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[title]The world has been transfixed by images of the Taliban recapturing Kabul this week, and many Afghan-Australians fear for their families overseas.
“Afghanis fleeing the newly installed Taliban regime in their homeland may well have experienced trauma, violence and fear,” said migrant and refugee settlement agency AMES in a recent statement.
Tajik man Hayatullah Najimi, owner of Afghan Rahimi restaurant in Dandenong, is cautiously optimistic that the withdrawal of US troops will mean more stability in the country.
“My brother is in Kabul in Afghanistan, and he says right now everything seems to be a bit more peaceful,” Najimi says. “Shops and restaurants are reopening again. People were more scared during the 20 years the US-occupied Afghanistan.”
“The US destroyed our country,” he says. “We don’t want to fight anymore. We don’t need other countries to take our land just to fight with our neighbours.”
Afghanistan has had a long history of foreign occupation. When the Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989, American forces secretly armed the Afghan mujahideen fighters against their Cold War rivals. These mujahideen fighters later formed the Taliban in the early 1990s in northern Pakistan, and the group took control over roughly three-quarters of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of Soviet troops between 1996 and 2001.
The Taliban (‘students’, in Pashto) is a predominantly Pashtun movement that preaches a hardline form of Sunni Islam and enforces Sharia law, including, historically, the oppression of women. There are many different ethnic groups in Afghanistan, with the majority comprised of Pashtun, followed by Tajik, then Hazara and Uzbek. Hazaras, most of whom are Shiite Muslims, are considered heretics by the Taliban and were persecuted and massacred when the Taliban was last in power. This time around, the militant group has pledged peace and women's rights, but it’s too early to say whether that will be the case.
Many Afghan-Australians, particularly Hazaras, doubt it. Dandenong has one of the largest Afghan populations in the country; according to the 2016 census, more than 11 per cent of Dandenong's population was born in Afghanistan, and more than two-thirds spoke Hazaragi, the language of Hazara people.
“Dandenong has a large Afghan population and a vibrant business community,” says Laurie Nowell, media manager at AMES Australia. “They’re very entrepreneurial and run many things from supermarkets to market stalls, photography studios to restaurants and many arrived here as refugees or asylum seekers. After arriving, it was easier for them to start their own businesses as there are many hurdles for them to gain employment without recognised qualifications or fluent English skills. Dandenong is famous in the Hazara world, like a promised or a fabled land. I have many clients whose families are in Afghanistan who have been trying to get them out here for months.”
“There’s a strong community of Hazaras in Dandenong that look after each other. We did an audit prior to the pandemic of businesses and then in the middle again and found that out of all the businesses, the majority to survive were refugee-owned businesses. They’re used to having to work hard and are incredibly resilient.”
Like many Afghans, Afghan Rahimi owner Najimi is tired of war and fled his country in search of a better life. But the pandemic has brought more hardship. “Most of our customers live over five kilometres away from us, so we have lost a lot of business. Before the lockdown, our restaurant was very busy. We would order 50 kilograms of chicken and 70 kilograms of lamb, but now we’re throwing away produce we don’t get to use, are only receiving ten orders a day and are struggling to pay rent and electricity bills.”
Many Afghan-owned businesses in Dandenong are facing the same difficulties. Dandenong also has its own dedicated Afghan Bazaar that’s the only recognised Afghan precinct in Melbourne.
“Our data shows ‘Middle Eastern’ is the most prevalent cultural theme making up 45 per cent of the 138 culturally themed tenancies [in Dandenong]. Many of these tenancies are within the Afghan Bazaar precinct on Thomas Street,” says Helen Beekmans, the City of Greater Dandenong's food enterprise and tourism officer. “Just like all businesses across the hospitality industry, it’s been extremely difficult [for them]. It’s the usual story since we’ve been living in the pandemic; they have lost business and customers due to lockdown. Most of them never had the option of food delivery service either.”
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What can you do to help? If you live in Dandenong, you’re lucky to have access to some of the best Afghan food, including charcoal-grilled lamb kebabs and pillowy Afghan naan. Go and support the following Afghan food businesses if they’re within your 5k bubble:
Afghan Rahimi Restaurant
Deemed one of Melbourne’s best restaurants in 2021, this eatery promises everything from smoky charcoal kebabs to rich tomatoey mantu.
23-29 Walker St, Dandenong.
Bestway Supermarket
This Hazara-led supermarket stocks just about anything you could need from giant vats of sunflower oil to frozen okra.
200-208 Lonsdale St, Dandenong.
Balkh Take Away
One of the most well-known businesses in the Afghan Bazaar precinct, Balkh Take Away promises more charcoal grilled kebabs, fresh salads and sheets of Afghan naan.
256/258 Thomas St, Dandenong.
Afghan Charcoal Kebab (Sahar)
Sahar, as it’s commonly known, is another venue based in the Afghan Bazaar precinct. Don’t sleep on the venue’s smoky charcoal chicken on a bed of buttery rice.
252 Thomas St, Dandenong.
Jahan's Best Food
Whole barbecued fish, tender lamb on the skewer, Jahan’s promises all this and more.
9 Scott St, Dandenong.
Afghan Najimi Restaurant
This late-night venue spruiks fresh juices and Afghan desserts alongside a range of savoury suspects.
305 Thomas St, Dandenong.
Shams Restaurant
If you’re after tender lamb shanks, soft naan bread and pulao (rice) look no further than Shams in Dandenong.
202 Thomas St, Dandenong.
And that’s just a small handful of businesses in Dandenong. If you don’t live within five kilometres of Dandenong, search for and support any Afghan businesses in your area.
Donate to these organisations
You can also take action by writing to your local MP using this quick and easy template, or donate to any of the following organisations:
Mahboba’s Promise
Mahboba's Promise is an Australian non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the disadvantaged women, widows, children and orphans of Afghanistan. Donate here.
Baba Mazari Foundation
Baba Mazari Foundation (BMF) has partnered with World Hazara Council, Hazara International and Hazara Committee in the UK to aid victims of the Taliban onslaught in different parts of Afghanistan. Donate via the GoFundMe page here.
Rukhshana Media
Rukhshana Media is a women’s media organisation that publishes work from Afghan women and is asking for donations to help them survive. The organisation is named after a woman who was stoned to death by the Taliban in 2015 and was set up by journalist Zahra Joya last year. Donate here.
Women for Afghan Women
This organisation fights for the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan and is desperately calling for donations so that they can support their staff and families on the ground. Donate here.
Afghan Women and Children and Jalala Foundation
Afghan Women and Children and Jalala foundation have teamed up to protect women and children fighting to survive after decades of war. You can donate to the Afghan Women and Children foundation and Jalala Foundation here.
Miles4Migrants
Miles4Migrants is a nonprofit that uses donated frequent flyer miles to help "people impacted by war, persecution, or disaster reunite with loved ones and start new beginnings in safe homes." Donate your frequent flyer miles with priority given to urgent flights (many of them being out of Afghanistan) here.
Refugee Council of Australia
The Refugee Council of Australia is currently lobbying the Australian government to help Afghans fleeing the Taliban. Donate to their efforts here.
Or support Afghan refugees and asylum seekers closer to home by donating to organisations like AMES Australia or the ASRC.