Rasuli, Abdul

Abdul Rasuli arrived in Australia from Afghanistan as a seventeen year old refugee. He has an inspiring personal story, a teenager of the oppressed Hazaras in Afghanistan.  He took a long and dangerous escape route that included crossing the ocean in an ill-equipped boat to finally reach Ballarat as an unaccompanied minor and has since taken responsibility for supporting his family whilst settling in Ballarat.  On arriving in Ballarat, he undertook English studies, completed his VCE at Mt Clear College and graduated with a Diploma of Engineering. He is currently studying the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), works part-time to support himself and incredibly finds time for a great deal of voluntary work.

Abdul is a powerful community builder and a natural leader. He is dedicated to the welfare of the Afghan community and to bringing the Afghan and wider Ballarat communities together for the benefit of both. He is a frequent generous and popular volunteer whenever a refugee speaker is required by organisations, community groups or local schools. His interesting and informative talks have greatly increased awareness of the refugee condition. He has become a well-known figure, someone those of us who do not have the refugee lived experience can turn to for information about what is needed by refugees in our community.

Abdul has made us aware that there are Afghan refugees in Ballarat who are not of his Hazara ethnicity. He has suggested we talk about Afghans rather than just Hazaras in order to be more inclusive. This is typical of Abdul’s generous nature.

Abdul helps refugees arriving in Ballarat, finding them accommodation, household goods and transport. He informs them about support networks. He is sensitive to the needs of anyone who is desperate and covers the needs, mindful of the person’s vulnerability and without causing embarrassment. He respects each person’s dignity.

Abdul is a leading figure on the Ballarat Afghanistan Action Group (BAAG) committee. He is a key link between BAAG and its partners in Afghanistan with whom BAAG communicates via zoom, depending on Abdul as our translator. He is essential to our success in determining the needs in Kabul, delivering food aid and education projects, providing urgent aid to desperately poor families. He is engaging, inclusive, generous and visionary, providing opportunities for the Ballarat community to make a meaningful contribution and invigorating hope in the lives of Ballarat’s Afghan community.

Abdul is keen to promote Afghan culture in Australia. He played a major role in the Ballarat Afghan Community’s triumph during the Begonia Festival which saw them win the Mayor’s Choice Award for their Afghan themed float. He recruited performers, translating for those who have limited English. In helping to organise this event, Abdul demonstrated his inclusiveness by reaching out to other ethnic groups with a true spirit of multiculturalism. It is a tribute to Abdul’s popularity and ability to engage people, that some of his Australian fellow students also participated.

The Ballarat Courier is aware of Abdul and frequently interviews him regarding developments in Afghanistan and how they affect the local Afghan community. He was featured in The Courier when the Australian government announced the Resolution of Status for refugees on Temporary Protection Visas. Abdul’s empathy with anyone in need and his generous volunteering, make him the perfect example of the contribution refugees can make to the Australian community.