Mohin Shahin

Mohin Shahin was born in Lebanon in 1956, the son of Palestinian refugees who were displaced in 1947. There were 10 children in his family, some others of whom also migrated to Australia. Mohin migrated with his wife and young daughter, in 1987. He worked in the family business when he arrived.

When we talked about whether he shares his stories of statelessness with his family and friends he explained that “always we talk to them how much we suffered. Not to let them know how much we suffered, it’s for the sake, how they should appreciate what they have. Because you don’t get sympathy from your kids, it’s history now, but at least they should know what we suffered, so they appreciate what we had. In the future, so any stateless person, they can understand his situation, they can feel his position. They can at least be willing to help, do something. That’s the reason we talk to my kids about stateless or our refugee experience.”