{"id":705046,"date":"2026-05-30T21:32:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T21:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/705046\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T21:32:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T21:32:23","slug":"history-making-mayor-of-maribyrnong-mohamed-semra-is-only-getting-started","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/705046\/","title":{"rendered":"History-making mayor of Maribyrnong, Mohamed Semra, is only getting started"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, when the online abuse for being a young, African-born, Muslim mayor gets brutal, Mohamed Semra turns to the lesson he learnt on the back of a donkey in Sudan.<\/p>\n

He was just 10, a city kid from Melbourne on his first trip back to the country his mother fled with her six children when Mohamed was three.<\/p>\n

His family needed water, so his uncle propped up Mohamed on a donkey loaded with barrels and sent him off, alone, to the well about two hours away.<\/p>\n

He gave Mohamed this advice: do not get off the donkey until safely back at the village with the water because the beast could get spooked and spill the water.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mohamed has made several visits back to Sudan since moving to Australia. (Supplied: Mohamed Semra)<\/p>\n

After the daunting desert trek, Mohamed was close to home when the donkey made a beeline for a tree covered in sharp thorns, the branches of which hung too low for him to safely pass underneath.<\/p>\n

He assessed his options: get off, save himself but risk losing the water, or cling tightly to the donkey’s neck and hope for the best.<\/p>\n

“I made the decision that I was going to go through the tree,” Mohamed, 27, tells Australian Story. “Obviously, I had a lot of scratches on my face but the water made it home.<\/p>\n

“It taught me that sometimes \u2026 sacrifices need to be made in the service of others. And while I had a few scratches on my face, my family could enjoy water that day.”<\/p>\n

Becoming mayor of the City of Maribyrnong, in Melbourne’s inner west, last year has caused Mohamed a few metaphorical scratches.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

Since donning the mayoral robes, he has been called all sorts of names online, but being subjected to racism is not new for Mohamed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

One incident at an Apple Store when he was 15 caused international news<\/a> but also led to changes at the global company, so enduring some abuse as mayor in order to advance the community that helped him thrive is something he is willing to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“There are people out there that are not comfortable with a Black man, a Muslim, in the position I’m in today,” Mohamed says. “And it’s my job to make them more comfortable.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Social media is another way for Mohamed to connect with constituents. (Australian Story: Andy Ware)<\/p>\n

“As mayor, I see my role as representing the entire community \u2026 I have lived in the community for 20 years. I wouldn’t have put my hand up if I didn’t love this community and didn’t believe that I can add value.”<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

Mohamed (centre) with school friends Abdulahi Haijiali and Mabior Ater. (Australian Story: Andy Ware)<\/p>\n

Mohamed is the first person from sub-Saharan Africa to be elected mayor in Australia, representing a diverse community of people from more than 80 countries.<\/p>\n

Being first to do something is difficult, he says. “But if my mum can travel all the way from Sudan, move to a whole new country, not knowing how any of it was going to turn out, then I could put my hand up for local government.”<\/p>\n

\"Australian<\/a>Mohamed finds his voice again<\/p>\n

Responsibility is something Mohamed says he has enjoyed from a young age. Or, as his older sister, Engi, fondly puts it, “he was a big nerd”.<\/p>\n

“He’s always wanted to be a role model,” she says.<\/p>\n

While the other siblings preferred cartoons, Mohamed wanted to watch the news or history documentaries. “We used to always fight him for the remote,” Engi says.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Samira moved to Australia with her six children, including Mohamed (bottom left). (Supplied: Mohamed Semra)<\/p>\n

Leadership is in the genes. Mohamed’s father is a tribal elder in Sudan’s eastern desert, one of many arrested without charge by the government in 2002 in a bid to quell unrest among Indigenous groups. His imprisonment led to Mohamed’s mother, Samira, leaving with the children as refugees. His father has been released but remains in Sudan.<\/p>\n

Mohamed says he “always wanted a seat at the table” but was inhibited by a bad stutter. “My head would rock and my tongue would come out and it halted me from doing a lot of the things that I wanted to do,” he says.<\/p>\n

The frustration caused him to act out, with Mohamed admitting that in his early teens, “I was a bit of a troublemaker.”<\/p>\n

But Leah White, his English teacher and the student wellbeing coordinator at Maribyrnong College, says although Mohamed was “lively”, she could tell from his written work that he had great potential.<\/p>\n

She suggested an intensive speech therapy course at La Trobe University and “he just grabbed it with both hands”.<\/p>\n

That act by a caring teacher, says Mohamed, “gave me back my voice”.<\/p>\n

\"Maribyrnong<\/p>\n

Mohamed pictured in year 12 alongside teacher’s aide Alor Deng. (ABC News: Margaret Burin)<\/p>\n

Before long, he was on the debating team. “That’s where my leadership journey began,” he says.<\/p>\n

In Year 11, Mohamed told a schoolmate he thought he would run for school captain and the boy laughed, telling him, “That’s a white thing.”<\/p>\n

“I was very struck by that conversation because, you know, when did leadership become a white thing?” Mohamed asks now.<\/p>\n

He stood for the role \u2014 and won.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Mohamed (highlighted second from right) was one of the school captains at Maribyrnong College. (Supplied: Maribyrnong College)<\/p>\n

The Australian Story episode A Seat at the Table airs Monday at 8:00pm (AEST) on ABCTV and ABC iview<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Apple Store racial profiling ‘changed everything’<\/p>\n

Perhaps some of his schoolmates thought he was leadership material after his moment of fame as a 15-year-old at a local Apple Store.<\/p>\n

Mohamed and five African friends had gone to the store, excited to check out the new iPhone. But as soon as they walked in, they were followed by security. It wasn’t unusual to experience such racial profiling, says Mohamed, but it was uncomfortable, so they decided to leave.<\/p>\n

\"Students<\/p>\n

The teenagers were\u00a0told to leave the store because staff were “worried they would steal something” (ABC: triple j Hack\/Imgur)<\/p>\n

As they walked out, Mohamed says, “Something struck me. I go, ‘If we let this go, it’s going to happen to so many other people that have done nothing wrong.'”<\/p>\n

So, they turned to head back in, with their phone camera recording. Security guards and the store manager stopped them, telling the group to leave because they were “worried you might steal something”.<\/p>\n

Mohamed’s friend uploaded the video and it went viral. Mohamed was soon busy telling his story to international media<\/a>. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, issued an apology and committed to retraining all Apple staff on inclusion and customer engagement.<\/p>\n

“I stepped into it because I understood the weight of the moment,” Mohamed says. “That was a huge win for us \u2026 it reminded us that our contribution is valuable and that people want to hear what we have to say. And our stories are important.”<\/p>\n

Political campaign in a pandemic\u00a0\"Two<\/p>\n

During the COVID pandemic, volunteers helped deliver halal food and other supplies to hundreds of public housing residents. (ABC News: Simon Winter)<\/p>\n

Politics was not on Mohamed’s agenda until the Victorian government’s hard lockdown of public housing towers<\/a> in Flemington and North Melbourne in June 2020 due to a COVID surge.<\/p>\n

Volunteering had become Mohamed’s passion. After high school, he had been accepted into a commerce and international relations degree but, instead, threw himself into working with multicultural and youth organisations.<\/p>\n

So, when those living in the towers \u2014 mostly refugees and migrants, including friends of Mohamed \u2014 were forbidden from leaving their apartments, he rushed to help.<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

Mohamed (right) joined other volunteers during COVID to pack and deliver meals to stranded residents. (Supplied: Mohamed Semra)<\/p>\n

Although food was being provided by the government, in many cases it wasn’t halal or otherwise culturally appropriate.<\/p>\n

“I saw that happening and it hit me that we need more people on the decision-making table that represented and reflected the makeup of the community,” Mohamed said.<\/p>\n

“I was volunteering, doing a lot of grassroots advocacy and activism but I never considered what it would look like for me to be on that table, making some of those decisions.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mohamed’s work with young people was part of the reason he was named a nominee for the 2023 Victorian Young Australian of the Year award. (Supplied: Facebook\/Mohamed Semra)<\/p>\n

Council elections were due later that year, so he decided to throw his hat into the ring. It was an odd campaign, with no public gatherings or doorknocking allowed, and the 22-year-old was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n

Defeat was embarrassing. “It’s not easy the first time you put yourself out there and things don’t go your way,” Mohamed says.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Mohamed marks Eid celebrations with brother Senousi, nephew Mansour and mother Samira. (Supplied: Mohamed Semra)<\/p>\n

That was it, he thought, no more politics. He channelled his advocacy into starting up Endeavour Youth Australia, a social enterprise that worked in schools with youth of diverse backgrounds, and ran an annual multicultural youth leadership conference.<\/p>\n

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But then, in 2023, he was invited to attend a keynote speech by former US president Barack Obama.<\/p>\n

Mohamed had never heard Obama’s story of failure before. He’d only ever known him as triumphant. But when Obama talked about losing his first congressional race and not wanting to try again, it struck a chord.<\/p>\n

“I saw a lot of similarities in my own story and \u2026 it felt like there was still a lot of work to be done,” Mohamed says. “The aim, the mission, hadn’t changed.”<\/p>\n

In 2024, he ran again as an independent councillor for Maribyrnong.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mohamed’s posters were defaced during the council elections. (Supplied: TikTok\/@MayorMohamedSemra)<\/p>\n

His mum, Samira, with whom Mohamed still lives, says reactions from residents were mixed during the campaign. “Some people [are] very racist,” she says. “Some people [are] very nice.” Many of his corflutes were defaced but his social media game was strong, connecting with many of the young people of the area.<\/p>\n

To learn he had been elected, says Mohamed, “was an overwhelming feeling”.<\/p>\n

“I can’t even put it into words. I started jumping up and down and celebrating,” he says. “But [I also felt] the weight of the responsibility \u2026 now the work starts.”<\/p>\n

‘He’s got thick skin’: Mohamed’s test<\/p>\n

The speeches are over and now the mayor of Maribyrnong is on the dance floor, grooving it up with the Filipino community as they celebrate a local’s 100th birthday.<\/p>\n

He is known to bust a move at community events, and the women here are lapping it up, vying for their chance to dance with Mohamed.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Attending events such as this 100th birthday party is a highlight of Mohamed\u2019s job. (Australian Story)<\/p>\n

“It means a lot to them that I’m here as the mayor \u2026 it shows them that the city of Maribyrnong cares, that we are here, that we are listening and that we’re accessible,” Mohamed says.<\/p>\n

“It’s so much fun, right? I’m gonna have energy for the rest of my day.”<\/p>\n

Not all of his work is this much fun. His role requires making tough decisions about the area’s future \u2014 decisions some oppose vehemently.<\/p>\n

A big test for Mohamed will be his implementation of a previous council’s decision to build an indoor stadium<\/a> aimed at giving youngsters a much-needed place to play basketball, something he credits with keeping him out of trouble as a kid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some locals have campaigned against the stadium because it will occupy some green space in a reserve, but Mohamed says the venue’s footprint will represent 3.3 per cent of the reserve and that the facility is needed to reduce waiting lists for community sport.<\/p>\n

He will need all his leadership skills to allay the protester’s fears, and to convince the Victorian and federal governments to fund the $60 million project.<\/p>\n

“If we don’t get this done, it’s only going to pass the buck onto the next council and the next council after that,” Mohamed says.<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

Mohamed (centre) understands the importance of local sports facilities. (Australian Story: Andy Ware)<\/p>\n

But his friend and fellow African activist, Tigist Kebede, believes the man who was named a nominee in Victoria’s Young Australian of the Year for 2023 has the fortitude to handle such challenges.<\/p>\n

“There’s discipline there, he’s got very thick skin,” she says. “I think the experience of the speech impediment, Apple, just being a Black boy in Australia has created a lot of resilience in him.<\/p>\n

“I definitely think there’s an intense pressure and also more eyes on him. He’s the first, the only, the different, and that means there’s a lot of hopes riding on his back.”<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

Mohamed is already making his mark on Canberra, bringing the issues of his diverse community to the fore. (Australian Story)<\/p>\n

He’s already attracting the interest of political parties, with the local Labor member for Footscray, Katie Hall, revealing that the Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan thinks he is impressive.<\/p>\n

The question that inevitably arises when a councillor starts getting noticed is, ‘Will they seek a state or federal seat?’.<\/p>\n

Mohamed is not ruling it out.<\/p>\n

Recently, he was one of three Victorian mayors who went to Canberra to represent local government, something he described as “a big moment”.<\/p>\n

\"Collage<\/p>\n

Mohamed congratulates new Australian citizens from his community. (Supplied: Mohamed Semra)<\/p>\n

He knows that others like him \u2014 Africans, Muslims, the young \u2014 look at his position as mayor and see a role model, someone they can try to emulate.<\/p>\n

And he knows there are no people of African descent in federal parliament.<\/p>\n

“It would make a huge difference to see someone from African heritage background in federal parliament,” he says. “The more we get representation in decision-making spaces, the more we are able to change the narrative where African-Australians are concerned.<\/p>\n

“The more opportunities for good work to be shared and good stories to be out there, I think can make a long-lasting impact.”<\/p>\n

Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n

For now, Mohamed Semra is happy to be Maribyrnong’s mayor, working for his local community and learning the art of politics, leadership and compromise.<\/p>\n

But as he stands outside Parliament House, the place where seminal decisions about the course of a country are made, Mohamed admits: “The thought does creep in, ‘Is this a ceiling I can break?'”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Ready to shake up politics, Mohamed wants to lead by example. (Australian Story: Andy Ware)<\/p>\n

Watch the Australian Story episode ‘A Seat at the Table’ Monday at 8pm (AEST) on ABCTV and ABC iview<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Enjoyed this story? Check out these Australian Story reads:Loading…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sometimes, when the online abuse for being a young, African-born, Muslim mayor gets brutal, Mohamed Semra turns to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":705047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[52572,95775,64,63,99,343037,343039,1871,134916,288548,18404,343034,74115,343036,84,343038,161107,343035,19400],"class_list":["post-705046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-african","tag-apple-store","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-covid-lockdowns","tag-endeavour-youth-australia","tag-leadership","tag-local-council","tag-maribyrnong","tag-mayor","tag-mohamed-semra","tag-muslim","tag-political-campaign","tag-politics","tag-racial-profiling","tag-sudan","tag-sudanese","tag-voting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/705047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}