By Tyler Wright
The Hills community has come together to support an Afghan family stuck in limbo in Indonesian immigration.
On Friday 8 December, Mater Christi College teacher Jennifer McAdam held an art auction and supper to raise funds for the Ahmadi family, who have been in detention since 2017.
Jennifer has been tutoring Navid, Khatima and Taiba Ahmadi in English since 2018, with the help of Hills-based teachers Kathleen Ward and Jenny Lee.
“This story began for us when Jenny McAdam took on the tutoring of a young refugee man, Hamed Ahmadi, in 2017/2018, ” Kathleen said.
“From there, Jenny began to learn about the rest of Hamed’s family, those family members who were stuck in Indonesia.”
Following trauma and death experienced under the Taliban regime, the Ahmadi siblings fled to Indonesia in 2017, following the path of their older brother.
The family lost 18-year-old brother Raziq in 2015 and their 10-year-old brother Tareq in 2013 to the Taliban.
“The main point of [the Taliban is] killing Hazara nation,” Navid said.
“They destroyed the Hazara hospital, and they destroyed the Hazara school and the Hazara genocide is still continuing.
“I couldn’t study in Afghanistan; I couldn’t even continue with a relaxed life in Afghanistan.”
When Navid arrived in Indonesia in 2017, following his brother Hamed who has now found a home and established a business in Queensland, he thought he would be able to continue his education.
However, this was far from the reality, with the family of five placed in detention.
“My mother was really in a bad situation [with asthma] for eight months, and I never forgot that,” Navid said.
“The Indonesian government didn’t allow me to go to school, didn’t allow me to continue my college, didn’t allow me to have a job here; they said ‘immigrants cannot drive,’ ‘immigrants can not work here’, ‘immigrants can not go to school’, ‘immigrants can not work in Indonesia.’
Navid said the government asked if his family was of Sunni or Shia religion.
“What’s the difference? I am not Sunni, I am not Shia, but I am human,” he said.
“Why you waste our time? Because in this world, we live only one time.
“They said it’s around seven years I’m here without doing anything, and it’s very painful for me, but I didn’t give up and then I have to stay alive and continue my hope.”
Sisters Khatima and Taiba have used art as a way to process their trauma while still capturing the beauty they see in the world around them.
“I have been interested in painting since I was a child, but I started drawing and painting in 2018 with the help of our teachers,” Khatima said.
“I worked hard to develop painting that teaches me and others about the beauty that exists everywhere near me.
“When I left my country, I imagined that I would catch my dream, but unfortunately, it’s worse than everything.”
The family are asking for the Australian government to give them a chance in Australia.
“Our brother Hamed lives in Queensland and has his own business,” Khatima said.
“He can support us and we have much to offer.
“I am so thankful for my current teachers who have helped us with the learning of English, and thank-you so much for your nice attention and supporting our artwork.”
At the Tecoma Uniting Church, an auction of the sisters’ artwork has seen $4,000 raised for the family.
“It was really beautiful to see just how people were like, people cared and they were engaged in a story and they wanted to understand the story and they wanted to give these young people a voice,” Jennifer said.
“It was very validating for the students and it felt like it was important for all of us to do.
“We really are hopeful that we can bring more attention to [their story].”
To receive newsletter updates on the journey of the Ahmadi family, people are able to email Kathleen at kward@heartoflife.melbourne
