Abdul’s Story

My name is Abdul Ali and I am from Quetta in Pakistan. I am 18 years old and I saw a lot of bad things happen in my country. There is war in our place, they were killing us and they think we do not deserve to live. I lost my 4 best friends and my Uncle and his two brothers. I could not go to school or to the market because it was too dangerous. When I was 15 years old my father sent me to Australia by boat as an asylum seeker because my life was in danger. After a hard journey at sea we finally made it to Christmas Island. Then they transferred us and I spent five months in a detention centre and that was very hard.

When they released me I didn’t know anyone. I spent another 2 years in community detention with other boys who came to Australia as unaccompanied minors. Just before I turned 18, I was told I would need to find a new place to live. Now I’m living in the community on a bridging visa. In Australia I’m safe, but I have a lot of stress because I don’t know about what will happen to my family; if they are safe or not. I try my best to keep busy and spend a lot of my time volunteering, but I don’t know about my future, whether I can stay here or if they will try send me back.