<\/div>\n

FOR most Year 12 school leavers November 18 is a celebration marking the end of their schooling.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For Woodridge State High School\u2019s Mohammad Javir, that date marks the day he fulfils a wish of his dead parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the last wish of my parents that I finish school,\u201d said Mohammad, who arrived in Australia as a refugee from Myanmar (Burma) in 2012.<\/p>\n

Mohammad, 20, lost his parents, younger siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins during a boat crossing on the way to Australia in 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were lost to the waves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mohammad had come to Australia ahead of his family after being separated from them when their family \u2014 Rohingya Muslims \u2014 was attacked by Buddhists in their village.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was separated from my family on our way to the highway bus stop,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the last day I saw my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the bus stop a shopkeeper took out his sword and chased me because I am a Muslim,\u201d\u00a0Mohammad said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI joined a group running away. We ran all the way to the jungle until the Buddhist people stopped following \u2026 After that, life became something I never imagined.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Julie — Julie Mang, Zinita Singh, Naing Htun, Mohammad Javir, Tyrell Warrior, Albert Liki and Lorenzo Leapai from Woodridge State High School. Picture: ELISE SEARSON<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
After fleeing Myanmar he made it to Jakarta by boat, but was forced to again run for his life from gun-\u00adwielding soldiers.<\/p>\n
He and two friends fled into the mountains, but one of his mates was shot dead and the other injured.<\/p>\n
Shirtless, his feet bleeding, Mohammad was forced to make the terrible decision to die at the hands of soldiers by staying to help, or leaving his injured friend and pushing on to save his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill, today I feel guilty about why I didn\u2019t save him. I have nightmares,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
He eventually caught a boat to Australia and was interned at Christmas Island then in a mainland detention centre where he heard of the death of his family.<\/p>\n
Alone, he was relocated to a Marsden-based detention centre and then on to Woodridge State High School where teachers and students became his extended family.<\/p>\n
He quickly turned from a child into a young man \u2014 he had no choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to be mature. You can\u2019t be a kid and cry. You have to grow up, take what life offers, keep going and work hard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
And work hard he did.<\/p>\n
While juggling school \u00adduties, Mohammad works five jobs a week \u2014 coaching soccer, refereeing Futsal, car washing, cleaning at Suncorp \u00adStadium and washing floors at Westfield Garden City.<\/p>\n
It was doing these menial jobs that made him realise his mother\u2019s wish for him to finish Year 12 was a goal he had to achieve.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mum wanted me to finish Year 12 and I realised how important education is and that I can do better things in life and not have to keep picking up rubbish,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
He has ambitions. He aspires to be an apprentice electrician and to change the \u201cstereotype\u2019\u2019 those outside Logan have of the city.<\/p>\n
He also hopes to return to soccer at Logan Metro.<\/p>\n
He gave up the sport two years ago when he started work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to be a soccer player but losing my parents, I had to focus on my work and study,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn life, you have to sacrifice, but I did not know I had to sacrifice my family. It was the worst thing in my life.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Last month, Mohammad was awarded the Schools Citizenship Award from the Order of Australia Association and next month will receive a Year 12 graduation certificate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt (school) has been like my home,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cIt makes me happy. And it has taught me all the things I need to know in life.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
$\"Zinita$ <\/a>
Zinita Singh, Julie Mang, Naing Htun, Fouzieh Fazlahmad and Zeinab Ghalandari have received scholarships from the University of Queensland. Picture: ELISE SEARSON<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
**STUDENTS RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**FIVE Woodridge State High School students, three of whom are refugees, have earned $30,000 University of Queensland Youth Achievement Program scholarships.<\/p>\n**
**Australian-born Zinita Singh wants to \u201cassist my community like a silent hero\u2019\u2019 by completing study as a nurse and midwife.<\/p>\n**
**Julie Mang, a refugee from Myanmar, aims to study a Bachelor of Commerce while Naign OO Htun wants an engineering career.<\/p>\n**
**Both Afghan-born Fouzieh Fazi Ahmed and Iranian-born Zeinab Ghalandari fled Iran to Australia as UNHCR refugees.<\/p>\n**
**Both young women were interested in careers in pharmacy.<\/p>\n**
**\u201cHere, my gender and culture will not stop my dreams,\u2019\u2019 Ahmed said.<\/p>\n**
**\u201cI can achieve anything in Australia.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n**
$\"Rugby$ <\/a>
Rugby league star Tyrell Warrior received three trainee awards. Picture: ELISE SEARSON<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
**FULLBACK WINS AWARD<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Torres Strait Islander Tyrell Warrior has been rewarded for giving up his beloved rugby league by winning a prestigious traineeship award.<\/p>\n**
**A star fullback at Logan Brothers, the Woodridge State High School student was named South East Region School Based Trainee of the Year.<\/p>\n**
**Tyrell said he loved rugby league \u201cbut I thought if I had an injury, what is plan B?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n**
**\u201cYou have to make sacrifices to achieve higher education,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n**
**Tyrell aimed to gain a Bachelor of Secondary Education in Physical Education and Business.<\/p>\n**
\n
\n
\n
**<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"**
By\u00a0Andrew Dawson, Quest Newspapers FOR most Year 12 school leavers November 18 is a celebration marking the end of their schooling. For Woodridge State High School\u2019s Mohammad Javir, that date marks the day he fulfils a wish of his dead parents. \u201cIt was the last wish of my parents that I finish school,\u201d said Mohammad, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oct_exclude_from_cache":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[203,236],"tags":[234,322,263,227,245,215],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16633"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16633\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Julie Mang, Zinita Singh, Naing Htun, Mohammad Javir, Tyrell Warrior, Albert Liki and Lorenzo Leapai from Woodridge State High School. Picture: ELISE SEARSON<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
After fleeing Myanmar he made it to Jakarta by boat, but was forced to again run for his life from gun-\u00adwielding soldiers.<\/p>\n
He and two friends fled into the mountains, but one of his mates was shot dead and the other injured.<\/p>\n
Shirtless, his feet bleeding, Mohammad was forced to make the terrible decision to die at the hands of soldiers by staying to help, or leaving his injured friend and pushing on to save his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill, today I feel guilty about why I didn\u2019t save him. I have nightmares,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
He eventually caught a boat to Australia and was interned at Christmas Island then in a mainland detention centre where he heard of the death of his family.<\/p>\n
Alone, he was relocated to a Marsden-based detention centre and then on to Woodridge State High School where teachers and students became his extended family.<\/p>\n
He quickly turned from a child into a young man \u2014 he had no choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to be mature. You can\u2019t be a kid and cry. You have to grow up, take what life offers, keep going and work hard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
And work hard he did.<\/p>\n
While juggling school \u00adduties, Mohammad works five jobs a week \u2014 coaching soccer, refereeing Futsal, car washing, cleaning at Suncorp \u00adStadium and washing floors at Westfield Garden City.<\/p>\n
It was doing these menial jobs that made him realise his mother\u2019s wish for him to finish Year 12 was a goal he had to achieve.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mum wanted me to finish Year 12 and I realised how important education is and that I can do better things in life and not have to keep picking up rubbish,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
He has ambitions. He aspires to be an apprentice electrician and to change the \u201cstereotype\u2019\u2019 those outside Logan have of the city.<\/p>\n
He also hopes to return to soccer at Logan Metro.<\/p>\n
He gave up the sport two years ago when he started work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to be a soccer player but losing my parents, I had to focus on my work and study,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn life, you have to sacrifice, but I did not know I had to sacrifice my family. It was the worst thing in my life.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Last month, Mohammad was awarded the Schools Citizenship Award from the Order of Australia Association and next month will receive a Year 12 graduation certificate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt (school) has been like my home,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cIt makes me happy. And it has taught me all the things I need to know in life.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
$\"Zinita$ <\/a>
Zinita Singh, Julie Mang, Naing Htun, Fouzieh Fazlahmad and Zeinab Ghalandari have received scholarships from the University of Queensland. Picture: ELISE SEARSON<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
**STUDENTS RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**FIVE Woodridge State High School students, three of whom are refugees, have earned $30,000 University of Queensland Youth Achievement Program scholarships.<\/p>\n**
**Australian-born Zinita Singh wants to \u201cassist my community like a silent hero\u2019\u2019 by completing study as a nurse and midwife.<\/p>\n**
**Julie Mang, a refugee from Myanmar, aims to study a Bachelor of Commerce while Naign OO Htun wants an engineering career.<\/p>\n**
**Both Afghan-born Fouzieh Fazi Ahmed and Iranian-born Zeinab Ghalandari fled Iran to Australia as UNHCR refugees.<\/p>\n**
**Both young women were interested in careers in pharmacy.<\/p>\n**
**\u201cHere, my gender and culture will not stop my dreams,\u2019\u2019 Ahmed said.<\/p>\n**
**\u201cI can achieve anything in Australia.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n**
$\"Rugby$ <\/a>
Rugby league star Tyrell Warrior received three trainee awards. Picture: ELISE SEARSON<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
**FULLBACK WINS AWARD<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Torres Strait Islander Tyrell Warrior has been rewarded for giving up his beloved rugby league by winning a prestigious traineeship award.<\/p>\n**
**A star fullback at Logan Brothers, the Woodridge State High School student was named South East Region School Based Trainee of the Year.<\/p>\n**
**Tyrell said he loved rugby league \u201cbut I thought if I had an injury, what is plan B?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n**
**\u201cYou have to make sacrifices to achieve higher education,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n**
**Tyrell aimed to gain a Bachelor of Secondary Education in Physical Education and Business.<\/p>\n**
\n
\n
\n
**<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"**
By\u00a0Andrew Dawson, Quest Newspapers FOR most Year 12 school leavers November 18 is a celebration marking the end of their schooling. For Woodridge State High School\u2019s Mohammad Javir, that date marks the day he fulfils a wish of his dead parents. \u201cIt was the last wish of my parents that I finish school,\u201d said Mohammad, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oct_exclude_from_cache":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[203,236],"tags":[234,322,263,227,245,215],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16633"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16633\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rohingyapost.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}