Stani Goma’s path to Australia wasn’t like most.
He arrived in Australia in 1989, not directly from his native Republic of Congo, but from China where he’d been studying pharmacy.
That year saw events unfold in Tiananmen Square, with the unrest sparking concern among his peers. The decision to leave for Australia was not entirely his own.
“The decision was made by a group of friends, fellow students in China during the unrest,” he tells SBS News in French.
“Some of them ended up leaving Australia but I remained; I got stuck in Melbourne.”
Stani was studying in China before he came to Australia.