My desperate journey with a human smuggler | Barat Ali Batoor | TEDxSydney
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0:12 - 0:14I am a Hazara,
-
0:14 - 0:17and the homeland
of my people is Afghanistan. -
0:18 - 0:21Like hundreds and thousands
of other Hazara kids, -
0:21 - 0:24I was born in exile.
-
0:24 - 0:28The ongoing persecution
and operation against the Hazaras -
0:28 - 0:31forced my parents to leave Afghanistan.
-
0:32 - 0:37This persecution has had a long history
going back to the late 1800s, -
0:37 - 0:39and the rule of King Abdur Rahman.
-
0:40 - 0:44He killed 63 percent
of the Hazara population. -
0:44 - 0:47He built minarets with their heads.
-
0:47 - 0:49Many Hazaras were sold into slavery,
-
0:49 - 0:54and many others fled the country
for neighboring Iran and Pakistan. -
0:55 - 0:58My parents also fled to Pakistan,
-
0:58 - 1:01and settled in Quetta, where I was born.
-
1:01 - 1:04After the September 11th
attack on the Twin Towers, -
1:04 - 1:06I got a chance to go to Afghanistan
-
1:06 - 1:09for the first time,
with foreign journalists. -
1:09 - 1:12I was only 18, and I got a job
working as an interpreter. -
1:12 - 1:14After four years,
-
1:14 - 1:18I felt it was safe enough
to move to Afghanistan permanently, -
1:19 - 1:23and I was working there
as a documentary photographer, -
1:23 - 1:26and I did many stories,
-
1:26 - 1:28I worked on many stories.
-
1:28 - 1:30One of the most important
stories that I did -
1:30 - 1:33was the dancing boys of Afghanistan.
-
1:34 - 1:38It is a tragic story about
an appalling tradition. -
1:39 - 1:42It involves young kids
dancing for warlords -
1:42 - 1:44and powerful men in the society.
-
1:44 - 1:49These boys are often abducted
or bought from their poor parents, -
1:49 - 1:52and they are put to work as sex slaves.
-
1:54 - 1:56This is Shakur.
-
1:56 - 1:59He was kidnapped from Kabul by a warlord.
-
1:59 - 2:01He was taken to another province,
-
2:01 - 2:06where he was forced to work as a sex slave
for the warlord and his friends. -
2:06 - 2:08When this story was published
in the Washington Post, -
2:08 - 2:11I started receiving death threats,
-
2:11 - 2:14and I was forced to leave Afghanistan,
-
2:14 - 2:16as my parents were.
-
2:16 - 2:19Along with my family,
I returned back to Quetta. -
2:20 - 2:24The situation in Quetta had changed
dramatically since I left in 2005. -
2:24 - 2:27Once a peaceful haven for the Hazaras,
-
2:27 - 2:31it had now turned into the most
dangerous city in Pakistan. -
2:32 - 2:35Hazaras are confined into two small areas,
-
2:35 - 2:40and they are marginalized socially,
educationally, and financially. -
2:40 - 2:41This is Nadir.
-
2:41 - 2:43I had known him since my childhood.
-
2:43 - 2:47He was injured when his van
was ambushed by terrorists in Quetta. -
2:47 - 2:50He later died of his injuries.
-
2:50 - 2:54Around 1,600 Hazara members
-
2:54 - 2:57have been killed in various attacks,
-
2:57 - 3:02and around 3,000 of them were injured,
-
3:02 - 3:06and many of them permanently disabled.
-
3:06 - 3:09The attacks on the Hazara community
would only get worse, -
3:09 - 3:12so it was not surprising
that many wanted to flee. -
3:12 - 3:16After Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan,
-
3:16 - 3:22Australia is home to the fourth-largest
population of Hazaras in the world. -
3:22 - 3:25When it came to the time
to leave Pakistan, -
3:25 - 3:27Australia seemed the obvious choice.
-
3:27 - 3:29Financially, only one of us could leave,
-
3:29 - 3:31and it was decided that I would go,
-
3:31 - 3:34in the hope that if I arrived
at my destination safely, -
3:34 - 3:38I could work to get the rest
of my family to join me later. -
3:38 - 3:40We all knew about the risks,
-
3:40 - 3:43and how terrifying the journey is,
-
3:43 - 3:47and I met many people
who lost loved ones at sea. -
3:47 - 3:52It was a desperate decision
to leave everything behind, -
3:52 - 3:55and no one takes this decision easily.
-
3:55 - 3:57If I had been able
to simply fly to Australia, -
3:57 - 3:59it would have taken me less than 24 hours.
-
3:59 - 4:03But getting a visa was impossible.
-
4:03 - 4:05My journey was much longer,
-
4:05 - 4:07much more complicated,
-
4:07 - 4:10and certainly more dangerous.
-
4:10 - 4:15Traveling to Thailand by air
and then by road and boat -
4:15 - 4:17to Malaysia and into Indonesia,
-
4:17 - 4:20paying people and smugglers all the way
-
4:20 - 4:22and spending a lot of time hiding
-
4:22 - 4:25and a lot of time
in the fear of being caught. -
4:25 - 4:30In Indonesia, I joined a group
of seven asylum seekers. -
4:30 - 4:33We all shared a bedroom
-
4:33 - 4:36in a town outside of Jakarta called Bogor.
-
4:36 - 4:38After spending a week in Bogor,
-
4:38 - 4:41three of my roommates
left for the perilous journey, -
4:41 - 4:45and we got the news two days later
-
4:45 - 4:50that a distressed boat sank
in the sea en route to Christmas Island. -
4:50 - 4:54We found out that our three roommates
- Narose, Jafar, and Shabid - -
4:54 - 4:56were also among those.
-
4:56 - 4:58Only Jafar was rescued.
-
4:58 - 5:01Shabid and Narose were never seen again.
-
5:01 - 5:03It made me think,
-
5:03 - 5:05am I doing the right thing?
-
5:05 - 5:08I concluded I really had
no other choice but to go on. -
5:09 - 5:13A few weeks later, we got the call
from the people-smuggler -
5:13 - 5:17to alert us that the boat is ready for us
to commence our sea journey. -
5:17 - 5:20Taken in the night towards the main vessel
-
5:20 - 5:22on a motorboat,
-
5:22 - 5:26we boarded an old fishing boat
that was already overloaded. -
5:26 - 5:28There were 93 of us,
-
5:28 - 5:30and we were all below deck.
-
5:30 - 5:32No one was allowed up on the top.
-
5:32 - 5:35We all paid 6,000 dollars each
-
5:35 - 5:38for this part of the trip.
-
5:38 - 5:40The first night and day went smoothly,
-
5:40 - 5:42but by the second night,
the weather turned. -
5:44 - 5:47Waves tossed the boat around,
and the timbers groaned. -
5:47 - 5:52People below deck were crying, praying,
recalling their loved ones. -
5:52 - 5:54They were screaming.
-
5:54 - 5:56It was a terrible moment.
-
5:56 - 5:59It was like a scene from doomsday,
-
5:59 - 6:04or maybe like one of those scenes
from those Hollywood movies -
6:04 - 6:07that shows that everything
is breaking apart -
6:07 - 6:09and the world is just ending.
-
6:09 - 6:11It was happening to us for real.
-
6:13 - 6:15We didn't have any hope.
-
6:16 - 6:20Our boat was floating
like a matchbox on the water -
6:20 - 6:22without any control.
-
6:23 - 6:26The waves were much higher than our boat,
-
6:26 - 6:31and the water poured in faster
than the water pumps could take it out. -
6:34 - 6:36We all lost hope.
-
6:36 - 6:38We thought this is the end.
-
6:38 - 6:40We were watching our deaths,
-
6:40 - 6:42and I was documenting it.
-
6:42 - 6:43The captain told us
-
6:43 - 6:46that we are not going to make it,
-
6:46 - 6:48we have to turn back the boat.
-
6:49 - 6:51We went on the deck
-
6:51 - 6:54and turned our torches on and off
-
6:54 - 6:58to attract the attention
of any passing boat. -
6:59 - 7:05We kept trying to attract their attention
by waving our life jackets and whistling. -
7:06 - 7:09Eventually, we made it to a small island.
-
7:09 - 7:12Our boat crashing onto the rocks,
-
7:12 - 7:14I slipped into the water
-
7:14 - 7:18and destroyed my camera,
whatever I documented. -
7:19 - 7:22But luckily, the memory card survived.
-
7:23 - 7:25It was a thick forest.
-
7:26 - 7:31We all split up into many groups
as we argued over what to do next. -
7:31 - 7:33We were all scared and confused.
-
7:33 - 7:36Then, after spending
the night on the beach, -
7:36 - 7:39we found a jetty and coconuts.
-
7:39 - 7:42We hailed a boat from a nearby resort,
-
7:42 - 7:46and then were quickly handed over
to Indonesian water police. -
7:48 - 7:52At Serang Detention Center,
an immigration officer came -
7:52 - 7:55and furtively strip-searched us.
-
7:55 - 7:58He took our mobile, my $300 cash,
-
7:58 - 8:01our shoes that we should not
be able to escape, -
8:01 - 8:07but we kept watching the guards,
checking their movements, -
8:07 - 8:09and around 4 a.m.
-
8:09 - 8:12when they sat around a fire,
we removed two glass layers -
8:12 - 8:16from an outside facing window
and slipped through. -
8:16 - 8:21We climbed a tree next to an outer wall
that was topped with the shards of glass. -
8:21 - 8:23We put the pillow on that
-
8:23 - 8:26and wrapped our forearms with bedsheets
-
8:26 - 8:28and climbed the wall,
-
8:28 - 8:31and we ran away with bare feet.
-
8:31 - 8:33I was free,
-
8:33 - 8:35with an uncertain future,
-
8:35 - 8:37no money.
-
8:38 - 8:44The only thing I had was the memory card
with pictures and footage. -
8:47 - 8:51When my documentary was aired
on SBS Dateline, -
8:51 - 8:53many of my friends came to know
about my situation, -
8:53 - 8:55and they tried to help me.
-
8:55 - 8:58They did not allow me to take
any other boat to risk my life. -
8:58 - 9:03I also decided to stay in Indonesia
and process my case through UNHCR, -
9:03 - 9:06but I was really afraid
that I would end up in Indonesia -
9:06 - 9:09for many years doing nothing
-
9:09 - 9:12and unable to work,
like every other asylum seeker. -
9:13 - 9:16But it had happened to be
a little bit different with me. -
9:19 - 9:21I was lucky.
-
9:21 - 9:25My contacts worked to expedite
my case through UNHCR, -
9:25 - 9:29and I got resettled
in Australia in May 2013. -
9:29 - 9:33Not every asylum seeker is lucky like me.
-
9:34 - 9:39It is really difficult to live a life
with an uncertain fate, in limbo. -
9:42 - 9:44The issue of asylum seekers in Australia
-
9:44 - 9:47has been extremely politicized,
-
9:47 - 9:50that it has lost its human face.
-
9:50 - 9:55The asylum seekers have been demonized
and then presented to the people. -
9:56 - 9:58I hope my story,
-
9:58 - 10:00and the story of other Hazaras,
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10:00 - 10:03could shed some light to show the people
-
10:03 - 10:07how these people are suffering
in their countries of origin, -
10:09 - 10:11and how do they suffer.
-
10:11 - 10:15Why do they risk their lives
to seek asylum? -
10:15 - 10:17Thank you.
-
10:17 - 10:19(Applause)
- Title:
- My desperate journey with a human smuggler | Barat Ali Batoor | TEDxSydney
- Description:
-
Photojournalist Barat Ali Batoor was living in Afghanistan — until his risky work forced him to leave the country. But for Batoor, a member of a displaced ethnic group called the Hazara, moving home to Pakistan proved dangerous too. And finding a safer place wasn't as simple as buying a plane ticket. Instead, he was forced to pay a human smuggler, and join the deadly tidal wave of migrants seeking asylum by boat. He documents the harrowing ocean trip with powerful photographs.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 10:30
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Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for My desperate journey with a human smuggler | Barat Ali Batoor | TEDxSydney | ||
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Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for My desperate journey with a human smuggler | Barat Ali Batoor | TEDxSydney | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for My desperate journey with a human smuggler | Barat Ali Batoor | TEDxSydney | ||
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