The club had the pleasure of Abbas Nazari visiting and sharing some of his life story so far..The rest we can read in our shiny new books!
David Barnes reports on an educational, frightening and inspiring talk.
'Like the Life of Pi without the tiger.'
This is how Abbas Nazari described his boat journey from Indonesia to the Christmas Islands where his family hoped to gain asylum and safety.
This is how Abbas Nazari described his boat journey from Indonesia to the Christmas Islands where his family hoped to gain asylum and safety. Abbas told us of his early childhood in a highland village of Afghanistan. From a child's perspective, his was a happy and idyllic upbringing surrounded by a warm and close extended family and in a beautiful valley steeped in old traditions.
But there was an escalating undercurrent of fear which occupied the thoughts of his elders and parents as the first wave of the Taliban movement took over Afghanistan in the early 2000s. This eventually compelled the family to leave - this was a wrench but became a life or death situation. Abbas' family were also Nazaris, a persecuted
minority ethnic group, making their departure necessary for survival. Australia was the desired destination but only after bribing officials and paying their life savings to smugglers and runners they barely knew.
minority ethnic group, making their departure necessary for survival. Australia was the desired destination but only after bribing officials and paying their life savings to smugglers and runners they barely knew. Abbas' family flew to Jakarta and then, with trepidation, boarded a precarious and overloaded vessel to reach Australia's Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean and claim asylum. It was a perilous journey and they almost did not make it. Just before the boat broke up short of the Island, the Nazaris and their fellow passengers were rescued by the Norwegian cargo ship, Tampa.
But it didn't end there; Australia refused to allow the refugees to leave the ship, leaving them languishing on the desks of the Tampa with no future prospects.
In a diplomatic rescue effort, New Zealand stepped in and accepted a quota of the so-called 'Tampa refugees', including the Nazaris. After a time at the Mangere resettlement centre, the Nazaris moved to Christchurch. Abbas described his family as embracing New Zealand life and just 'getting stuck in'. Theirs was a diverse neighbourhood and this helped the family become comfortable, knowing others around them were also adapting to a new society. Abbas played rugby and excelled in activities such as spelling bees.
Abbas recently returned from a the US as a Fullbright Scholar at Georgetown University and has published his book: 'After the Tampa: from Afghanstan to New Zealand.