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I am one of seven children however only five of us remain alive today. My elder sisters were killed during the Russian invasion (mid-1980s) and subsequent massacre – a period in time which left my parents no other choice but to flee Afghanistan and go into survive-and-wait mode in neighbouring Pakistan. Life changed, my father went from being a thriving structural engineer to driving a rickshaw and physically defending my family from attacks against us because we were Afghan refugees without a chance of becoming Pakistani citizens. We were granted refugee status to come to Australia but it was a difficult time...imagine having to leave everyone and everything you loved, every place you felt represented home, every grave made to bury your loved ones, and every dream you held onto when waiting for your home country to become liveable – that’s what the Khan refugee family was faced with.
I want to take you back to Afghanistan before I talk about my life in Australia. My father is a Hazara Afghan, arguably the most persecuted ethnic group in the world as an uncountable number have been killed simply because most Hazaras are of the Shia Islam sect and they physically differ in appearance to the Taliban. Although my father endured extreme racism and religious hatred in Afghanistan, he never preached or acted in the same manner himself. He taught me from a young age to never judge any person based on what race or religion they belong to, nor to judge them based on how their families conduct themselves. Oppression is rejected by all Muslims, whether they be Shias or Sunnis, we’re all brothers and sisters in faith and those who call themselves Muslims while killing civilians, it is obvious that they have not understood the basic fundamentals of the Holy Quran because central to everything in Islam is peace and justice.
I came to Australia when I was a year old and from my earliest memories things were tough but I always thank God under any circumstances. My house in central Wollongong was the target of robberies and vandalism. I remember one time coming home from primary school to a house which had every window smashed, every drawer turned inside out, every electrical appliance stolen and everything which remained in a complete mess. I slept every night with a home-made bat and most nights with a knife by my side. In the more then 10 years that we lived in this house, not once did I feel safe or confident that safety was something to look forward to. My parents complained to the police many times, complained to the landlord many times but nothing was done until towards the end of our stay when metal bars were installed in front of every window. The immediate response to this action was people hurling stones at my house, smashing through my large back window on a regular basis. I always had to watch where I stepped when I left my house because the ground was polluted by used syringes.
The September 11 twin towers attack happened when I was in year 7. It was a life-changing moment for myself and many others undoubtedly. My ethnic background, which had been so confusing and unheard of pre-9/11, suddenly became a focal point for many who were either fascinated by Afghanistan’s current affairs or disgusted by Afghans and Muslims in general. ‘‘Kill Afghans’’ and ‘‘Afghans blow goats’’ were graffiti sprayed in the boys’ gym change rooms ...I asked the teachers to remove it time after time but once I was told that I shouldn’t expect something to be removed so often. The deputy principal of the high school which I attended up until Year 10 once told me that ‘‘you are disrespectful towards women because of your culture’’ after I got into an argument with another student who happened to be a female. Leaving that school and moving to Keira High School was the best thing I did. After finishing I completed a Bachelor and Master of Journalism with distinction at the University of Wollongong and a Master of Social Work at Australian Catholic University. In Islam, God teaches us defend the weak, stand up against oppression and seek justice. I wanted to be in an position where I could help people, so that’s why I then went off to study social work. I have been working as a youth development worker and will soon start my new role as a community housing worker.
If you want to know why I care so much about people and their wellbeing, it’s because God has established these values in my household. I thank God for being in Australia, a country where my family has been given the opportunity to survive and make something of ourselves. I don’t care if somebody is Arab, Asian, European, South American...if they are Muslim, Christian or Jewish, I will always do my best to help.