When Werribee Secondary College students Arun Gogineni and Eyosias (Josh) Melaku found out they were the joint winners of the Australian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms School Writing Competition, the year 12 students were excited, but very surprised.
Not only did both teens think someone else had won the competition, neither knew the other had even applied.
“The organisers announced that they will tell us the winner in March,” Arun said.
“When I checked the website, there was another person, I think last year’s winner, so I thought okay, I didn’t win, that’s OK, maybe next time.
“Then one day i’m in the bus on the way home, and Josh texted me out of nowhere like, check your email, check your email.”
Josh said he “randomly” received an email in May, not only informing him that his piece had won, but that Arun had too.
“I didn’t know that Arun did it, and Arun didn’t know that I did it either,” he said.
“All of the emotions that I had, as I was writing the charter in the first place, all the excitement…it came back, I was really proud.
“The excitement of knowing it was Arun of all people…I was just so excited.”
Both boys say they come from families that are passionate about human rights.
“I’m new to Australia, so I wasn’t feeling so confident to participate in something this big,” Arun said.
“It was really my dad who kind of pushed me to it and I actually procrastinated until the very last minute.”
The competition is run by the Human Rights Law Centre and encourages any high school student in Australia to write the best introduction for an Australian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
“I just think it would be great if more people got involved in working on their democracy, looking for anything that’s wrong, and realising they have a part in making it right,” Josh said.
