Tampa survivor condemns Australia’s ‘shameful’ record as chaos engulfs Afghanistan

Abbas and his family fled Afghanistan 20 years ago, fearing death as the Taliban swept through the country.

Abbas Nazari (right) with his brothers and father in the late 1990s, before the family would flee Afghanistan. Source: Supplied

As Afghanistan dissolves into chaos, a survivor of the infamous Tampa refugee crisis says Australia should be ashamed by its “appalling” treatment of asylum seekers.  

Abbas Nazari and his family fled Afghanistan 20 years ago, fearing death under the Taliban because they came from the Hazara ethnic minority.

Abbas, now 27, and his family were eventually resettled in New Zealand - after Australia refused to let them set foot in the country.

Abbas and his family were among the 433 mostly-Afghan refugees rescued by the MV Tampa 20 years ago. Source: WALLENIUS WILHELMSEN

Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers is a shameful chapter that he hopes will soon end, Abbas says.

“Looking at the policies, particularly with offshore detention and how people in detention on the mainland have been treated, it's appalling,” he told SBS Dateline.

“Long term, when that chapter in Australian history is closed, I think it will be a sobering read.

“And I think a lot of people can hang their heads in shame that it happened.”

The Nazari family soon after arriving in Auckland in the wake of the Tampa affair. Source: Supplied

Alongside 426 mostly-Afghan asylum seekers, Abbas and his family paid people smugglers to sail them from Indonesia to Australia in a tiny, squalid fishing boat called the Palapa. 

The Palapa was rescued by Norwegian freight ship the MV Tampa after a violent storm, but Australia refused to accept the refugees, sparking a protracted diplomatic crisis. 

The standoff was broken when New Zealand agreed to resettle 131 Tampa refugees, and the rest were sent to Nauru while their claims for asylum were processed.

A baby being lifted across a wall at Kabul Airport as desperate Afghans scramble to flee the country. Source: Omar Haidari

“To be honest, nobody on board the Tampa knew anything about New Zealand,” Abbas said. 

“It was explained to us that it was a sovereign country, an island nation in the Pacific that had extended out a welcome with open arms.

“People were just ecstatic, because it meant finally getting us off this ship and on to dry land.”

Abbas has recently returned from a Fulbright scholarship in the United States. Source: Supplied

Australia adopted a suite of policies dubbed the Pacific Solution in the wake of the Tampa affair, resulting in thousands of asylum seekers being detained on Nauru and Manus Island. 

Abbas, who recently returned from a Fulbright scholarship in the United States, says it is heart-breaking to see Afghans again scrambling to flee the country as the Taliban tightens its grip. 

“Looking at what's happening in Afghanistan right now, it's almost like you're standing on a footpath. 

“And you're looking at your old house up in flames, with all the relics and your relatives and your friends trapped inside. 

“There’s no way that you can help, you’re just watching your house burn. And it is an incredibly heart-breaking experience to see that.”