The new diverse voices guiding the Australian War Memorial, draw on personal experiences of living in war and conflict zones

The Iraqi-Australian said he would wake up in the morning and immediately be in survival mode, wanting to change his current situation to something - anything - safer.

"And as soon as you manage to arrive at a peaceful place, there will still be triggers," he said.

"Most of the people that have lived in a war zone, have lost loved ones, or have been under massive discrimination or very bad situations, they will have post-traumatic stress disorder.

"This could be lifelong, and sometimes people will manage that if they're lucky enough by moving on, and trying to achieve all their dreams that they have dreamt about when they were in the homeland."

Mr Hanna immigrated to Australia in 1998 due to the political and civil unrest in Iraq. Now the president of the Australian Mesopotamian Cultural Association, Mr Hanna is using his experiences living in Iraq to help shape the Australian War Memorial's new contemporary galleries.

Mr Hanna is part of the memorial's new Culturally and Linguistically Diverse advisory group, which is one of five advisory bodies guiding the development project.

The other advisory bodies include those that focus on veterans, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, youth, and access. All will concentrate on the development of new peacekeeping galleries and elements relating to modern conflicts.

The Culturally and Linguistically Diverse advisory group met this week to give guidance on the galleries' narrative, content and the overall development of the memorial's collection.

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"It's very important to us to remember that these stories don't begin with Australian boots on the ground," Australian War Memorial senior historian and concept developer for the peacekeeping galleries David Sutton said.

"So talking about the conflict before the Australian arrival and what people have been through, and then of course, the legacies of those conflicts, really make sure that we tell those stories in full and do them due justice."

Other countries represented on the advisory board are Cambodia, East Timor, Timor Leste, Solomon Islands, Bougainville, Somalia and Afghanistan.

For Ms Nagatsuka, who is a Cambodian refugee and dance teacher, the advisory group is a chance to share an important part of her history and identity.

"Without the Australian War Memorial gallery and this museum, we wouldn't be able to share the stories that we've hidden inside," she said.

"[The memorial] needs to tell, needs to show because this is a real thing that's happening to people's lives.

"I had to share a lot of things about my life during the wartime with the children at the school where I work. They just say it's unbelievable, how could they do that to a human being? So without you telling them, without you showing them, they will never know. They never appreciate life too."

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