Everyday is Valentine’s Day: Olga & Mohammad

How did it all begin for you?

Mohammad, a native of Iraq in Australia on a Protection Visa, first made contact with Russian-born Olga in September of 2014. Their online conversations began with Olga attracted to a cute, “very nice” photo of Mohammad with a “baby tiger in the zoo.” Looking back, Mohammad remembers being nervous, his heart “dancing” as he figured out “a way to talk” to Olga, to connect with her. Whatever they did, it worked!!

What will your partner says he/she loves most about you?

As they give each other space to speak and with Olga gently touching and reaffirming Mohammad throughout the interview, their shared laughter and good-natured banter signals their warmth and ease with each other. Olga says Mohammad envies her calmness and peaceful nature, while he in turn mindfully respects her honesty and takes care to keep the balance.

How did you meet?

An online dating site was where they connected and from the time of their first contact, their relationship literally grew wings. The couple met physically six months later, in March of 2015.

What is your favourite memory of your life together so far?

As they laughingly recall the excitement, the nervousness and the turmoil of Olga’s first visit, Olga says she can’t choose just one memory as every day brings with it new happenings, some good and some difficult. In her charming way, she mentions the reality of the early stages of “trying to manage living together.”

What was your biggest worry when applying for the Partner Visa?

Mostly because of all the unknown factors, the fear of rejection and what he had heard from friends, Mohammad was really fearful when he first applied for Olga’s Visa. Yet even though his “heart (was) bombing,” he was careful to save Olga from his own stress. And then he speaks of his relief and the help he experienced when he found Emma from Freedom Migration.

Olga agrees with Mohammad that the situation is “pretty stressful and it’s uncontrollable”, and laughingly adds how grateful she is to have professional people in the form of Freedom Migration to do things for them and “who can manage our anxiety about it!!”

What was it like to hear the visa was granted?

Mohammad, a chef, remembers he was in Melbourne when Emma called him to say she “would like to give a Christmas present.” Of course the gift was the news, “Your wife, she got the Visa!”

Both shocked and excited, feeling his “dream” of having his wife back in Australia was about to come true, Mohammad immediately called Olga, regardless of the five hour time difference, and happily set about asking how soon she would be able to arrange to come!

For her part, Olga, a professional animator, wondered why he was pestering her with questions so early in the morning and at first did not believe him when he explained the Visa had come! The news really woke her up ‘though and then she, too, was overcome with happiness and laughingly recalled her initial irritation! “And after I get it (the visa), I was just reading it over and over and over!! And next day I open it and read it again, maybe something changed and next day as well!!” she laughed.

What is life together now?

Well, this couple says it all, and as we watch, we find ourselves smiling inside as Olga jokes, “You know, a big advantage when you (are) having a relationship online, a huge advantage, if you get tired from the situation, you can just switch it off (signals and laughter) and have some time for yourself !” She quickly adds, “I’m very happy my love!”

And then our hearts turn flick-flacks as we hear Mohammad acknowledge her happiness and say that beautiful phrase commonly spoken in Russia, “I’m crying from my happiness!”

As we listen to Mohammad speaking of his loneliness and journey from ‘being alone in this life’ to taking the chance on internet dating, learning to trust, overcoming his fear and patiently progressing his relationship with Olga ‘step by step’ to the point when he feels he can say, “I LOVE YOU,” we can share in his gratitude that their relationship worked out. He decided to apply for a stay of his Visa.

And we can see the beauty of it all as Olga marvels, with Mohammad’s agreement; “Yeah, we have been living together for about ten months now? And still pretty often, we’ll like wake up in the morning and (say) can you believe that we’re together? Wow!!”

Wow, indeed!!

And so to Mohammad and Olga, we at Freedom Migration say, “Thank You so much for sharing the beauty and honesty of your special love story, we are so proud you chose us to be a part of your amazing journey!!”