Jean Marc Bukasa grew up frightened of the army.
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Aged seven, he fled the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo with his family to escape persecution from the military, and spent years living in temporary camps before being granted Australian refugee status and settling in Wollongong.
With this history, it seems unthinkable the young man, now 20, would consider being back in the firing line.
But for the past four months he’s been stationed north of Baghdad on active service with the Australian Army, as part of an international taskforce training Iraqi soliders to defeat Islamic State terrorists.
Private Bukasa signed up to the army last year, three days after being granted Australian citizenship, driven by a strong desire to serve his new homeland, and help and protect those in war zones.
The decision was difficult for his parents, Bukasa Tshilengi and Marie Paul Ngoi, who took their children out of a homeland where soldiers’ guns were used to kill citizens. But now, Pte Bukasa says they are nothing but proud.
“I speak to them twice a week and they’re always really proud,” he told the Mercury this week, on the phone from Iraq.
“I’m so happy to be here, my mates are really supportive and I feel like I’m one of the Australians, and I’m doing a great thing helping the Iraqi’s to defeat the Islamic State and build their country. My inspiration has been to see change in places like this, and I also want to be a role model for my friends back home.”
Working as part of Task Group Taji, Pte Bukasa’s job is to protect Australian, New Zealand and British trainers and their Iraqi trainees from threats like suicide bombers, who twice attacked the training base in June.
The young man has also met Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne and distinguished himself by scoring a goal in a soccer match against Iraqi army soldiers.
Held ahead of the recent World Cup qualifier between Australia and Iraq, the Aussie soldiers lost (unlike the Socceroos who won 2-0).
Despite the defeat, Pte Bukasa said playing the game brought back good memories of his childhood.
He learnt to love soccer in Congo, where he and his brothers would use it to distract themselves from terrible hunger.
A talented athlete, he considered playing professionally in Australia and has relished the chance to bond with other troops.
“Soccer was and is a big part of my life, me and my brothers would play from morning to night,” he said.
“Here, there’s Americans, Brits and the Spanish too, so we play when we have free time – it’s a beautiful game and it gets your mind off everything.”