The Tampa families are still all incredibly tightknit, Nazari says, so he knew having their input in the book was vital. “One of the central things I wanted to highlight in this book yes, we did go through all of those horrible things, the tragedies, the hardships, but amidst that there's this incredible sense of strength and pride you get from having gone through hardship,” he says. Twenty years on, Nazari sat down with pen and paper to put down the story of the Tampa families. He was a child at the time, so he went to his family and other families from the Tampa to draw on their experiences and advice.
Eventually, some were taken to a newly established detention centre on Nauru, while 150 refugees – including Nazari’s family – were offered a place in New Zealand. Tensions mounted between the Australian government, the Tampa’s captain and other governments, while the refugees took shelter between the ship’s containers. Their rescue sparked an international incident, however, as the Australian government refused the Tampa entry to its ports. Its engine lost power, leaving 433 refugees drifting at sea until the MV Tampa, a Norwegian container ship, answered their distress call. Nazari’s family fled from Sungjoy, Afghanistan to Indonesia, and in 2001 tried to seek asylum in Australia. They joined hundreds of other refugees on a rundown fishing boat for what was meant to be a short journey to Australian shores.īut the boat never made it. That’s because Nazari's memoir, After the Tampa, isn’t just his story, it’s the story of more than 400 Afghan refugees and their journey to New Zealand. Abbas: “I wouldn't call myself an activist or a community representative by any means, but the spotlight on this book has given me a platform to ensure that Afghan voices are heard."Īt a book signing in Otago recently, someone in line turned to author Abbas Nazari’s parents and asked for their autographs too.
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