Summary

Zahra Jaffari and her family sought refuge from Afghanistan in Indonesia and while they were unable to come to Australia which was their first hope, they finally settled in Canada.

From Afghanistan to Indonesia:
Zahra Jaffari was born and grew up in Afghanistan (from the Hazara ethnic minority) from where around 2015 she escaped persecution with her family to Indonesia. There they awaited acceptance for a refugee program, preferably by Australia where Zahra's brother already resided. She was a student in 2015 at Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre in Senior Primary One in Cisarua, Bogor. The family subsequently had to leave there and go to Jakarta where they lived in a poor area in difficult conditions.

At the Cisarua school, Zahra created a drawing to portray the injustice, war and the killing of thousands of people in Afghanistan; as well as the risk for refugees being forced to put their lives in other people's hands in order to find a peaceful place to live. It was one of other drawings produced by students and retained by the school.

The donor of the drawing, John Taylor, was a tutor at the Dandenong Refugee Centre who visited Indonesia regularly. He noticed Zahra's drawing on the school's Facebook page in 2015 and he suggested on one of his visits that the drawing should reside in Melbourne's Immigration Museum. The school administrator and art teacher agreed. John met Zahra and her family and purchased the drawing from her during his second visit there, believing Zahra should receive some payment for the exchange. The painting was acquired by Museums Victoria in 2019. Zahra and the school hoped to one day see this painting on the wall of the Melbourne Immigration Museum.

Zahra's Reflections:
Zahra stated in a Facebook post on 31 October, 2017: "I live with my father, mother and my two brothers. When I was studying at CRLC it was very enjoyable and memorable time for me. I always feel worried about losing my friends and family. It is a horrible feeling when you travel in danger, not knowing what will happen to you or your life in the future. On the journey to Indonesia some people will survive, some are eaten by sharks and some drown. This is a small a part of the hard and terrifying journey we have to travel to reach beautiful Australia.

My painting represents the journey that I and my family took in search for a better life. From our horror situation in Afghanistan to the unknown transit in Indonesia, in the hope to live and be resettled in the beautiful country of Australia. I wish that every country would remove borders controls and declare world peace.

My dream is to be a Doctor and help people in need, even those without money. I wish to find a place that I can call home and meet my brother who lives in Australia. If there was no war in Afghanistan. I would never accept the label of refugee for my family and myself."

Settling in Canada:
Zahra and her family sadly were not accepted to come to Australia but have found permanent refuge in Canada. In 2021, Zahra reflected on her most recent experiences:

"Basically when I came to Canada half of me was happy and the other half was sad! I was happy that I'm going to a good country, that I would study and would have a bright future ahead of me. Also I was sad because I was again leaving my friends for the second time in my life, leaving the people I loved the most and moving to another country! I was also sad because of not going to my brother who is living in Australia, and I haven't met him for almost nine years now.

I was really sad for the first month until I started school and found some friends, it was going well even though I missed my friends who were in Indonesia, until covid started and everything went virtual, things changed a lot! It was a rough time for everyone. At that moment I was just face-timing my friends in Indonesia. Until two months ago (around September 2021) when we got back to school, it's really good. Now I'm hanging out with my friends, joining the sports in school, and all that! Winter has arrived. It's really cold here but it hasn't snowed yet! I guess it will probably be in a few days.

I'm enjoying Canada so far, and I hope Covid disappears so I can go see my brother, and also any way to see my friends again in Indonesia! I really miss them all! I hope everyone who is in Indonesia, and any other country, get out soon and build their life and be happy!" (Zahra Jaffari, 2021)

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