By Bridget Cook
A LYNBROOK student, whose brother-in-law is currently in a detention centre, is calling for better understanding and acceptance of refugees wanting to escape violence and seek asylum in Australia.
Refugee Maisum Kazimi, 16, said his brother-in-law Hadi Qurbani was just one of the many refugees stuck in Australian detention centres in fear that they could be send back to their home countries.
The Dandenong High School student said he chose to speak out because he wanted to help Hadi and others in similar situations, as well as foster a better understanding of refugees.
Maisum said he got the impression that some Australians saw refugees as illegal immigrants or “queue jumpers”.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said.
“We are not like normal immigrants searching for a better life in Australia – we try to come to Australia because life in Afghanistan is too dangerous.”
Maisum came to Australia as a refugee from Afghanistan in October 2008, along with his two other brothers, his sister and sister-in-law.
Their older brother, who came to Australia in 2005 and then was stuck in a detention centre for five years before being released, sponsored them to come over.
Maisum’s family is from Hazara background. He alleged the Hazari people were a minority group discriminated against by the larger ethnic groups in Afghanistan. He also alleged that some members were murdered.
Maisum said Hadi was a good example of someone trying to seek asylum in Australia to avoid danger in Afghanistan.
Hadi has been in the Curtin Immigration Detention Centre for about a year and has had his application for asylum rejected.
Maisum said Hadi’s wife and children, who went to Pakistan as illegal immigrants, were desperately worried about him because they fear if he is sent to Pakistan or Afghanistan he will be killed.
“There is always someone who knocks on their door questioning about Hadi and threatening them that they will finally find him and kill him,” he said.
“This is because of Hadi’s father’s involvement in the Naser party, one of the Hazara political parties in Afghanistan.
“Due to a disagreement, Hadi’s father has already been brutally killed by the Naser Party.”
Maisum said Hadi’s family faced many troubles in Pakistan.
“Hadi’s family live in Pakistan and have got no one to support them financially with Hadi in detention,” he said.
“They cannot go out as they are treated as illegal immigrants in Pakistan. His children are not able to go to school as they don’t feel safe. They cannot go to Afghanistan either because of Hadi’s father’s political associations before he was killed.”
Maisum said he wanted to bring Hadi’s case to the attention of other people, including politicians.
“He needs protection in Australia,” Maisum said. “Gaining this opportunity is the first step in rebuilding his and his family’s troubled and unsafe lives.
“If anyone imagines that harsh living environment, the experiences of losing relatives and friends, the fears of being killed oneself, how they could be returned?”
Maisum said he wasn’t just concerned about Hadi, but also many other refugees caught up in the same situation.
“Please understand their plight and let them seek sanctuary in Australia,” he said.
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