Date2021Description2021 City Photographer, Helene Cochaud: I meet Raf who is working inside his colourful fruit and veg shop located in Thomas Ware Plaza. Raf and his wife came to Australia from Iraq in 1996 and have raised three children here, who he proudly mentions have all gone to university to have professional careers.
When Raf arrived in Australia with limited English skills he had to accept work where he could. One of his first jobs after moving to Fairfield was collecting supermarket trolleys in Caringbah, a two-hour transit on public transport each way. He was much happier when he was able to open his own business close to home after saving up. His English is excellent now.
"I used to only have fruit and veg, nothing else, not even one can in my shop. "
Although things have changed in Fairfield over the years, with more competition from similar shops opening around him, Raf has been able to adjust with the times and expand his business beyond fruit and vegetables.
His shop is interesting to look at, filled with curious items I'm not familiar with. Attractive coloured beaded strings are suspended above our heads and Raf tells me they are worry beads. Some are handmade, others machine made, each with 33 beads to represent the number of years Jesus was said to be alive. Raf explains that when holding them you're supposed to count each bead to distract or relieve your mind of worry. I purchase three. He then shows me some of the musical instruments dangling from the ceiling such as tambora drums and stringed ouds.
"But it's always tough at the beginning." PhotographerHelene CochaudGeolocation[1] Thomas Ware Plaza Ware St, Fairfield NSWNotesThese photographs are part of the 2021 City Photographer project.
Details
Image ColourColourTypeDigitalCopyrightPartial restriction. Please contact Fairfield City Heritage Services for image use.AcknowledgementHelene Cochaud, 2021 Fairfield City Photographer. Image courtesy of Fairfield City Heritage Collection.
