Hazara refugees shine in Easter sports competition
Abdul Hekmat |
Hundreds of Hazara sporting participants from across Australia have gathered for some intense but friendly interstate rivalry.
The volleyball and soccer competition in Melbourne over the Easter long weekend consisted of 19 boys’ teams and six girls’ teams, bringing together members of the persecuted Afghan minority from all states and territories.
“The main purpose of this tournament is to encourage young people to get into sports,” organiser Naeem Sarwari said.
For 29-year-old Ramin Akbari, one of the tournament’s rising volleyball stars, connecting and competing with other Afghans was a balm to the pain of being separated from his family.
He fled the Taliban, which has targeted the Hazara minority adhering to the Shi’a branch of Islam.
The Taliban are hardline Sunni extremists who took over the country after 20 years of US occupation in 2021.
Mr Akbari arrived in Australia by boat in 2013 and has been a temporary visa holder for the past decade.
“Through sports, I find community and friends in Australia which has prevented me from falling into depression, unlike others in a similar situation,” he told AAP.
The number of Hazaras has increased to about 40,000 nationwide, driven by the latest unrest in Afghanistan.
Mr Sarwari said the national tournament had been crucial for girls, seeing it as a sense of duty and privilege in light of Afghan females being banned from participating in sports under the Taliban.
“Our two girls’ teams from Brisbane in the past two years, out of all other teams among Afghans in Australia, have improved unexpectedly which has made us proud,” he said.
The tournament concludes on Friday, April 21 at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, where devout believers fast from sunrise to sunset.
AAP
