Omar Kowaider and Joanna Bryla believe that the best years of their lives together since the young people moved three years ago.
The husband and wife live in an expansive property with their two young children on the slopes of Southwest NSW.
Horses, sheep and an active Kelpy roam the cultivation lands. A dozen chickens and a rooster can also be heard from their coup d’etat.
They say that young people move at a slower pace than they left in Sydney “sterile”, something they observed after the COVID-19 outbreak.
“There was no felt of camaraderie or community [in Sydney]. There was no warmth, “Bryla told SBS News.
“Young was a way to escape that, to feel a little freedom,” he told SBS News.
Omar Kowaider and Joanna Bryla with their children. Fountain: SBS news / SBS News/Jack Detention
With a vegetable patch and chickens that place eggs, they say that a sustainable lifestyle has helped with the growing cost of living.
“You get more blows for your money here. In terms of rent, there is a significant difference [as compared to Sydney]”Kowaider said.
He said that the rent they would pay in a house in the west of Sydney would be around twice what they are paying in young people and for a larger space.
The couple believes that the measure has helped strengthen their relationship with their faith and also with each other.
“When you’re in Sydney, you’re so busy that you don’t have time to sit down and really connect with your partner,” Bryla said. “Here, we were able to learn things about each other … and rebuild the friendship we had before getting married.”
A prosperous Muslim community
With a population of around 10,000, Young is more than 370 kilometers from Sydney and is better known for its rich inheritance of cherry cultivation. There is not a single traffic light in the city and everyone is less than 10 minutes by car of each other.
And Kowaider and Bryla are among hundreds of Muslim families who have abandoned the main capitals to move there.
It is believed that most of them were established here in the last five years, but their mark on this city dates back to the end of the 1980s.
Bassem Ali (second from the left) with his family in Young, NSW. His parents were among the first Muslims to call this house in the rural city almost 40 years ago. Fountain: SBS news
The uncle and parents of Bassem Ali were among the first Muslims to move there, carrying a “fall” to the unknown and buying a surface.
Ali, 51, said his family opted for a lifestyle that looked like what they had left in the villages of Northern Lebanon.
“My parents came from an agricultural family, and my uncle had orange orchards in Lebanon. And they were producers of vegetables in Lebanon,” he said.
“I think they simply risked, and they liked it, it was worth it. I think people try to keep their community, but [people shouldn’t] be afraid. We did it, 37 years later, we are still here. “
Four decades later, Arabic has become the second most spoken language in young after English, and it is said that of every 10 locals, one is Muslim.
The growing need for a new mosque
A card for the Muslims that move here is the small mosque of the city, which opened in 1994, and is administered by the Sydney LEBANESA Muslim Association.
Abdullah Sultan, head of the Young Mezque Committee, said the measure is obvious of young Muslim families.
“[Young] It is far from the city, there is a mosque, there is a small community. Just for me saying that, you would like to move here, ”he told SBS News.
People plant trees but do not choose their fruit. His future yes. And that’s how we look at him.
Bassem Ali, young resident
Local mayor Brian Ingram said the contributions of the Muslim community to the city have been invaluable.
“[The Muslim community] Simply jump with donations and time and thousands and thousands of dollars, contribution value, ”he said.
“They don’t take it out to highlight it. They don’t do it for that. They do it because they care. And that is part of becoming a large part of our community.”
Emad Hamdy, Imam in the young mosque. Last year, construction began for the new mosque that is almost five times larger than the current Fountain: SBS news / Jack detention
But as the Muslim population grew, so did the desire to build a new mosque with sufficient space for everyone to pray.
That was clear about this which was held in Australia at the end of March, as the festive conclusion of the Holy Month of Ramadan.
The local mosque ran out of space for the faithful who had gathered there to offer the usual EID morning prayer.
Last year, construction began for the new mosque that is almost five times larger than the current one, and they are expected to accommodate more than 1,000 people.
Abdullah Sultan, head of the Young Mezque Committee, said the movement towards Young is obvious to Muslim families. Fountain: SBS news / Jack detention
An ‘surreal’ experience
Sultan said it is a symbol of community growth.
“A magnificent place of worship like this will attract more people to our city, increase that group of potential and create opportunities for our children,” he said.
Kowaider agrees, and adds that they found peace in open spaces and a stronger connection with the faith that Young had to offer.
“I think … Any type of rural community gets the best of you,” Kowaider said.
“I think it definitely lets the soul seek and give it that desire to return to where we belong and be closer to God.”
Where it all started in Ali’s family farm, he said he is “surreal” to see that his family’s roots extend and become a flourishing city.
“We needed to establish something for the community and for the future. And that’s how everything begins, right?” He said.
“People plant trees but do not choose their fruit. Their future yes. And that’s how we look at it.”
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