After the Tampa: From Afghanistan to New Zealand

by Abbas Nazari

Overview

The heart-rending story of a child 'Tampa' refugee who grew up to become a Fulbright scholar, highlighting the plight and potential of refugees everywhere.

When the Taliban were at the height of their power in 2001, Abbas Nazari's parents were faced with a choice: stay and face persecution in their homeland, or seek security for their young children elsewhere.

The family's desperate search for safety took them on a harrowing journey from the mountains of Afghanistan to a small fishing boat in the Indian Ocean, crammed with more than 400 other asylum seekers.

When their boat started to sink, they were mercifully saved by a cargo ship, the Tampa. However, one of the largest maritime rescues in modern history quickly turned into an international stand-off, as Australia closed its doors to these asylum seekers.

The Tampa had waded into the middle of Australia's national election, sparking their hardline policy of offshore detention. While many of those rescued by the Tampa were the first inmates sent to the island of Nauru, Abbas and his family were some of the lucky few to be resettled in New Zealand.

Twenty years after the Tampa affair, Abbas tells his amazing story, from living under Taliban rule, to spending a terrifying month at sea, to building a new life at the bottom of the world.

A powerful and inspiring story for our times, After the Tampa celebrates the importance of never letting go of what drives the human spirit: hope.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781761062322
Publisher:	Allen & Unwin
Publication date:	08/17/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Abbas and his family have thrived since being resettled in New Zealand. In 2019, Abbas was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to the United States, where he attained a Master's in Security Studies from Georgetown University, Washington DC. Abbas hopes to help children of refugee backgrounds build meaningful lives in their adopted homelands.

Table of Contents

Prologue 13

1 Into the Unknown 16

2 The Valley 26

3 Graveyard of Empires 38

4 Leaving the Valley 50

5 Never Look Back 64

6 Rolling the Dice 77

7 On the Road Again 90

8 Navigating Sky and Sea 98

9 The Island 107

10 All at Sea 115

11 The Great Red Wall 133

12 Stand-Off 147

13 A Game of Politics 159

14 Australia is Closed 173

15 The Pacific Solution 186

16 Day 35 201

17 Land of the Long White Cloud 209

18 Whole Again 228

19 The Kiwi Dream 244

20 There and Back Again 264

21 The University Years 282

22 The Promised Land 302

23 A Dark Day in the Garden City 321

24 Sabba - Tomorrow 342

Epilogue 359

Acknowledgements 364