'I love it here': the Queanbeyan pharmacist who went from refugee to community leader

He was just 17 when he arrived in Australia, living first in western Sydney with his father and two sisters, doing anything he could to improve his English.

"I used to go and buy a newspaper every day. I used to go to the library and borrow a book and just read whatever I could read and learn a few works. I used to sleep with the radio on all night. And I used to just force myself in front of the TV, listening for hours and hours without even knowing or understanding," he said.

And surrounded himself with mates, from all kinds of backgrounds.

"I notice people who came at the same time who did not have friends from the broader community, they are still struggling with the language, because they just stuck to their own community," he said.

Two decades, an Australian citizenship and "four or five" degrees later, Ammar is now chief pharmacist at the Queanbeyan Hospital as well as working Saturdays at the Queanbeyan Pharmacy.

He is also a leader in the Queanbeyan community, the "unofficial Imam of Queanbeyan", teaching Arabic and leading prayers.

He was most recently nominated for a patient safety award from the Southern NSW Local Health District.

In Refugee Week, this week, Ammar says it does give him pause to reflect on how far he has come, tackling a new life in a new country. And how much help other new arrivals need to understand their new country, in even the smallest way.

"You remember your own journey and the people who are struggling now, arriving in the country," he said.

The theme for this year's Refugee Week is "finding freedom", with a focus on family.

Ammar was 17 when he left Sudan, then and still, a war-ravaged country where its citizens live on the brink of famine and death.

"There's always fear and uncertainty," he said. "There's always the risk of losing everything at any time. I was glad to be given the opportunity to migrate to Australia and start a new life. I was very grateful."

Ammar went to school and TAFE and had his sights set on a science degree at the University of Sydney. His English was still basic and he had no idea even how to get to the university.

"I pretty much went to the Liverpool train station and asked how get to to the University of Sydney. So I bought to a ticket and went and walked into the university and asked, 'How do you apply?'," he said.

Ammar ended up getting a science degree from the University of Sydney and pharmacy degree from the University of Newcastle. He would record his lectures and listen to them over and over.

He also supported himself in a range of jobs from kitchen hand to trolley pusher. As a security guard, he was posted everywhere from the Sydney Cricket Ground to nightclubs. It was an important job because he learnt how to talk to a range of people.

"You see parts of the culture you never knew existed," he said.

Now married to Zeinab Osman and with four children aged two to eight, Ammar says he loves the multicultural nature of Queanbeyan and its country living-city benefits location. It has been home since 2017.

"I came for training. I enjoyed the city - I loved it. And a job came a few months later so I applied and got it," he said.

In Refugee Week, Ammar says he wished for more help for newcomers to navigate the system and for professionals to have a process to follow to be able to use their qualifications in their new country.

He says integration is "very important" for migrants.

"Because if you exclude yourself, no one knows about you and your religion and your story. Different cultures can come to Australia and contribute positively, not just to the economy, but to the culture," he said

With his home country still in the grip of civil war and a looming famine, Ammar hoped Australia would lend a helping hand.

"I'd ask the Australian government to address the current crisis in Sudan and to consider providing urgent medical aid and speed the processing of visa applications for Sudanese nationals," he said.