Australia's men's marathon record holder, Haftu Strintzos, thrives on hard work, but still finds it hard to believe where life has taken him.
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life → thrive → him
Born in eastern Tigray in northern Ethiopia, he grew up standing barefoot in fields for hours, helping provide for his family from dawn to dusk.
"I feel as though I have lived a double life in a way," he said after celebrating his 27th birthday in Melbourne.
"
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he → bear → Melbourne
I consider myself very privileged to live this life.
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myself → consider → life
"I spent my early days as a shepherd, herding goats and sheep through the mountains of my local village.
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I → spend → village
I grew up without a TV or running water.
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I → grow → TV
In his remote community, 2,300 metres above sea level, the only source of information he had until age 10 was a mobile phone.
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he → have → age
Haftu lost both biological parents by the time he was six, and was taken in by his maternal grandmother, living with his aunt and cousins.
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he → lose → aunt
A Greek-Australian aid worker by the name of Maria Strintzos came calling, meeting Haftu in 2007 at the age of eight
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worker → call → eight
After decades working across Ethiopia, she asked him if he'd like to be her son, adopted him and helped him migrate to Melbourne in 2011 — more than 12,000 kilometres from the mountains of Tigray.
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him → work → Tigray
Today, Haftu speaks five languages, Tigrinya, Amharic, Greek, Japanese and English, holds a Master of Electrical Engineering from Villanova University in the USA, and recently broke the national marathon record.
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Haftu → speak → record
Feeling the 'weight of the world'
Maria always felt compelled to help others.
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Maria → feel → others
Growing up in South Melbourne in the 1960s, she found strength in the local Greek community, even while migrant families faced racism.
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families → grow → racism
"We had absolutely everybody there.
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We → have → everybody
As much as I loved growing up there, it built a strength in me," she said.
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she → love → me
"I grew up knowing what social injustice and inequality looked like."
Her aid work took her through Indonesia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Sudan, supporting famine relief, water schemes, food security, women's empowerment, and communities affected by conflict, spending 35 years around wars and disease, but also hope, in the Horn of Africa.
But something different about young Haftu stood out.
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something → grow → Haftu
He would walk barefoot through dry riverbeds, guiding his almost blind grandmother, Shifta, through the mountains to meet Maria.
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He → walk → Maria
"He was very respectful," she said.
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she → say → ?
"And he would sit there really quietly … didn't muck around like the other kids.
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he → sit → kids
"He always had this sort of sad and serious look about him.
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He → have → him
It's like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
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he → have → shoulders
"But the way he looked after his grandmother and the way the grandmother would talk about him was very moving at the time too."
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grandmother → look → time
With the pull of family ties in Australia, Maria found herself at a crossroads.
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Maria → find → crossroads
"I was challenged at that time because I didn't particularly want to leave Ethiopia," she said.
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she → challenge → Ethiopia
"I loved my life.
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I → love → life
I loved what I did …
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I → love → what
I felt like I was achieving something."
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I → feel → something
Embracing the challenge of two different worlds
Excelling at school and winning education awards, Haftu embraced every opportunity.
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Haftu → embrace → opportunity
When he migrated to Australia in 2011, he took nothing for granted in his new environment.
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he → migrate → environment
Growing up without electricity, he became fascinated by anything electrical.
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he → grow → anything
Maria bought Haftu toy cars that he would unpack and dismantle anything he could get his hands on.
uncertain
he → buy → hands
"He literally pulled them apart with the motors, everything, and reassembled them," she said.
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she → pull → them
Having never seen a TV, he would sit on the couch for hours waiting for people to appear outside the screen.
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people → see → screen
"Sometimes I'd catch him sort of looking behind the TV because he thought there was people in there,"she said.
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he → catch → TV
"I still can't believe it.
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I → believe → it
It was quite incredible that given his background, that he had this innate gift, something about electricity."
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he → give → electricity
Maria said she's most proud of how Haftu has risen above adversity in his life.
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Haftu → say → life
"Where he's come from it was a rock hut, and they would sleep on the floor and the animals were next to them," she said.
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she → come → them
"The uniqueness of Haftu is that he's managed to retain the positive qualities of his experience.
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he → manage → experience
"My biggest challenges in assimilating to Australian culture were learning the English language and motion sickness while riding in cars," he said.
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he → assimilate → cars
"I remember a time in my early days where the only way I would not throw up while Mum drove the car was if I sat in the front passenger seat and kept my eyes on the road in front.
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I → remember → front
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia