:: Mohammad's Story ::

My village was high in the mountains of Afghanistan, overlooking the ancient Buddha statues in Bamiyan. My people are the Hazaras who have been persecuted for centuries due to religious and ethnic differences. A severe drought and the Taliban's destruction has meant that nothing lives here peacefully anymore and things began to be very unsafe for my people.

I escaped Afghanistan in 1999 because I was afraid for my life. I spent 10 days in the ocean in a small boat with 40 strangers. After 3 days, we lost our way because of the storm. For 6 days and 6 nights it was dark, we could not see the sky. On day 10 we ran out of oil and food, the boat broke down but the sun came out and so did the Australian police. I still have trouble sleeping when I think of the journey.

"For 6 days and 6 nights
it was dark, we could not see the sky. On day 10 we ran out of oil and food, the boat broke down but the sun came out and so did the Australian police"

It is a terrible thing when you risk your life to come to a free and democratic country and they lock you up without any crime being done and separate you from your family. I spent 7 months in Woomera Detention Centre with no communication to the outside world. We just waited and waited and no one would answer our questions. I now have many health problems because of my time spent there. I was eventually granted a Temporary Protection Visa and sent to Melbourne.

Three days after arriving in Melbourne I found Fitzroy Learning Network. For me it was a beautiful experience when the Network welcomed me. They gave me free English lessons that I could not get anywhere else, as my visa does not allow it, and free clothes, furniture and accommodation in the high rise flats of Fitzroy.My son is three and a half now and when I talk to him, he asks me what I look like. When I left, I had two babies now there is only one. I fear that if my son sees me he will not love me because he does not know who I am.

"My son is three and
a half now and when I talk to
him, he asks me what I look
like. When I left, I had two
babies now there is only one. I fear that if my son sees me he will not love me because he does not know who I am"

In February 2003, my case for permanent protection will be looked at, then who knows what will happen. But I never want to go back because there is no life for Hazara's in Afghanistan. I know I will never be safe there. When you are going somewhere and you don't know anyone there you feel like you are in the middle of many people but alone. You cannot do anything because you don't know anyone, and you can't make friends because you can't communicate.

Now I am working as a tiler thanks to the Network and whenever I am not working I invite all my Afghani friends to come and meet me here because I feel like this is my home, like they are my family. When I am at home I think about my problems and feel very lonely but here I am free to relax. From the beginning until the end, I have died one hundred times. I am never sure, what the next step is orwhat the next day holds. The Network has given me hope and a way to escape my suffering and hopelessness. I do not know what my life would be like without them.