While the Department of

Immigration and Citizen-

ship, DIAC, persists on its

policy of mass refusal of

Afghan asylum seekers’

refugee applications in

Christmas Island and other

detention centres, many

regions of Afghanistan in-

cluding the capital Kabul

continue to rock with vio-

lence and insecurity. Last

month a suicide car bomb

attack targeting a passing

NATO convoy killed at least 20

people and injured more than 50

in the Afghan capital, a city

which the DIAC deem to be safe

for Afghans. Although it was the

first major attack in Kabul since

February 26 when Taliban sui-

cide bombers targeted guest-

houses, killing 16 people includ-

ing westerners, the situation in

Kabul and other parts of the

country remains alarmingly un-

stable.

A story of heart break, despair and anguish

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Issue 11

Number One in Serving the

Afghan community in

Australia

A story of heart break,

despair and anguish

Zamera’s Award

Call for Justice

Interpreting Scholar-

ship for Afghans

Not just a language

school

A tough journey, a

great achievement

Housing information

forum

Inside this issue:

Editor:

Azadeh Baghaki

By Hamed Saberi

Dallas Mazoori, a former advisor to our manage-

ment committee who has been living in Afghani-

stan describes the situation there as the worst

she’s seen since going there in 2005 with no

signs of improving. In a random snapshot of

what she has seen around the country, Dallas

writes: “Areas where I would have travelled to

by road one year ago, you couldn’t pay me or get

me to fly there now. Everyday across the country

there are bombs, rocket attacks, assassinations,

beheadings/hangings, disappearances, abductions

of girls, extortion, curtails on freedom of expres-

sion, and the list goes on.” Continued on page 4

Zamera Shariffie, vice president of the

association of Hazaras in Victoria was

among 20 people recognized as VRRR

recipients at a ceremony held on 17

June 2010.

Launched in 2004, Victorian Refugee

Recognition Record is an official recog-

nition of the tremendous contributions

that people from a refugee background

have made to their own communities

and to the State of Victoria. This annual

event provides a great opportunity for

all Victorians to celebrate and docu-

ment the diverse contributions that

people from a refugee background

have made.

Zamera’s award is a recognition of her

outstanding community works as a

board member of the association in

past few years. It came just a few

weeks after her nomination for the Ca-

sey Volunteer Award. She was one of

six people nominated for the Young

Volunteer Award when she was pre-

sented with a certificate of appreciation

by the mayor of Casey, Cr Lorraine

Wreford.

Victoria’s new arrivals who do not

speak English confidently can be-

come isolated and restricted from

participating in many activities,"

Mr. Merlino said while addressing

the audience.

"They are also at risk of not secur-

ing the health, education, legal and

employment advice they need for

their new lives in Australia."

Professor David Hayward, Dean of

the School of Global Studies, So-

cial Science and

Planning, said the

RMIT Translating

and Interpreting

program had be-

come the major

training provider in

these rare and

emerging lan-

guages.

"Our graduates are

often the only ac-

credited interpret-

ers in these languages in Australia"

Professor Hayward said.

According to George Lekakis the

Chairperson of Victorian Multicul-

tural Commission, since 2003, 192

students have been assisted by the

Victorian Multicultural Commis-

sion to undertake the Diploma in

fourteen languages, resulting in 98

accredited interpreters entering the

profession.

By Abdul Hamid Qasemi

Seventeen Afghan students have

recently received scholarships from

the Victorian Multicultural Com-

mission to undertake a Diploma of

Interpreting at RMIT University.

The Award and Scholarship cere-

mony took place at Queen’s Hall in

Parliament House on the 28th of

April this year.

The Minister assisting the premier

on Multicultural Affairs, James

Merlino, awarded the scholarships

to students from Dari and Tamil

background.

The event was also attended by

George Lekakis, Chairperson of the

Victorian Multicultural Commis-

sion; George Bisas, Chief Execu-

tive Officer of VITS Language

Link and Professor Julianne Reid,

RMIT Deputy Vice-Chancellor

(Academic).

"Without an interpreter, many of

Last month thousands of Australian

Hazara community members took

part in demonstrations around the

country to protest the invasion of

Hazara’s land in Afghanistan by Ku-

chis. Organized by the newly estab-

lished Australian Hazara Council the

protesters in Sydney, Melbourne,

Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth held

banners and placards with slogans

demanding security for

Hazaras in their home land

and condemning the Karzai

administration for their inac-

tion against the perpetrators

known as “Kuchis”.

For five consecutive years the

innocent, peace loving and

vulnerable population

of Hazaras have come

under attack by the

Taliban supported Kuchis. So

far neither the Karzai govern-

ment nor the international

forces have done anything to

stop the killing, burning and

looting.

In Melbourne the protesters

staged a sit-in in front of the

State Library, where speakers

condemned the corrupt government

of Afghanistan for keeping silent

on the massacre of Hazaras. They

demanded that the international

community and the United Nations

intervene and stop the current wave

of attacks on Hazaras by Kochis.

Page 2

Interpreting Scholarship for Afghans

Call for Justice

ISSU E 11

War and tribal violence fuelled by

religious fundamentalism forced mil-

lions of people, particularly Hazaras

to flee for their lives.

Despite all the problems, Mustafa

managed to finish school in his home

town Sarcheshma, which was sup-

ported by a Swedish Aid organisation.

He then entered Kabul University in

1995 and started his Law & Politics

degree. Soon however he was forced

to quit due to his Hazara ethnicity and

the persecutions of Hazara ethnic

group by the Taliban. In 2001 at the

age of 22 he fled Afghanistan fearing

for his life. Next he found himself in a

leaky boat in the hands of people

smugglers on his way to Australia in

search of safety.

On the 26th of August 2001 after float-

ing for 4 days in rough seas with 438

other men, women and children, his

leaky and sinking boat was rescued by

the Norvegian ship “the Tampa”. Af-

ter spending 2 years behind the fence

in Nauru detention centre, in 2003

Mustafa was finally given a 5 year

Temporary Protection Visa to enter

Australia. He was granted permanent

residency in 2007 and in 2008 he be-

came an Australia Citizen.

The management committee wish

Mustafa all the best with his studies

and in life.

It is with great pleasure that the man-

agement committee congratulates

Mustafa Najib for recently receiving a

PhD Scholarship. A former committee

member and a young university stu-

dent and researcher, Mustafa is now a

role model for our young Victorian

Afghan youth who are rebuilding their

lives in Australia. Mustafa is a com-

munity member who is passionate

about giving back to the community

and helping others. Since his arrival

in Australia in 2003, he has success-

fully completed an IT program in

TAFE; gained a Diploma of interpret-

ing, a B.A. in Arts and he is about to

finish his Masters degree. He has also

been working full time and volunteer-

ing for the Association. Recently

Mustafa was offered a PhD scholar-

ship by Monash university.

Mustafa was born in Kabul in 1978,

the same year over a hundred-

thousand Soviet soldiers marched into

Afghanistan. He grew up with daily

experiences of bombardments, rocket

attacks and landmine explosions until

this suffering reached its height under

the Taliban regime in the late 1990s.

The association of Hazaras in

Victoria launched its Dari/Pashto

language school on Sunday the

18th July 2010. Based in Noble

Park English language school,

Andisha* community language

school is going to be the centre-

piece for what is hoped to be a

phenomenal transformation in

the cultural arena in the Victo-

rian Afghan Community.

Afghanistan’s divers and ancient

culture has been around for mil-

lennia with different regions of

the country having their own

unique traditions which reflect

the multi-cultural character of the

nation. Afghanistan has been the

main crossroad for Central Asia,

South Asia, and the Middle East

all of which have influenced its

culture.

Despite their rich and colourful

cultural background, the Afghan

Community in Victoria have had

little success in promoting their

cultural heritage to the wider

Australian multicultural society.

Andisha Community Language

School is determined to amend

this through the education of

young Afghans about their cul-

ture, values and history.

Page 3

Not just a language school

*“Andisha” is a Dari word for thought/idea.

The Association of Hazaras in Victoria is a not-for-profit organization

established in April 2002 to assist Afghan refugees in Australia . The

challenging and diverse work of the Association is carried out by a man-

agement committee of 11 members, elected biannually.

22 Grace Park Avenue

Springvale VIC 3171

PO Box 7268

Dandenong VIC 3175

T HE ASSOCIATI ON OF H AZARAS

I N VI CT ORI A INC.

Phone: 0434 306 038

E-mail: hav@bamyan.org.au

www.bamyan.org.au

Our organizational aims are:

To assist Afghani refugees and migrants with their resettlement in Australia.

To bring the Afghan community together and promote their active participation in

Australia’s multicultural society.

To support human rights, democratic freedoms and the rights of ethnic minorities in

Afghanistan.

The Association of Hazaras in Victoria and New Hope Foun-dation presented a housing information forum for the commu-nity on the 5th of June 2010 at the Balla Balla Community Centre in Cranbourne. The event hosted several speakers to discuss housing in Victoria covering public housing, crisis housing and private renting.

Finding house is a big problem in Victoria but it is more diffi-cult for the new arrivals or people with limited language skills, or those who might not have a fair understanding of their rights and responsibilities as tenant.

Some of the key information discussed on the night were the tenants’ rights and responsibilities and how to seek help when experiencing a problem. Another key topic of discus-sion was about the tenants’ database, where information about your renting history is stored on a database online and new potential property owners can access this information to find out if you have been a good tenant. It was emphasized that it is imperative to ensure that you maintain your tenancy according to the lease contract and also to seek legal advice when needed.

Continued from page 1

The return of the Labour party to power in

the 2007 Federal elections led to a major

asylum seekers policy changes including

abolishing the Temporary Protection Visa,

TPV, and abandoning the “Pacific Solution”.

Since then many Afghan asylum seekers,

mainly from the Hazara ethnic group who

have come to Australian shores claiming

protection, have been treated with the utmost

compassion and humanity. I am of a strong

view that in the past couple of years the

Rudd Labour government has served the

Hazara community with the greatest form of

protection and comfort better than any treat-

ment by a foreign country throughout

Hazara’s history. Having said that, the sud-

den change of policy in April this year,

which has resulted in the blanket rejection of

protection claims by Afghan’s has to be re-

garded as both premature and unfair.

This is by no means advocating for an open

border. Nor is it undermining the dramatic

changes in the political scenery of Afghani-

stan since the collapse of the Taliban in

2001. It is rather an account of a heart break-

ing true story of Australia’s compassion and

mercy which has disappointingly turned sour,

as we approach Federal elections. It is largely

believed that the frustration and despair

caused by the Australian government’s new

asylum seekers policy is even greater than

the one created by the heartless and brutal

polices during the Howard era.

As the flow of boats coming to Australia

continues, a lot of Afghan asylum seekers in

detention centres are anxiously waiting for

reviews of their refugee claims by the Inde-

pendent Merit Review Tribunal. Not surpris-

ingly their greatest fear is that they

might suffer the same fate as those who

returned to Afghanistan from Nauru

several years ago only to never make it

back to their families.