DescriptionThis interview consists of two audio recordings and transcripts. Oseafk (Osfaldo) Mela was interviewed on 21 April 2010 at the Whitlam Library, Cabramatta by Shirley Kingsford McLeod. Interview SummaryOsfaldo Mela was born in Sudan on 2 January 1969 in a town called Torit in South Sudan. Both parents were Sudanese. He comes from a large family as his father had 7 wives, his own mother being the 5th and having five children of her own. His father provided for the families by working as a rainmaker and sub chief. His father and three of the wives had passed away at the time of this interview but his mother and the remainder of his family are still in Sudan. They are practicing Catholics.
They lived in grass and bamboo huts with fencing of bamboo. Each wife and her children had their own hut and all lived in the same village. The mothers had their own hut and other huts were built to accommodate the members of the family when they reached the age of about 12. He tells in the interview that there was no conflict and should any issue appear the family sat and resolved it. There is no intermarriage within the family.
Osfaldo learnt some English in school but that was discontinued with the beginning of civil war which he says was a religious war resulting in a huge loss of life even within his own village. Another reason for the cessation of schooling was that his father was no longer able to pay the fees due to having such a large family. Osfaldo decided to leave for a better life.
Osfaldo had only one wife whom he married in 1989 and at the time of this interview they had four children one of whom is being adopted from his brother and is in Australia with them. They had to change their names to leave Sudan and escape to Egypt.
They were sponsored by a cousin who worked at the United Nations and arrived in Australia in 2008 by plane. The trip was via Dubai and Singapore and on arrival they lived in the Fairfield area where his children are being educated and Osfaldo is working and studying to go into hospitality.
He and his family find that they have not in general been discriminated against however there have been some problems with the law. He likes that there is freedom of speech and religion.
