People of Ryde presents Hassib Elias

Published on 14 June 2020

My name is Hassib Elias.

I was born in Jerusalem (Old City) on 25 October 1949 of Palestinian patriotic and religious parents, who in turn were also of Palestinian birth. I grew up in Jerusalem and studied and completed my primary and higher education at private De LaSale Schools and Catholic Terra Sancta Colleges.

Due to the Arab-Israeli war in 1967 and the harsh life restrictions placed on Palestinians, my parents decided to immigrate to Australia for a better life and a decent respectable future for all of us.

I arrived in Sydney on 5 September 1971 with my family and resettled in the City of Ryde. Within a few weeks of my arrival, I applied for a job at Life Savers Limited (Australasia),the confectionery company, which was located in Lane Cove, where I started as a process worker, then moved on to the factory office as Assistant Purchasing Officer.

I have had multiple successful promotions throughout the years over the length of my career, until my early retirement in 2002, when I had reached the position of Administration Manager- Commodities at Nestle Australia Limited.

Coming from a war-torn country where the inhumane and cruel oppression of Palestinian people became the norm gave me a political and humanitarian drive, installing in me the power to stand up and defend, protect, and support the cultural rights and traditions of Palestinian immigrants in Australia, hence the reason behind the establishment of The Australian Palestinian Association.

Throughout the years, our association has had close collaborations and friendly contacts with members of Ryde’s Multicultural Advisory Committee, and also since 2008, via my personal membership with The Ryde Community Harmony Reference Group. The association has proudly participated in most, if not all, Ryde cultural, heritage, historical and national festivals and events.

As much as I have served my own community, I have assisted others in order to help create a more multicultural and humanitarian society. I have supported and helped Iraqi Refugees, and more recently The Syrian Armenian Refugees to resettle and find a work in their new homeland Australia.

Culturally, the association organised the first ever Palestinian Exhibition at Parramatta Immigration Centre in 1980, printing and publishing two books about Palestine in English and Arabic Languages. Copies of the books were donated to government and council libraries, universities and even to members of parliament.

The City of Ryde is a safe, secure and clean suburb. It is beautifully situated in the green leafy belt between both Parramatta and Lane Cove rivers. The area was originally named “Field of Mars”, and as history goes, Ryde had two distinctive structures that no other suburb had in the 1960s: the Ryde Municipal Council Red Bricks Building (the tallest) and Top Ryde Shopping Centre (enclosed /covered).

Ryde inhabitants are a nice and friendly mix of people. The suburb has the best public transport system, but also excellent medical facilities, good public and private schools and colleges and lush green leafy parks. It’s also great for its closeness to the City of Sydney.

Over the last few years, the City of Ryde has changed dramatically, with too many developments and high-rise buildings, which have affected the lifestyle of people and brought a lot of noise, pollution, and congestion to streets and roads instead.

I hope that the officials, mayors and councillors look deeper and think wisely about these developments to keep our beautiful City of Ryde clean, Green, and safe.

Written by Hassib Elias

Diploma in Health Counselling- Medical Register of Australia
Diploma in Ego State Therapy Counselling –Macinspire Sydney
Certified Certificate of Diploma of Law  -University of Sydney
(From The Barristers & Solicitors Admission Board)