Soul surfing and lifelong learning in the Australian sea
‘The water was freezing’ he mused. ‘How could anyone swim here without a wetsuit? And the waves!’ He had never seen such waves before. Mediterranean beaches are tranquil and not known for their swell. Samer can swim. But recent life hadn’t allowed for this simple pleasure. Now he was to test his mission to pursue 'lifelong learning' in the Australian sea.
Samer had been spurred on to try surfing by a compatriot, Ibrahim, another newly arrived Syrian refugee who also came to Australia with the support of Talent Beyond Boundaries. The lawyer and the engineer. Both rebuilding their careers and lives in Australia - Samer as a legal assistant at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, and Ibrahim working as a project engineer in Shepparton.
They are both now part of a new cohort of colleagues and friends united through a common profession. Together they wish to immerse themselves further into this new community, through exploration of the city and a mutual love of the outdoors. As they continue to surf, they may just find themselves embraced into the culture and code of the surfing community.
Following nine years of displacement in Jordan and 8 months lockdown in Melbourne, finally Samer could choose a challenge to face into for himself.
He had experienced unimaginable change followed by unprecedented measures of lockdown. He faced the reality of a new country and a new culture to navigate. Right now he was dealing with the numbing bite of the Southern ocean, bound into the unfamiliar wetsuit.
He stood. It was a timeless split of a second. The camera caught it just at the right moment. His fortitude brought success (and maybe a tad of terror).
It is perhaps not by chance that the Aussie surfing experience is beloved. The ocean itself stimulates the body. The tumbling waves are a reflection of life as Samer has known it. As we all know it.
As the waves rise and fall you can merge with them and feel the swell take hold of you. Or you can face the challenge to ride them and to master them.
Surfing brings you right into the moment. You forget all else as you face the ocean and the board. When you stand, you soar. Soul surfing.
Samer’s decision to surf was to experience life through the eyes of an Australian. A desire to understand a little of his new home and culture.
To understand the beach community and the charge a dip in the ocean can evoke. Yet, surfing those waves shows the characteristics and strengths Samer brings with him to his new country. His patience in learning. His confidence to try something new and a lack of fear of failure. His persistence in practise until he achieved the goal. His respect and appreciation of others in the water and his courage to try and communicate with those around him.
He loves to swim. He will be out in the surf again. He laughingly conveyed that his time standing on the board was “less than a second, you can’t even count or blink it.” He is not frustrated. He is free.
