Saffaa is like a mother to Sydney’s small community of mostly young asylum seeker women from Saudi Arabia.
The 45-year-old activist, artist, and disability support worker says she has been an unofficial source of help for many such women who have fled their homelands, seeking protection in Australia, in recent years.
The Saudi and Australian citizen (whose artist name is Ms Saffaa) lives in Camperdown, only a 12-minute drive from the Canterbury apartment where in what local police have called “unusual” circumstances.
Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and her 23-year-old sister Amaal are believed to have been dead for some time before being discovered.
That haunts Saffaa, who said she feels a sense of responsibility towards the two women.
Saffaa, whose artist name is Ms Saffaa, with one of her works, titled ‘I am my own guardian’. Source: Supplied / saffa
“I really wondered a few nights ago, if these women were on my radar, how maybe I could have connected them to an organization or someone who could have helped in any way, shape or form.”
The assumption “that they had no one they could trust is really distressing for me, because you don’t live in a country or in a city for five years not having one person, one person you can trust,” she said.
“Five years is a long time and enough time to have a community behind you, to have a support system, to have friends, to have people who would worry about you if you disappeared for two days. These women disappeared for a month and probably longer.”
If these women were on my radar… maybe I could have connected them to an organization or someone who could have helped.
– Saffaa, Activist and Artist
Police have previously said the sisters arrived in Australia in 2017. SBS News has confirmed the sisters were seeking asylum in Australia but the reasons for their asylum claim remain unknown. The Department of Home Affairs previously told SBS News it does not comment on individual cases.
Saffaa said she started connecting with “a few Saudi women, asylum seekers and refugees,” a few years ago.
“Most of them are in their 20s and I feel a sense of responsibility towards them. I try to reach out to as many of them as I can with my very limited resources, to connect them to organizations and individuals who can help.”
Saffaa said she had seen unsubstantiated claims on Saudi social media alleging the women were part of a network that helped women escape Saudi Arabia.
She said she had tried to contact Burwood Police Station to ask for a community briefing but police were dismissive.
“When the community reached out to the police, they didn’t give us the time of day,” she said.
“When news came out, people in the community asked me to contact the police and [police] weren’t helpful. They were dismissive. I called for days trying to offer the community’s help, but there was no call back. It wasn’t a good experience.”
A spokesperson for NSW Police told SBS News the force “always welcomes the community’s assistance as it continues to investigate the death of the two women, which is why we have appealed for information”.
“All information is thoroughly investigated no matter how small, and the NSW Police Force will provide updates as they become available.”
‘They don’t feel safe’
Saffaa, said she had spoken with a few members of Sydney’s Saudi community since the sisters’ deaths and there is a notable fear among them.
“There is a sense of fear and unsafety, they don’t feel safe.”
“The fear is based on the very mysterious and suspicious circumstances the sisters have died.
The apartment block in Canterbury, Sydney, where the sisters were found. Source: SBSNews / Essam Al-Ghalib
“It is not very clear from police and from what we have been hearing and reading in news reports, what had happened. And I understand investigations take time, but we’re all just sitting here waiting for a conclusive toxicology report, meanwhile, we are worried, feeling unsafe, trying to make sense of this whole thing. It doesn’t make sense to any of us.”
Saffaa said no one in the community she had spoken with believes the sisters died by suicide.
“I don’t think it was suicide. You don’t die of suicide in separate rooms with your sister … Wouldn’t you want to be, in your final hours and minutes, with your sister in the same room?”
“No one in my community believes it was suicide. It’s quite distressing for all of us.”
A worker at the BP petrol station across the street from the sisters’ apartment confirmed previous media reports that the sisters have previously visited and generally avoided conversation.
Saffaa said that may have been due to their Saudi upbringing. In traditional Saudi culture, women are raised to not overly interact with men who are not their father, brother, or husband.
Australian media has previously reported the sisters seemed “timid” and “scared” when police conducted a welfare check in March at the request of the building managers.
“One thing I’m surprised about is when they do these welfare checks, when you come from a refugee or asylum seeker background, especially from Saudi Arabia, you have a huge mistrust of authority,” Saffaa said.
The petrol station near the sisters’ apartment. Source: SBSNews / Essam Al-Ghalib
Saffaa said cultural differences need to be recognised.
“Welfare checks should not be conducted by police or anyone in a uniform.”
“If you have a mistrust of authority, if you’re scared, if there is no one you can trust, and a policeman shows up at your door, you’re not going to open the door.
“Welfare checks should be done by mental health professionals, people who are trauma-informed, someone in the community, someone who knows them.”
Detective Inspector Claudia Allcroft, Crime Manager of Burwood Local Area Command, said last month police had only spoken with two people who knew the women and any piece of information provided by the public could hold the key to solving the investigation.
“The Burwood community is a small and close community, and we hope that someone may be able to assist our investigators,” she said.
NSW Police said in a statement last month: “Despite extensive inquiries, detectives have been unable to ascertain how the women died”.
Would you like to share your story with SBS News? Email [email protected]
Anyone who may have information that could assist detectives is urged to contact Burwood Police Station on (02) 9745 8499 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Readers seeking support with mental health can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. More information is available at beyondblue.org.au. embracementalhealth.org.au supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
