Perth — Stories

Ping Pong Across the Indian Ocean

Many people didn’t know what Pakistan was. Right after 9/11, they did…

Raising The Bar

The scene of a Muslim family decorating a built-in home bar at Christmas felt normal to me at the time…

Social Hide & Seek

Our version of a corsage was a motia flower and though street vendors would sell these readily, they were not durable enough to hang around the hands of people as they danced…

Condoms on Bananas & Toxic Attitudes

I still remember sex education class vividly. Condoms on bananas, cheesy videos, and the odd inappropriate comment from one or the other of my classmates. I was in an all-boys school in Perth, Australia…

We Have The Power To Write Our Own Narrative

‘It’s cancer’… The doc said. And with that prognosis, I saw myself living back in Perth, Western Australia…

I Will Carry That Rice Cooker Out Like a Purse

My “real” boyfriend has his family coming from Brazil. He politely tells me to “move out” for the duration of the trip. I pay half the rent…

The Hale Boys

Your purpose in life isn’t just found in big cities, away from supposed intellectual backwaters. It’s found wherever you feel the most alive and the most genuine and such a place isn't often tacked to a specific postcode.

Karachi Theosophical Society: the Historic TCK Archive

With such an eclectic mix of people, the city had to foster pluralism and harmony. One of the key venues to do so was the Karachi Theosophical society…

Where Do I Begin?

I became the ‘Pakistani Australian’ or the ‘Australian Pakistani’ depending on whether I was meeting Sam or Sameet…

Wogs and Dings—Enemies of the State

The peace and tranquility were the main draw cards of Coolbinia Primary School, but it was also one of its major pitfalls. They bred comfort—the type which people get possessive about…

Hale Boys' Reprise

It was just after Nagano was chosen for the winter olympics that I suddenly was Mr. Popular. Did I have a spare bedroom? Could I show people around? “Paul, let’s talk after the reunion.” I left before the introductions were even made. That was the end of my high school connections...

The Digestible

This guy really is just passing the time, I deduce from his gestures, intonation, and eye contact. He has bigger fish to fry, women to (attempt to, at the least) seduce, beers to guzzle, joints to roll, greasy kebabs to inhale at ungodly hours, and throbbing Sunday morning headaches to nurse. He would rather talk about prostates and pension funds than hear what I’ve got to say...