Listen to Ryan Al-Natour's story by clicking on the audio link attached to the image above. Or via your favorite podcast platform here
As a child, Ryan dreamed of moving and settling in Queensland when he was older, for him it was paradise on earth.
He was born in Australia and grew up in western Sydney, a multicultural region which has a large Arab community.Ryan completed his honours in Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales and his PhD from the University of Western Sydney.
Ryan Al-Natour as a child with his brother late father. Source: Supplied
In 2015, his dream came true, and Ryan got a new job in regional Queensland and made the decision to move to Rockhampton. The drive took him a week, and it was there where he says he faced a year and a half of "shocking racism incidents" mainly from local residents.
Aside from the beauty of nature, Rockhampton is known for the quality of its beef. After Ryan passed the "Welcome to Rockhampton" sign and several giant statues of bulls and cows on the streets, he felt hungry and decided to stop for lunch at a random pub on the road.
He was the only person in the entire pub and had enjoyed eating one of the tastiest piece of steak.
There, a waitress asked him if he had enjoyed his meal.
"She seemed angry or annoyed, I felt a strange vibe surrounding this conversation that led me to be extra friendly with her, and thanked her several times for the wonderful meal.
"We started a chat about other meats their menu offers such as kangaroo and crocodiles.”
After an informative conversation about meat quality and types in the area, the waitress paused.
"She looked away and told me they kept Halal meat in the kitchen, which was outside the context of our conversation.
"The tone of her voice has turned from being informative about the menu to being annoyed," he says.
"She must think I am a Muslim, I thought.
"I told her, if eating Halal meat was a priority for me, I would have asked for it before finishing an entire steak.
Rayan says the waitress said:
We shouldn’t have to keep Halal meat or change our menu, we shouldn’t cater for that!
This happened two hours after Ryan set his foot on Rockhampton.
Was it hard to be Australian Arab in Rockhampton? Is racism a common daily experience?
His first week experience was enough to disrepute some of his childhood memories that were full of optimism and positivity about living in Queensland."Every day I faced racism in all its forms and colours," he says.
Ryan Al Natour as a child Source: Supplied
"This was my chance to live in a warmer climate where I can swim all year round, enjoy wildlife and charming beaches, avoid overpriced rent, stay away from busy roads and overcrowded Sydney."
To pay a cheaper rent there, Ryan had to find a place first. It was hard for him to get a lease in Rockhampton. He had to be smart enough to know that Ryan Smith was better off getting a lease for a house in Rockhampton than Ryan Al-Natour.
"The first time I contacted a real estate agent to inquire about an advertised property, and told them my name was Ryan Al-Natour, the agent told me, ‘we don’t want too many people living here’."
Ryan then contacted them and told them that his name is Ryan Smith - he got an appointment to inspect the apartment advertised.
This incident was repeated five or six times, according to Ryan.After he got a house, he started his new job. His co-workers thought he was a Lebanese Muslim and, in fact, he is a Palestinian Christian.
Ryan Al-Natour Source: Supplied
"I didn't care that some thought I was a Lebanese Muslim, but what bothered me was their insistence on relating to me as so, after I explained to them the differences between Arab countries, and told them I am Palestinian from Ramallah.
"The week after this conversation with them, my colleagues told me we met a Lebanese guy just like you the other day." As if Ryan's clarification did not ever happen.
"Not all Arabs are Muslims; they don't know this, some people in Rockhampton don't know that the majority of the Arabs in Australia are Christians and that the Christianity origin came from our land - Palestine."There is a difference between culture and religion. Culture in Palestine is Islamic, some of our names came from the Islamic culture but we are not all Muslims.
Ryan Al Natour with Hazem El Masri, Lebanese-Australian former professional rugby league footballer. Source: Supplied
"Some of those people believe that Islam and Christianity are against each other, but this is not the truth, Muslims and Christians in Palestine live on one land in harmony."
What Rayan grieved every day was the image that people around him painted about Arabs in their imagination.
They all look the same, they are all Muslims, and they are all terrorists.
Ryan found himself compelled to defend Arabs and Muslims in many positions at work, especially when news of terrorism was sweeping the media, those that talked about ISIS.
“During these horrific events, one of the girls from a group I used to go kayaking with told me that all men from the Middle East were working for ISIS secretively, and others were asking me if I had friends who went to Syria to join ISIS.”For those around him, Ryan was a sponge that absorbed questions stemming from ignorance of Arab culture and Islamophobia.
Left to right: Randa Abdel-Fattah, Sara Saleh, Nokomi AchKar, Ryan Al-Natour. Source: Supplied
"I began to notice that most of the city's residents treated me as if they had never seen an Arab before, as if I were the first Arab to meet in Rockhampton.
"I was interrogated by people around me about the crimes that happen in Sydney when they are broadcasted on television. I was trying to explain to those who are interested in listening and learning about facts.
“Everywhere, you find good and bad people.”
After a year and a half in Rockhampton, Ryan says, "How do I live in this city? These people remind me every day that I don’t belong here. How can anyone live their lives normally in such situation?
"The racist people don't want to describe us with inappropriate descriptions just for the sake of harassing, they want us to change who we are to be like what they want us to be.
Ryan says, that he met some amazing people in Rockhampton too, “they would let me know that if anyone gave trouble they had my back. We would catch up for dinner sometimes. However, the experiences of racism and hostility took a toll on me and I decided to leave it behind.
"I say to young people who hold Arab identity too, we must celebrate our culture and Arabic language everywhere we go, especially us Palestinians."
This is the third episode of , in which young Arab Australians speak about how they navigate a mixed identity. Hear more episodes and read the rest of the stories .