One of the hardest things for many during the Covid pandemic has been the enforced separation from family. But imagine being separated from your wife and child for nine years as you tried to support them and forge a better future for your family in Australia, which is what Reza did until his wife and boy joined him in Tasmania two years ago.
Reza is a Hazara, one of the ethnic minorities in Afghanistan subject to harsh persecution from the infamous Taliban. Reza has spent most of his life in Iran, after his parents fled there when he was very small. But the situation for Afghans in Iran is neither safe nor secure, perhaps a kin to being in Purgatory after escaping from Hell. So, like many others, Reza chose to risk the long journey to Australia, taking a year before he was taken off a leaky boat on the way from Indonesia to Australia, and detained on Christmas Island.
After some time in Sydney and Melbourne, Reza got a job in Hobart and it's impossible not to hear the joy and optimism in Reza's voice when talking about his new home.
