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Abdul was a hero surgeon in Afghanistan. In Australia he’s alone and unemployed
He’s been accused of purposely killing members of the Taliban on his operating table but after fleeing Afghanistan this refugee wants to work and reunite with his family.
Published 30 March 2022 5:54pm
Updated 30 March 2022 6:58pm
By Dijana Damjanovic, Abdullah Alikhil
Source: SBS News
Image: Abdul Stanikzai performed an operation on members of the Taliban which changed the course of his life. (SBS News / Dijana Damjanovic)
Abdul Stanikzai sits in a Melbourne one-bedroom dorm, his leg resting on a single bed, his eyes are vacant as he stares at pictures of his family on his phone.
From 2010 to 2014 the 38-year-old was a surgeon in Kabul emergency hospital, working tirelessly to save the lives of people caught up in Afghanistan’s war.
In 2014, he performed a surgery that would change the course of his life and eventually bring him to Australia.
"Before we started the operation, I got a call from the Taliban. They warned me and asked to prevent our patient from being lost. I didn't take it seriously and I thought it was a normal issue.
"The patients were already at risk, they were in [a] coma, we did the operation and they died one after another. After that they were thinking that I had done it on purpose," he said.
Abdul Stanikzai lives in a one-bedroom boarding room in Melbourne. Credit: Dijana Damjanovic
Soon after he performed the operations Dr Stanikzai was attacked by unidentified assailants, with one of the three attacks severely injuring his thigh.
He believes he was on the Taliban’s blacklist after the three fighters died while he was on duty.
"We were a group of four or five people. We all came in their [Taliban’s] blacklist and we all escaped. Some of our friends are in Sweden and some are in other countries. I didn't want to leave the hospital, I wanted to help people because there was so much I could do but they shot me two or three times.
"They attacked me and my family. For a while, the government provided assistance, then they told me to leave the country."
I wanted to help people because there was so much I could do but they shot me two or three times.
Officials from Afghanistan's government took him to Kabul Airport from where he had to make his own way.
He lived as a refugee in Indonesia for three years but after he left Afghanistan, his family was targeted.
"When I came out [of the country], they realised that they couldn't find me, so they targeted my family. The first attack was when there was a ceremony in our village. Our whole family was together when they attacked my family, martyred my father and my uncle and injured other family members and guests," Dr Stanikzai said.
Abdul Stanikzai keeps in contact with his family using his phone, he hopes their applications for humanitarian visas to Australia are approved. Credit: Dijana Damjanovic
"When I left Afghanistan, my family came to Kabul and they [the Taliban] started attacks on them in Kabul. They informed the Interior Ministry, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and everyone else that they were in danger, but they just told them to change their house," he recalled.
As the attacks on his family continued, they saw more tragedy.
"When the Taliban entered Kabul, then they came and took my elder brother with them, and my younger brother ran away. My elder brother was martyred [killed] along with several others and my other brother is still missing and it is not known where he is," he said.
My elder brother was [killed] along with several others and my other brother is still missing.
Dr Stanikzai said his father, brother, uncle, uncle's wife and three nephews were killed.
He has been able to get refugee status in Australia and is on a permanent visa but his life is crumbling before him.
He used to play volleyball but that’s been put on hold because the injuries to his leg have worsened; he's currently undergoing more surgeries to improve his mobility.
Now on anti-depressants, he is also trying to get his qualifications recognised in Australia.
But what hurts him the most is that he is unable to reunite with what is left of his family.
"I ask the government [of Australia] to evacuate the members who remain alive, at least bring them out. We have lost everything, the family, the house and everything."
In August 2021, as the Taliban completed its take-over of Kabul, he helped his family apply for a humanitarian visa to Australia.
He hopes that one day he can work again as a surgeon in Australia.
"If I am anywhere, whether I am in Australia, I am in Afghanistan or anywhere else. My profession is to serve the people. I want to be a surgeon here, there is a great need for a trauma surgeon here in Australia too. I would like to study, and I ask the government to help and guide me," he said.
Abdul Stanikzai worked throughout the Afghan conflict.
But, before they can work here, their skills and qualifications are assessed by the Medical Board of Australia because the systems and the way doctors are trained differ in many countries.
The standards that underpin this assessment process are robust and transparent, he says, but it’s important for the health system to support these international graduates.
“The AMA supports these standards but also believes that it is important for the system to be able to support those international medical graduates that do need more training, including access to bridging courses and quality supervised training places,” he said.
AMA President Dr Omar Khorshid said it's important for Australia's health system to support people like Abdul. Source: AAP
Catherine Scarth from AMES, a refugee settlement service in Australia that works closely with the government, said they are able to provide advice to refugees in Dr Stanikzai's situation.
“There are many families obviously who are waiting to come to Australia and be reunited with families, that’s something we are working very closely with individuals and also providing them with appropriate visa advice through government-funded program Refugee Legal,” she said.
CEO of refugee resettlement agency, AMES, Catherine Scarth.
The spokesperson also said that it has set up a specialised team to progress the caseload of Afghan nationals who have lodged Family visa applications, which is already seeing a reduction in older applications.
Dr Stanikzai says once he can work and reunite with his family he will be able to escape his desolate state and believe in his future.
"Definitely, once I start working in my profession, my family comes here [to Australia], my soul relaxes and starts working, then obviously I will have a bright future.
"I ask the Australian Government to help me stand on my own two feet. [Let me] resume the trauma surgery and serve the people here through my profession."
Information and support with mental health is available at and on 1300 22 4636. supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
