Background:
I've met Dino through work back in 2016, and we became good friends over time.
Dino is someone who not only lights up the room wherever he goes, but is able to get along with almost anyone - always with a smile and an infectious laugh, even when things get serious.
Over the years, we have had some very interesting and deep conversations; this is certainly one of them.
Although Dino might seem young, his insights and views bring a lot of wisdom beyond his years.
This conversation is certainly proof of that.
This interview took place at Dino and his partner Joshua's place in Docklands, Melbourne, Australia, on the 5th of December 2024. Some of the answers have been slightly altered for brevity.
“The worst thing you can do about nostalgia is to fight it, because it hurts – I don’t fight it, I listen to it.”
Pictured here is Dino with his lovely partner, Joshua, 5 Dec 2024.
“Being an immigrant is a privilege. It means that you have not only been able to build your ‘first skin’, but also put on another ‘skin’ and be able to see the world through a spectrum of lenses. Being an immigrant enriches you in many ways, not just in terms of language, but in your ways of thinking."
Ahmed: Please state your name.
Dino: My name is Dino Gadzun. That is my familiar name, but my full name is Samsudin Gadzun, which is an Arabic name, but everybody calls me ‘Dino’ because it is easier to pronounce, and also the name of my sister’s favorite singer – ‘Dino Merlin’.
When my sister was five, she wanted a brother named ‘Dino’, and my mother wanted a son named after my great-grandfather, Shamsudin, but everyone remembers Dino.
Ahmed: Where did you move from to Australia?
Dino: I came here in 2017 from Marseille, France.
Ahmed: Where were you born?
Dino: I was born in Sarajevo in 1987, which was then Yugoslavia, and is now Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ahmed: Tell me about your journey from then till now.
Dino: I lived in Kakanj, a little town that is 40 km from Sarajevo, and I never left the country for most of my childhood and early adolescence, except for some family trips to Croatia during the summer.
Then, when I was fifteen, I earned a scholarship to move with the American Field Services to Marseille, where I did one year of High School, then returned to Bosnia.
A year later, I returned to France to finish university, work,…
Thirteen years later I became ‘French’.
I then decided to take a sabbatical year and move to Australia to travel for a year, visit my cousins, travel around, and see what Australia is about.
After some unusual circumstances, I eventually got a job, permanent residency, and citizenship, met my partner, whom I love and cherish every day, and eventually ended up living here for eight years.
Dino: My name is Dino Gadzun. That is my familiar name, but my full name is Samsudin Gadzun, which is an Arabic name, but everybody calls me ‘Dino’ because it is easier to pronounce, and also the name of my sister’s favorite singer – ‘Dino Merlin’.
When my sister was five, she wanted a brother named ‘Dino’, and my mother wanted a son named after my great-grandfather, Shamsudin, but everyone remembers Dino.
Ahmed: Where did you move from to Australia?
Dino: I came here in 2017 from Marseille, France.
Ahmed: Where were you born?
Dino: I was born in Sarajevo in 1987, which was then Yugoslavia, and is now Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ahmed: Tell me about your journey from then till now.
Dino: I lived in Kakanj, a little town that is 40 km from Sarajevo, and I never left the country for most of my childhood and early adolescence, except for some family trips to Croatia during the summer.
Then, when I was fifteen, I earned a scholarship to move with the American Field Services to Marseille, where I did one year of High School, then returned to Bosnia.
A year later, I returned to France to finish university, work,…
Thirteen years later I became ‘French’.
I then decided to take a sabbatical year and move to Australia to travel for a year, visit my cousins, travel around, and see what Australia is about.
After some unusual circumstances, I eventually got a job, permanent residency, and citizenship, met my partner, whom I love and cherish every day, and eventually ended up living here for eight years.
Ahmed: Wow. So how old were you when you moved to Australia?
Dino: I was 29, I believe. I celebrated my 30th in Australia.
Ahmed: What made you leave France and decide to stay here permanently?
Dino: Interesting question. I had never really decided to leave France.
I had an ‘event’ in my life that led me to change ‘scenery’. I booked an ‘open’ ticket one year ahead to have a goal to aim for. And so, I saved some money, I put together a plan, did research on Australia, visa conditions, where to go and what to see….
That gave me a year to look forward to something, because at the time I needed some ‘light’.
The aim was a year of sabbatical and change of scenery. I had my life and my job waiting for me back in France, but things have changed, and I stayed.
Dino: I was 29, I believe. I celebrated my 30th in Australia.
Ahmed: What made you leave France and decide to stay here permanently?
Dino: Interesting question. I had never really decided to leave France.
I had an ‘event’ in my life that led me to change ‘scenery’. I booked an ‘open’ ticket one year ahead to have a goal to aim for. And so, I saved some money, I put together a plan, did research on Australia, visa conditions, where to go and what to see….
That gave me a year to look forward to something, because at the time I needed some ‘light’.
The aim was a year of sabbatical and change of scenery. I had my life and my job waiting for me back in France, but things have changed, and I stayed.
Ahmed: So, why Australia?
Dino: Quite frankly, a balance between the further place from France and ‘close enough’, i.e., English-speaking, safe, etc.… I had a list of countries I was considering: Canada, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, ….
And with some research, Australia seemed big enough, offered really great things to see and do, my cousins live here - being able to contact my cousins if things go bad, safe enough, visa conditions, …
Ahmed: Where are your cousins located?
Dino: They are in Geelong (a city that is fairly close to Melbourne).
Ahmed: What do you love the most about Australia?
Dino: Apart from the obvious – nature, natural beauty, diversity, … - I love how it makes me feel. It makes me feel safe; it makes me feel that the ‘sky is the limit’ in terms of opportunities, …
I imagine that this is what the American Dream is and what Europe was like years ago – an endless pit of opportunities.
Ahmed: Did Australia turn out to be what you’d imagined it to be?
Dino: I had very little expectation, but I didn’t expect it to make me feel so comfortable.
Melbourne surprised me – the day I landed in Melbourne, it felt like home. I knew this was it.
Ahmed: Are you planning on staying?
Dino: Have I planned to stay in France? Yes. Did I stay? No. Do I plan to stay in Australia? No. Will I stay? Yes [Laughs].
Ahmed: What do you miss the most about Bosnia?
Dino: My family – my sister, my mother, my father, my uncle and aunty and their kids... are the ones that pull me towards Bosnia.
The country that I’ve known, that I’ve grown up in until the age of fifteen, has changed, as much as I have evolved; the society in Bosnia, due to the difficult history, has evolved in ways I did not expect, and I do not find myself living in.
If, by a magic wand, all my family and loved ones left Bosnia and moved to Australia or France, the roads would lead me to them (and not to Bosnia).
Ahmed: What do you miss the most about France?
Dino: I miss my friends – my other family. I am not saying that in Australia I don’t have friends, but what I’ve realized is that, at a personality-forming time of my life, life brought me people who gravitated towards what I’ve become. At that particular age I’ve met people who are part of who I am, and I miss them and am still in touch and get to see them every time I get a chance.
It is not the place; it is the people.
Ahmed: What rituals have you adopted here to keep nostalgia at bay?
Dino: I very quickly understood what that feeling of nostalgia was when I was much younger, and what triggers it. The worst thing you can do about nostalgia is to fight it, because it hurts – I don’t fight it; I listen to it. As you can see, there are very few photos in the house, because for me, photos are triggers…
I listen to music that my sister and I used to listen to, or my friends and I used to listen to, or look for a movie that we used to watch.
When I wake up in the morning, during my morning shower, I put on French or Bosnian songs because sometimes I feel like ‘I need to go there ’ if I’m feeling homesick or nostalgic.
Ahmed: Does Australia feel like home?
Dino: Yes.
Ahmed: Is there anything you feel that is missing?
Dino: Always. I don’t think I’ve ever lived without missing someone. When I was living in France, I’d go back to Bosnia to visit, and I’d miss France. When I returned to France, I’d miss Bosnia. Living in Australia, I miss both. Most of my life, I’ve missed a place. But it is not a bad feeling; it means you appreciate the things you’ve had and want to go back to them.
Ahmed: Something you wish would change about your life here in Australia?
Dino: I definitely need to socialize more – COVID affected my life socially, along with working from home… I have the social skills, but I need to make the effort, and that will change – it has to.
Ahmed: Something you get asked a lot as an immigrant?
Dino: In which language do you think? I get asked that a lot. My thoughts are more picture-like, so I don’t really translate from one language to another.
Ahmed: Something you wish people would ask you more?
Dino: Probably ‘How does it make you feel?’
Ahmed: Favorite slang word you’ve learned since moving to Australia?
Dino: ‘Chippy’.
Ahmed: If you had to do it all over again, would you have moved to Australia? Anything you’d change?
Dino: Yes, I’d definitely do it. I have actually thought of that and have asked myself, ‘Was it the right timing?’ Maybe I could have moved sooner, maybe.
Ahmed: How often do you visit home?
Dino: Yearly.
Ahmed: Any advice you’d give your younger self?
Dino: Worrying about things does not make those things work anyways. Do the best you can in the moment. When it comes to an hour from now or tomorrow, deal with it then. Worrying and dealing with things ‘in advance’ doesn’t help.
Ahmed: Anything else you’d like to share?
Dino: Being an immigrant is a privilege. It means that you have not only been able to build your ‘first skin’, but also put on another ‘skin’ and be able to see the world through a spectrum of lenses. Being an immigrant enriches you in many ways, not just in terms of language, but in your ways of thinking.
