My Dreams Matter

Hi my name is Anhaar Kareem, I am 10 years old and a winner of the What matters? writing competition for 2017. My winning entry titled ‘My Dreams Matter’ was inspired by my love for politics, public speaking, debating, writing and my dream to become a politician and how discrimination may limit me from fulfilling this dream. I was also inspired by many people all over the world who cannot achieve their dreams because of discrimination; gender discrimination, bias, racism, hate speech, cultural discrimination and other circumstances beyond their control. Despite all these limitations, we must all have no fear and Dream Big!

As a prize for winning the What Matters? competition, I was lucky enough to have a VIP tour of the Museum of Australian Democracy in Canberra. I was welcomed by a group of lovely people that treated me like a real VIP! I was able to find out more about democracy, politics and government. I also had the awesome opportunity to use a green wall and create a digital excursion, discover the amazing heritage throughout the building and I even got to go on an amazing kitchen tour. I also helped students that came to the museum, with their role play costumes. I had the pleasure of reading my poem in the House of Representatives in front of the MOAD staff. Oh and how could I forget the delicious home-made muffins for morning tea and the lovely lunch we had at Hoi Polloi!!! It was a great tour and I thoroughly enjoyed my day at the museum. Thanks to everyone that helped make it such an awesome day!

My Dreams Matter by Anhaar Kareem

War,
Tragedy,
Destruction,
Where she grew up.
Everything gone…
Her school gone,
Her home gone,
Her people gone,
Her heart gone.
Her dream of becoming a vet,
Vanishes before her tired green eyes.

Boat,
Moans,
Cries and life haunting screams,
A petrifing journey…
At last,
Arrived,
Just another refugee in Australia.
Missing her home and family,
Isolated,
Terrified,
But alive…

Her circumstances,
Her background,
No English,
Being a refugee,
Being Syrian,
No friends,
So many limitations.
Does her dream matter?

A ten year old,
Thriving at school,
A wealth of knowledge,
Enjoying every bit of his science project.
From then on he dreamed of becoming a
computer engineer.

He worked day and night,
Worked his heart out,
His dream finally came true,
Creating state of the art software.
He loved his career,
He truly was living the dream.

After a holiday,
Going back to his family and beloved job,
Could he be banned?
Banned from entering the country he now
calls home?
His background,
Discrimination,
#Muslimban,
Will he be forced to say goodbye to his
dream?
Does his dream matter?

Dreaming,
First female Prime Minister,
Working hard,
To achieve her dreams.
At last she achieved the impossible,
Prime Minister of Australia!
First female,
Going strong,
Ready to prove them wrong,
She pursued her dreams.

Oh,
Underestimated,
Treated unfairly,
No one thinks a girl can run a country,
She didn’t feel her dream fulfilled,
Gender discrimination,
For her whole career.
Does her dream matter?

A young boy,
Dreaming of becoming an Australian TV star,
Constantly practicing in front of the mirror,
Gazing wondrously at the screen,
Loving everything about the telly,
The endless magic,
The touching stories,
The intriguing characters,
The various voices,
It is his dream.

As he grows older,
His dream slowly fades,
He is restricted,
Racism…

Wait,
A glimmer of hope,
A job opening,
An amazing opportunity,
His dream,
Since he was a child,
He can see himself on the screen now.

Finally he faces the sad truth,
In order to fulfil his long life dream,
He must change his name,
The first word he learnt to write,
The name given to him by his beloved
parents.
Does his dream matter?

A nine year old,
Public speaking state finalist,
Debating champion,
Loving politics and government,
Dreaming of being The Prime Minister of
Australia.
For the people,
True to the people.

First Muslim Prime Minister in Australia?
And female?
And wearing a Hijab?
I must be dreaming…

Cultural discrimination,
Racism,
Hate speech,
Section 18c,
Gender discrimination,
Bias,
My dream appears far from reach…
Does my dream matter?

Everyone’s dream matters,
No fear,
Dream big,
Limitless…
My dream matters!