Humans Of Brisbane

I am Nora Amath, born in Vietnam and am part of the persecuted Cham Muslim minority group native to the country. I was only 3 years old when my family was forced to flee the country after the Vietnam war, trekking through the jungles of Cambodia and arriving in Thailand where we were processed as refugees. We were eventually granted asylum in US and finally found some stability. Experiencing life as a refugee, I went through all the emotions of displacement, vulnerability and isolation, and it’s not the nicest space to be in.
Having gone through that experience at a very young age, I became very determined to envisage a world where communities are empowered and people respond as one to the suffering of others, regardless of one’s race, political affiliation, gender or religious belief.

My education journey after high school took me to Malaysia where I met my life partner, Halim Rane, who is a 4th generation Australian. We decided to settle in Australia after we completed our university studies and now have 3 amazing children together. Life was good; we became busy with our duties, family and work. I especially love my time volunteering my services and feel incredibly honoured in my role as Islamic Relief Australia’s first female Chairperson. As a result of my services to community, I was awarded Australian Muslim Woman of the Year; and in 2013, received an Australia Day Community Award. I was also honoured as a Finalist for Australian of the year 2017. Life could not have been any better.

In 2017, I received a message from my younger sister in the US, telling me that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. That news came as a shock to all of us as there was no history of cancer in our my family. Seeing her go through chemotherapy and the subsequent side effects was heart breaking. As a witness to it, you feel so helpless, to see the debilitating impact on the body, mind and soul.

3 years later, in 2020, in the midst of COVID, my youngest son started having upper back and shoulder pain. After a number of visits to specialists, scans indicated that he had a tumour growing under his shoulder blade. This period would have to be one of the most difficult periods in my life. In between taking him to and from the doctors and hospital appointments, I discovered some abnormalities in my breast skin. I didn’t think much about it at first, but a nagging feeling made me visit my GP. After the examination, ultrasound, mammogram and biopsy, the doctors confirmed that I have aggressive breast cancer.

For some reason, at that time, I took that news calmly. I didn’t flinch nor cry. I accepted it. My focus was still on my son, who was going through surgery, and I needed to have my act together to take care of him, to help him in his healing. However, once my husband and I announced my diagnosis to family and some close friends, it hit home that I now needed to consider what my next steps were going to be in my own cancer journey. Visits to the specialists and conversations with family and friends who were doctors all pointed to the fact that I really needed to undergo chemotherapy to have the greatest chance of survival.

And that is when I broke down. My husband and I live a pretty healthy lifestyle, as natural as possible, no drinking, smoking, with plenty of vegetables, fish and lean protein. I don’t like fried, sugary or processed food. We exercise regularly and rarely take medication (even Panadol). For me to now have to consider chemotherapy, a poison, as part of my healing was very difficult for me to digest. And so I fought and fought the need to have to make this choice. I didn’t cry when I received the news of my cancer diagnosis, but the thought of undergoing chemotherapy devastated me. I guess the memories of my sister’s experience and what she had to endure during chemotherapy still haunted me. My colleague, came to me after hearing my diagnosis, held my hand and told me, “You have been praying to God to give you Shifa (strength, cure and healing), God has answered your prayers in the form of this treatment (chemotherapy). Don’t run away from it – embrace it. God is carrying you through it all”

The pin dropped, goose bumps formed and I accepted. Once I made that decision, I embraced all of it, the beautiful and the ugly. I never asked “Why Me?” when I have been blessed with health, wealth and happiness, so when adversity hits, why should my first thought or any thought at all be “Why Me?” Though I struggled to relinquish control at times, eventually I surrendered to it, accepted that this was now part of my life’s journey and I was going to make the best of this situation.

And so, every minute of my life, became even more precious. Every morning, I breathe in and out, and tell myself that today is going to be a great day. And yes, some days were horrible and the fatigue would really set in, and on those days I cried a bit and honoured my body and rested. But on other days, I took that long walk on the beach or hike in the hinterland, forever chasing waterfalls.
One thing I told myself at the beginning of this journey was that I didn’t want to survive this and feel like I have wasted a year or two.

After rounds of chemotherapy, mastectomy, a few other surgeries and endless visits to my amazing team of doctors, surgeons and nurses, praise be to God, I am on the path to recovery. My support network of family and friends, who sent me thoughts and prayers, dropped food off, called, messaged or visited, and sent wonderful care package lit my days and carried me through some very tough moments. My husband, in particular, was my rock, through it all.

To all my dear sisters out there, having a conversation about breast cancer should never be taboo or something one needs to be ashamed of. Familiarise yourself with how to self-examine and trust your instincts. Get checked out if you’re unsure and don’t be afraid to ask for a second or third opinion. Every cancer person’s journey is unique and different; however, the more we are willing to share our story, the more we realise that we don’t have to do this alone.




Islamic Relief Australia

Nora Amath

Born in Fiji, I am the youngest of 5 daughters. My mother passed away in NZ due to medical negligence when I was 15 years old. My amazing father, my rock, became our mother and father since 1989. He sacrificed his future, did not remarry, and chose to invest his time, money, and energy into educating us and making us independent individuals.

“Taji” (dad) was the Deputy Registrar of the High Court of Fiji and a Magistrate. His chambers and the Court buildings became my after school “hang-out”/homework place since I was in primary school. That inspired me to become a lawyer, and nothing else!

With a government scholarship I completed Year 7 Bursary in Wellington, NZ. My passion to study law brought me to Brisbane. I graduated with Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce from Griffith University in 1996, being the first cohort of the Griffith University’s dual degree program. I met my life partner and now my business partner, Bob Pillay, in Brisbane.

As a new lawyer, it was difficult to secure a job after graduating. I could have easily wallpapered my bedroom walls with the rejection letters from prospective employers. I worked for several months with the Director of Public Prosecutions in Brisbane, then as a lawyer in Charleville, regional Qld. The experience in a general practice was incredible as I was able to practice in various areas of law and got exposed to significant court work, including running hearings.

We made numerous life-long friends in Charleville, with whom we continue to maintain close contact. Our god children’s heritage is from Charleville. I survived a terrible car accident in the isolated area between Quilpie and Charleville. I am ever so grateful for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the medical professionals in general.

We then had an opportunity to work in California, USA. I worked in employment law for 5 years, and Bob was in aerospace and defence. It was about that time that I started noticing cracks in our marriage as we both focused more on careers and started to drift away from each other. Feeling lonely in a city of a million people, I became terribly homesick and chose to return home to Brisbane, unemployed and depressed.

We leaned on our faith and professional marriage counsellors to get our lives and our marriage back on track. After all that life has thrown at Bob and I, we are happily standing firm together. We do not have human children, but our fur babies, Samoyed Marley and Maya are our heartbeats.

Ironically, I managed to get employed as a family lawyer on the Gold Coast! Then came further challenges of several miscarriages, followed by months of dark spaces for both of us from time to time.

Having experienced setbacks in my own marriage meant that I could relate with my clients and was more empathetic towards them rather than giving them advice about family law from textbook teachings. Hence family law, child protection, and domestic violence became close to me as I realised, I can empower many men, women, and children to re-gain their confidence and focus on a hopeful future. I am a strong advocate for counselling.

In June 2014, Bob I took a leap of faith and resigned from our respective jobs, to start Cornerstone Law Offices, with one client. Our different skill set makes us a great team, as Bob’s passion is to manage teams and grow businesses, and mine is to make a difference in my client’s lives and advocate in Court.

There were days when I wondered how we were going to pay next month’s bill; sleepless nights, and growing grey hair were real! We continue to be persistent, never giving up hope, and always staying strong in our Christian faith. We have grown the business to 5 locations and 20 staff at your service.

Our passion is to invest in and mentor young people and give them an opportunity as they commence their legal career. Someone gave me a chance 25 years ago! We give back to the community in countless ways (social media is the evidence 😉) because community has made us, and our business succeed.

Pravinita Singh Pillay
Cornerstone Law Offices
Brisbane

Humans Of Brisbane updated their phone number.

Humans of Brisbane is a project inspired by the largely successful social media campaign. The idea aims to increase awareness towards social and cultural diversity coupled with a sense of profundity and beauty of the people of Brisbane.
Showcasing unique story of everyday people overcoming adversities and inspiring others with these stories. "You are not alone" in this journey is the tag line showcasing unique, inspirational and relatable stories of individuals from all walks of life in Brisbane.
So let us walk you through them, one story at a time…

Originating from Malaysia, my husband and I were few of the blessed ones that were granted a Permanent Residency of Australia back in 2008. We finally made the move to Brisbane in 2013, with 10 suitcases, 4 young children, and a happy heart full of big dreams.

Initial years were a struggle, just like any migrants, leaving behind a large extended family, we were tremendously home sick, and jobs too were hard to come by. There were days when we thought "did we make the right decision", especially when looking at all our life savings dwindle to bare minimum.

For a few years, my husband had to go back to Malaysia as there were no jobs for him here, leaving me to look after our 4 young children. That was the time my parents came to help and support me and always encourage me that everything will be fine.

I started my career in realestate just a few months after moving here as that was the only industry that would take me in without paying me a salary. Back then realestate agents were on full commission only. I remember my 1st year in realestate, I learned to door knock - one of the scariest experience ever. However, I persevered, and kept knocking on doors everyday for at least 3-4 hours until everyone in my suburb knew my name. Despite all that effort, I only made $15,000 in my 1st year of being a realestate sales agent.

I had great coaches that guided me, held my hand when I was drowning and amazing mentors throughout my journey as a realestate professional. Today, I can proudly say that finally at the age of 48, I had the courage of opening my own realestate company, partnering with another amazing person, Claire. Putting. the "Leased" sticker on my first own listing felt so satisfying.

Looking back at the struggles we had past 10 years, moving to Brisbane was the best decision we made, my children are doing well in their own spaces, recognised for their talent and who they are, we live in a humble home that we can call ours, and surrounded by great friends that are now family to us.

I lost my dad 8 months ago - he was my pillar of strength, never leaving my side when I was down and always encouraging me to keep moving forward. He was always my No 1 cheerleader and I am indeed blessed I got to spend his last few years with him here in Brisbane.

Dedicated to my father, Humans of Brisbane is created to tell stories of the amazing, courages people of Brisbane that came through adversities in their lives with the hope to inspire others through their stories.
"You are not alone in this journey"

Anna Khandhar - Realestate Solutions