RACS Ambassador Hani is now an Australian citizen!
Tuesday 16 June, 2026
Hani (second from right) at her citizenship ceremony with RACS Centre Director and Principal Solicitor Sarah Dale (second from left)
This Refugee Week (in fact, today), I will officially become an Australian citizen after 13 years in Australia.
It is a milestone I once struggled to imagine. For a long time, citizenship felt distant. It was something I hoped for, worked towards and waited for while navigating uncertainty and trying to build a life in a country that had already become home.
When I arrived in Australia from Somalia, I carried many of the same hopes that people seeking safety carry today: the hope of belonging, the hope of stability and the hope of having the chance to contribute.
The journey was not always easy. There were years of waiting, setbacks and moments where the future felt unclear. Yet throughout that time, I continued to build a life here. I studied, found my voice through poetry, became involved in my community and worked to create opportunities for others.
Hani performing a poem at RACS’s Refugee Week lunch
Along the way, RACS played an important role in my journey. Knowing there were people who believed that everyone deserves access to justice, dignity and a fair process made a real difference.
As I reflect on becoming a citizen, I am filled with gratitude. Not because citizenship marks the end of my story, but because it recognises a journey that has shaped who I am. It represents safety, belonging and the opportunity to fully participate in the life of the country I now call home.
I also know that my journey was not one I walked alone.
If you are reading this as a supporter of RACS, I want to thank you personally.
Your support helped make journeys like mine possible. It helped ensure that people seeking safety had access to legal advice, advocacy and a fair chance to rebuild their lives. During moments of uncertainty, your support meant there were people standing beside us, helping us navigate systems that can often feel overwhelming and impossible to face alone.
As I celebrate the end of uncertainty in my own journey, I am also mindful of the many people who are still waiting. People separated from family, living with uncertainty, or searching for the same sense of safety and belonging that citizenship represents to me today.
My hope is that we continue to build a community that welcomes, supports and stands alongside those seeking refuge, just as others once stood alongside me.
My commitment to contributing to a society where everyone has the opportunity to belong will always remain a priority. I look forward to continuing that work as a poet, community advocate and now, proudly, as an Australian citizen.
Thank you for believing in the work of RACS. Thank you for standing alongside people seeking safety. And thank you for helping make stories like mine possible.
Hani Abdile,
RACS Ambassador and Australian citizen
