1
00:00:00,462 --> 00:00:02,552
I am a Hazara,

2
00:00:02,552 --> 00:00:07,381
and the homeland
of my people is Afghanistan.

3
00:00:07,381 --> 00:00:10,400
Like hundreds of thousands
of other Hazara kids,

4
00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:13,164
I was born in exile.

5
00:00:13,164 --> 00:00:17,366
The ongoing persecution
and operation against the Hazaras

6
00:00:17,366 --> 00:00:21,963
forced my parents to leave Afghanistan.

7
00:00:21,963 --> 00:00:26,374
This persecution has had a long history
going back to the late 1800s,

8
00:00:26,374 --> 00:00:29,301
and the rule of King Abdur Rahman.

9
00:00:29,301 --> 00:00:34,897
He killed 63 percent of 
the Hazara population.

10
00:00:34,897 --> 00:00:37,544
He built minarets with their heads.

11
00:00:37,544 --> 00:00:39,911
Many Hazaras were sold into slavery,

12
00:00:39,911 --> 00:00:46,204
and many others fled the country
for neighboring Iran and Pakistan.

13
00:00:46,204 --> 00:00:48,920
My parents also fled to Pakistan,

14
00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,916
and settled in Quetta, where I was born.

15
00:00:51,916 --> 00:00:54,857
After the September 11
attack on the Twin Towers,

16
00:00:54,857 --> 00:00:56,645
I got a chance to go to Afghanistan

17
00:00:56,645 --> 00:00:59,223
for the first time,
with foreign journalists.

18
00:00:59,223 --> 00:01:03,030
I was only 18, and I got a job
working as an interpreter.

19
00:01:03,030 --> 00:01:05,213
After four years,

20
00:01:05,213 --> 00:01:09,903
I felt it was safe enough
to move to Afghanistan permanently,

21
00:01:09,903 --> 00:01:14,523
and I was working there
as a documentary photographer,

22
00:01:14,523 --> 00:01:18,769
and I worked on many stories.

23
00:01:18,769 --> 00:01:21,373
One of the most important
stories that I did

24
00:01:21,373 --> 00:01:26,087
was the dancing boys of Afghanistan.

25
00:01:26,087 --> 00:01:30,591
It is a tragic story about
an appalling tradition.

26
00:01:30,591 --> 00:01:34,052
It involves young kids
dancing for warlords

27
00:01:34,052 --> 00:01:36,141
and powerful men in the society.

28
00:01:36,141 --> 00:01:39,902
These boys are often abducted
or bought from their poor parents,

29
00:01:39,902 --> 00:01:42,967
and they are put to work as sex slaves.

30
00:01:42,967 --> 00:01:45,731
This is Shukur.

31
00:01:45,731 --> 00:01:49,400
He was kidnapped from Kabul by a warlord.

32
00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,372
He was taken to another province,

33
00:01:51,372 --> 00:01:56,133
where he was forced to work as a sex slave
for the warlord and his friends.

34
00:01:56,133 --> 00:01:59,058
When this story was published
in the Washington Post,

35
00:01:59,058 --> 00:02:01,380
I started receiving death threats,

36
00:02:01,380 --> 00:02:05,118
and I was forced to leave Afghanistan,

37
00:02:05,118 --> 00:02:07,510
as my parents were.

38
00:02:07,510 --> 00:02:11,202
Along with my family,
I returned back to Quetta.

39
00:02:11,202 --> 00:02:15,614
The situation in Quetta had changed
dramatically since I left in 2005.

40
00:02:15,614 --> 00:02:18,167
Once a peaceful haven for the Hazaras,

41
00:02:18,167 --> 00:02:23,601
it had now turned into the most
dangerous city in Pakistan.

42
00:02:23,601 --> 00:02:27,176
Hazaras are confined into two small areas,

43
00:02:27,176 --> 00:02:32,029
and they are marginalized socially,
educationally, and financially.

44
00:02:32,029 --> 00:02:33,469
This is Nadir.

45
00:02:33,469 --> 00:02:35,466
I had known him since my childhood.

46
00:02:35,466 --> 00:02:39,645
He was injured when his van
was ambushed by terrorists in Quetta.

47
00:02:39,645 --> 00:02:43,221
He later died of his injuries.

48
00:02:43,221 --> 00:02:47,006
Around 1,600 Hazara members

49
00:02:47,006 --> 00:02:50,629
had been killed in various attacks,

50
00:02:50,629 --> 00:02:55,527
and around 3,000 of them were injured,

51
00:02:55,527 --> 00:02:58,778
and many of them permanently disabled.

52
00:02:58,778 --> 00:03:02,076
The attacks on the Hazara community
would only get worse,

53
00:03:02,076 --> 00:03:04,908
so it was not surprising
that many wanted to flee.

54
00:03:04,908 --> 00:03:09,668
After Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan,

55
00:03:09,668 --> 00:03:16,332
Australia is home to the fourth largest
population of Hazaras in the world.

56
00:03:16,332 --> 00:03:19,141
When it came time to leave Pakistan,

57
00:03:19,141 --> 00:03:21,091
Australia seemed the obvious choice.

58
00:03:21,091 --> 00:03:23,088
Financially, only one of us could leave,

59
00:03:23,088 --> 00:03:24,946
and it was decided that I would go,

60
00:03:24,946 --> 00:03:28,299
in the hope that if I arrived
at my destination safely,

61
00:03:28,299 --> 00:03:33,291
I could work to get the rest
of my family to join me later.

62
00:03:33,291 --> 00:03:34,870
We all knew about the risks,

63
00:03:34,870 --> 00:03:37,842
and how terrifying the journey is,

64
00:03:37,842 --> 00:03:42,416
and I met many people
who lost loved ones at sea.

65
00:03:42,416 --> 00:03:46,805
It was a desperate decision to take,
to leave everything behind,

66
00:03:46,805 --> 00:03:49,680
and no one makes this decision easily.

67
00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:51,866
If I had been able
to simply fly to Australia,

68
00:03:51,866 --> 00:03:54,490
it would have taken me
less than 24 hours.

69
00:03:54,490 --> 00:03:58,576
But getting a visa was impossible.

70
00:03:58,576 --> 00:04:00,689
My journey was much longer,

71
00:04:00,689 --> 00:04:02,943
much more complicated,

72
00:04:02,943 --> 00:04:05,989
and certainly more dangerous,

73
00:04:05,989 --> 00:04:08,631
traveling to Thailand by air,

74
00:04:08,631 --> 00:04:13,429
and then by road and boat
to Malaysia and into Indonesia,

75
00:04:13,429 --> 00:04:15,844
paying people and smugglers all the way

76
00:04:15,844 --> 00:04:18,584
and spending a lot of time hiding

77
00:04:18,584 --> 00:04:22,300
and a lot of time in fear of being caught.

78
00:04:22,300 --> 00:04:26,687
In Indonesia, I joined a group
of seven asylum seekers.

79
00:04:26,687 --> 00:04:29,241
We all shared a bedroom

80
00:04:29,241 --> 00:04:33,119
in a town outside of Jakarta called Bogor.

81
00:04:33,119 --> 00:04:35,419
After spending a week in Bogor,

82
00:04:35,419 --> 00:04:38,868
three of my roommates
left for the perilous journey,

83
00:04:38,868 --> 00:04:42,700
and we got the news two days later

84
00:04:42,700 --> 00:04:47,506
that a distressed boat sank
in the sea en route to Christmas Island.

85
00:04:47,506 --> 00:04:51,267
We found out that our three roommates --
Nawroz, Jaffar and Shabbir --

86
00:04:51,267 --> 00:04:53,218
were also among those.

87
00:04:53,218 --> 00:04:55,656
Only Jaffar was rescued.

88
00:04:55,656 --> 00:04:59,249
Shabbir and Nawroz were never seen again.

89
00:04:59,249 --> 00:05:00,898
It made me think,

90
00:05:00,898 --> 00:05:03,568
am I doing the right thing?

91
00:05:03,568 --> 00:05:07,515
I concluded I really had
no other choice but to go on.

92
00:05:07,515 --> 00:05:11,370
A few weeks later, we got the call
from the people smuggler

93
00:05:11,370 --> 00:05:16,060
to alert us that the boat is ready for us
to commence our sea journey.

94
00:05:16,060 --> 00:05:18,940
Taken in the night towards the main vessel

95
00:05:18,940 --> 00:05:20,588
on a motorboat,

96
00:05:20,588 --> 00:05:25,603
we boarded an old fishing boat
that was already overloaded.

97
00:05:25,603 --> 00:05:27,693
There were 93 of us,

98
00:05:27,693 --> 00:05:29,666
and we were all below deck.

99
00:05:29,666 --> 00:05:31,919
No one was allowed up on the top.

100
00:05:31,919 --> 00:05:35,077
We all paid 6,000 dollars each

101
00:05:35,077 --> 00:05:37,166
for this part of the trip.

102
00:05:37,166 --> 00:05:39,395
The first night and day went smoothly,

103
00:05:39,395 --> 00:05:42,623
but by the second night, 
the weather turned.

104
00:05:42,623 --> 00:05:47,568
Waves tossed the boat around,
and the timbers groaned.

105
00:05:47,568 --> 00:05:51,910
People below deck were crying,
praying, recalling their loved ones.

106
00:05:51,910 --> 00:05:53,652
They were screaming.

107
00:05:53,652 --> 00:05:55,811
It was a terrible moment.

108
00:05:55,811 --> 00:05:59,758
It was like a scene from doomsday,

109
00:05:59,758 --> 00:06:04,583
or maybe like one of those scenes
from those Hollywood movies

110
00:06:04,583 --> 00:06:07,788
that shows that everything
is breaking apart

111
00:06:07,788 --> 00:06:10,225
and the world is just ending.

112
00:06:10,225 --> 00:06:12,849
It was happening to us for real.

113
00:06:12,849 --> 00:06:17,192
We didn't have any hope.

114
00:06:17,192 --> 00:06:20,720
Our boat was floating
like a matchbox on the water

115
00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:22,856
without any control.

116
00:06:22,856 --> 00:06:26,618
The waves were much higher than our boat,

117
00:06:26,618 --> 00:06:32,655
and the water poured in faster
than the motor pumps could take it out.

118
00:06:32,655 --> 00:06:35,511
We all lost hope.

119
00:06:35,511 --> 00:06:37,950
We thought, this is the end.

120
00:06:37,950 --> 00:06:39,876
We were watching our deaths,

121
00:06:39,876 --> 00:06:42,268
and I was documenting it.

122
00:06:42,268 --> 00:06:44,219
The captain told us

123
00:06:44,219 --> 00:06:46,586
that we are not going to make it,

124
00:06:46,586 --> 00:06:49,767
we have to turn back the boat.

125
00:06:49,767 --> 00:06:51,834
We went on the deck

126
00:06:51,834 --> 00:06:54,366
and turned our torches on and off

127
00:06:54,366 --> 00:06:59,265
to attract the attention
of any passing boat.

128
00:06:59,265 --> 00:07:06,649
We kept trying to attract their attention
by waving our life jackets and whistling.

129
00:07:06,649 --> 00:07:10,084
Eventually, we made it to a small island.

130
00:07:10,084 --> 00:07:13,335
Our boat crashing onto the rocks,

131
00:07:13,335 --> 00:07:15,378
I slipped into the water

132
00:07:15,378 --> 00:07:19,025
and destroyed my camera,
whatever I had documented.

133
00:07:19,025 --> 00:07:24,791
But luckily, the memory card survived.

134
00:07:24,791 --> 00:07:27,206
It was a thick forest.

135
00:07:27,206 --> 00:07:32,965
We all split up into many groups
as we argued over what to do next.

136
00:07:32,965 --> 00:07:35,333
We were all scared and confused.

137
00:07:35,333 --> 00:07:38,630
Then, after spending
the night on the beach,

138
00:07:38,630 --> 00:07:41,253
we found a jetty and coconuts.

139
00:07:41,253 --> 00:07:44,249
We hailed a boat from a nearby resort,

140
00:07:44,249 --> 00:07:48,498
and then were quickly handed over
to Indonesian water police.

141
00:07:48,498 --> 00:07:52,100
At Serang Detention Center,

142
00:07:52,100 --> 00:07:57,158
an immigration officer came
and furtively strip-searched us.

143
00:07:57,158 --> 00:08:00,526
He took our mobile, my $300 cash,

144
00:08:00,526 --> 00:08:03,938
our shoes that we should not
be able to escape,

145
00:08:03,938 --> 00:08:09,999
but we kept watching the guards,
checking their movements,

146
00:08:09,999 --> 00:08:13,842
and around 4 a.m.
when they sat around a fire,

147
00:08:13,842 --> 00:08:17,396
we removed two glass layers
from an outside facing window

148
00:08:17,396 --> 00:08:18,915
and slipped through.

149
00:08:18,915 --> 00:08:23,744
We climbed a tree next to an outer wall
that was topped with the shards of glass.

150
00:08:23,744 --> 00:08:26,043
We put the pillow on that

151
00:08:26,043 --> 00:08:29,573
and wrapped our forearms with bedsheets

152
00:08:29,573 --> 00:08:31,671
and climbed the wall,

153
00:08:31,671 --> 00:08:35,418
and we ran away with bare feet.

154
00:08:35,418 --> 00:08:37,207
I was free,

155
00:08:37,207 --> 00:08:39,924
with an uncertain future,

156
00:08:39,924 --> 00:08:41,734
no money.

157
00:08:41,734 --> 00:08:48,858
The only thing I had was the memory card
with the pictures and footage.

158
00:08:48,858 --> 00:08:52,275
When my documentary was aired
on SBS Dateline,

159
00:08:52,275 --> 00:08:54,854
many of my friends came to know
about my situation,

160
00:08:54,854 --> 00:08:56,710
and they tried to help me.

161
00:08:56,710 --> 00:09:00,448
They did not allow me to take
any other boat to risk my life.

162
00:09:00,448 --> 00:09:04,953
I also decided to stay in Indonesia
and process my case through UNHCR,

163
00:09:04,953 --> 00:09:08,807
but I was really afraid
that I would end up in Indonesia

164
00:09:08,807 --> 00:09:12,461
for many years doing nothing
and unable to work,

165
00:09:12,461 --> 00:09:15,706
like every other asylum seeker.

166
00:09:15,706 --> 00:09:18,930
But it had happened to be
a little bit different with me.

167
00:09:18,930 --> 00:09:23,923
I was lucky.

168
00:09:23,923 --> 00:09:28,381
My contacts worked to expedite
my case through UNHCR,

169
00:09:28,381 --> 00:09:33,119
and I got resettled
in Australia in May 2013.

170
00:09:33,119 --> 00:09:37,298
Not every asylum seeker is lucky like me.

171
00:09:37,298 --> 00:09:44,588
It is really difficult to live a life
with an uncertain fate, in limbo.

172
00:09:44,588 --> 00:09:48,419
The issue of asylum seekers in Australia

173
00:09:48,419 --> 00:09:51,137
has been so extremely politicized

174
00:09:51,137 --> 00:09:54,271
that it has lost its human face.

175
00:09:54,271 --> 00:10:00,372
The asylum seekers have been demonized
and then presented to the people.

176
00:10:00,372 --> 00:10:04,907
I hope my story and the story
of other Hazaras

177
00:10:04,907 --> 00:10:07,960
could shed some light to show the people

178
00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:12,261
how these people are suffering
in their countries of origin,

179
00:10:12,261 --> 00:10:16,180
and how they suffer,

180
00:10:16,180 --> 00:10:20,916
why they risk their lives to seek asylum.

181
00:10:20,916 --> 00:10:22,426
Thank you.

182
00:10:22,426 --> 00:10:23,665
(Applause)