It was on the beautiful Island of Cyprus, the Turkish side, that Halil was born and raised. He was the eldest of three boys - his twin brothers arrived when he was six years old.
“My dad was a police officer and often at work. But my poor mum, when one baby started crying, the other started crying too,” Halil laughed, as he recalled memories of his baby brothers. “I would help by feeding one, while mum fed the other.”
Halil's early childhood in Cyprus was a happy one, until the age of 12, when it became marked by conflict. "Two months after I started high school, I was 12, we were woken up to the sound of gunshots," he recalls. “The next thing, I was in the army and fighting.”
"My life was school, army, school, army. By the time I was 18, I was selected to become an officer,” explained Halil. Life on a battlefield was hard and an untreated throat infection led to a problem with his heart, and later, heart disease."
Halil left Cyprus in 1971 to come to Australia, and coincidentally, his birthday falls on Australia Day. His proudest achievements are his children: three boys from his first marriage and a daughter from his second.
Halil suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. His pain became so severe that simple everyday tasks were almost impossible - especially living on his own. His boys suggested he go into care.
“The good thing about SummitCare Canley Vale is that they’ve really looked after me very well and provided good treatment for my arthritis. I’ve improved since I’ve been here. Now, I am no longer in a wheelchair - I’m walking around, thank God,” said Halil, very grateful.
“This is home now. The kids come to visit me and I can go out, usually I go to the shops once a fortnight.”
Halil’s religion is a source of comfort for him and for many years he spent time as a Chaplain at Liverpool hospital. "I like helping people," he says, speaking of his daily walks around the home, checking in on fellow residents.
