fire eating to fire breathing to sword swallowing to swallowing other things to just working on controlling responses of the body that are normally automatic that we normally don’t have conscious control over – that your subconscious takes over itself.
‘What I do, it’s not like an adrenaline rush. I’m not seeking death or pain or anything like that. It’s actually more methodical. It’s more mastery of your body. It’s not even mind over body. It’s more mind over mind really. My old assistant used to say, “Everything is in the mind. Even the mind is in the mind.”’
One cool cat on King.
Spotted in Newtown.
Humans of Newtown 