The Journey
I have lived in Afghanistan, Iran and Australia. I was born when we were about to leave Afghanistan due to Soviet Union invasion back in late 1980s. We came back to Afghanistan in July 2001, a few months before the Taliban regime was toppled by the Americans in 2001. My father was an influential figure and tribal elder. My life has been directly impacted by the ongoing conflicts and crises, internal displacements and migration.
Following intensified insurgency and deterioration of security situation in 2005 to2006, the ethnic tensions among our people increased which impacted our family.
I completed my primary school and secondary school in Iran and returned to Afghanistan with a lot of hope after 9/11 and the collapse of the Taliban regime in 2002. However, the hopes for peace were faced with security challenges due to Taliban’s ongoing attacks.
Arriving in Australia
I arrived in Sydney in late 2010 from Afghanistan as an international student to pursue my master’s degree in international law and international relations at the University of New South Wales.
In 2010, after graduation from the faculty of Law and Political Science at Herat University, I applied for an Australian student visa with the hope of pursuing my education at one of the top universities., I started working at a law firm and took on further studies in migration law area with the hope that one day I will return to my country and contribute to its development. However, the security situation was deteriorating and due to several reasons, I sought protection in Australia.
Giving back
I want to change the general narrative about refugees in Australia by practically showing that refugees are the same people as everyday Australians. I want to highlight that if they are given fair opportunity, they will have the ability and potential to grow and achieve the same as others.
I am a legal practitioner and a Partner of a law firm, LexGlobal Partners in Sydney. I have more than ten years of extensive legal experience as legal practitioner, working for private law firms and major Australian government entities like iCare NSW and Sydney Water.
I have been actively involved with refugee resettlement organizations and refugee-led national advocacy networks representing my community, such as STARTTS.
