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How an Australian mother and son rescued dozens of children from this war-ravaged nation
Dozens of vulnerable children have been evacuated from Afghanistan to Australia in a daring, year-long mission led by a mother and son based in Sydney, with the help of lawyers, community members and two governments.
Published 3 April 2023 2:00pm
By Rashida Yosufzai
Source: SBS News
Key Points
- An Australian charity with orphanages in Afghanistan feared for the lives of almost 100 people in its care amid the Taliban takeover.
- The mother and son behind the charity, with the help of lawyer Sarah Dale, coordinated their rescue from Sydney.
- It was a year-long mission against all odds that resulted in the rescue of dozens of women and children.
In their home in Sydney’s suburbs, Nawid Cina and Mahboba Rawi sit anxiously waiting for news of the children, widows and staff members under their care.
The group were escaping Afghanistan on a bus through the mountains and a land border crossing to Pakistan.
The mother and son, thousands of kilometres away in Australia, were on their couch listening to people on the ground describe what was going on through a phone call.
“The Taliban is here fighting; the situation is not okay," the voice on the other end replied.
Nawid Cina, centre, with some of the children from the Mahboba's Promise orphanage in Afghanistan. Credit: Supplied
This route has been the main way out for refugees hoping to make their way to Australia since the Taliban took over the country in August 2021.
An August 2021 photo of a Pakistani paramilitary soldier, right, and Taliban fighters standing guard on their respective sides at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Source: AP / Muhammad Sajjad/AP
“We were terrified for their lives, we were terrified that they wouldn’t make it through, we were terrified of incarceration.”
Ms Rawi and Mr Cina had already got a small group of orphans from their Afghan orphanages to Australia in December 2021 through the same method.
But this was a huge undertaking - rescuing the almost 100 widows, vulnerable children including orphans, and some staff members who were left behind.
“Danger was there from the beginning until the end,” Mr Cina says.
How a ‘one in a million’ chance was realised
Mr Cina had been pleading for months for help from Australian authorities to rescue almost 100 vulnerable people left behind in the Mahboba’s Promise orphanages in Afghanistan, to no avail.
He’d appeared before Senate hearings, he’d made phone calls to senior officials. Nothing was working.
It wasn’t until he took the daring decision to travel to Afghanistan, alone, that things finally came together.
When he arrived in March 2022, he found a country changed by the Taliban’s rule.
Nawid Cina in Afghanistan in March 2022. Mr Cina says he had no choice but to visit the country to assess the safety of the children under the care of Mahboba's Promise charity. Credit: Supplied
“The last time I was (there), you couldn’t hear anything but the laughter of kids. Now it’s silent,” he said.
“There was a lot of hope, a lot of positivity. Now it’s just about survival.”
Around that time, the United Nations was warning more than a million Afghan children would die of malnutrition without aid.
The children on a bus on their way out of Afghanistan. Credit: Supplied
“It was upon arrival that I realised, this is impossible,” Mr Cina said.
“The only way that we can guarantee safety of these children, and for the carers and staff, is an evacuation, as it is for thousands upon thousands of others who are associated with Western organisations, and we’ve seen the terrible things that happened to them.”
Sarah Dale, the principal solicitor at the Sydney-based Refugee Advice & Casework Service, who provided legal advice to Mahboba’s Promise throughout the process, said the odds were stacked against them.
“This was a one-in-a-million chance, that it would be a miracle to see this many people evacuated from Afghanistan, given the size of the group,” she said.
Mr Cina went to Afghanistan to try to secure the safety of the children and staff. But he reported back the situation was "untenable" and the team in Australia asked then Immigration Minister Alex Hawke for help.
He issued emergency, three-month visas to Australia.
“I kept being told that one visa is a miracle,” Mr Cina said.
“One week later … I left the country with (more than 80) visas being promised.”
But visas to Australia were one matter; how to get dozens of women and children across a land border was another.
Most did not have passports. The Taliban, now in government, were responsible for issuing them. While some passports could be obtained for adults and families with sufficient documentation through embassies in other countries, for the majority it was impossible.
Over two months of intense negotiations, they got passports from embassies around the world.
Then there was the issue of getting visas to Pakistan. Mr Cina says “by some miracle” they managed to receive an amnesty from the Pakistan government to allow the group to enter the country in August 2022.
When the group finally started their journey, another roadblock appeared.
Not only were the Taliban guards demanding bribes for people to cross, they were also asking questions about where the children were going.
“We didn't have an answer that could keep it safe for everyone,” Mr Cina said.
“So it was again, like a miracle at every point of this work.”
One of the miracles came in the form of a Mahboba’s Promise orphan, now an adult, who somehow managed to negotiate with guards at the crossing.
Nawid Cina and some of the rescued Afghan children at home in Sydney. Credit: ABC
“We were receiving calls from several people on either side of the border telling us when to cross, when not to cross, it's safe to come, now, it's not safe to come,” she said.
“There was an immense personal weight that we all really individually felt when speaking with people crossing the border. And I must say that every single individual as they crossed was such an immense sense of relief.”
The entire journey has been documented in an episode of Australian Story which will air on the ABC on Monday night.
‘Their lives were on my shoulders’
Most of the group finally arrived in Australia in the latter part of 2022.
Mr Cina says the children were faring well and receiving great care in their resettlement journey.
“They're safe. Most important thing is, they're safe.”
He said the weight of responsibility was tough to bear over the 18 months.
Nawid Cina meeting vulnerable women and children in Afghanistan. Credit: Mahboba's Promise
The 26-year-old is still coming to grips with the journey and how difficult it was.
“The only times it hits me is when I come and I see the children together. And I'm like, 'I saw you in the mountains six months ago. What are you doing here? How did this happen?'”
Mr Cina says he owes a debt of gratitude to the Australian government - both Coalition and Labor - who secured help throughout the way.
Mahboba Rawi and some of the rescued Afghan children. Credit: ABC
“And it was the Albanese government that got us the (Pakistan visa) amnesty.
“It was me, my mum and Sarah driving it, but there were so many other people that came in, in intense moments.
“There was an incredible amount of goodwill that went towards us. People care about Afghanistan.”
