Hazara Community

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (15:29): I rise today to speak about the amazing work of the South Australian Hazara community. The capacity of new and emerging communities to dig deep and show their generosity and compassion for others in need never ceases to amaze.

The Hazaras are an ethnic group native to the Hazarajat region of Afghanistan, with an estimated global population of 4.3 million within Afghanistan and an estimated 50,000 people living in Australia. Just a touch over 6,000 Afghans are here in South Australia. The Hazaras are believed to be descendants of the Turko-Mongol tribes of Central Asia. Tracing their descendants, they can be found in Iran, Turkmenistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

On 9 February, along with the Hon. Jing Lee, I was invited to attend a ceremony at the Wali-E-Asr mosque in Edinburgh North. This opportunity was granted to us for an official handover of a fundraising cheque from the community for the South Australian Bushfire Appeal. The Australian Hazara Afghan community members in South Australia established a joint fundraising committee consisting of many organisations, including the Baba Mazari Foundation (BMF) and other men and women of the Wali-E-Asr Centre in South Australia, and also accepted donations online.

The donations were large and small, including that of 11-year-old Murtaza Hussain, who donated his piggy-bank savings, accumulated from the age of four, to the fundraising effort. He carried a bag containing $204 in coins to the Wali-E-Asr Centre, where the community met to fundraise for the state's bushfire appeal. The reason this young boy was so motivated to donate was that he saw the devastation suffered on Kangaroo Island and in the Adelaide Hills. He himself in his very young life experienced significant loss and relocation. He wanted to give back and to give what he could to those who needed it.

The Hazara community members of South Australia have shown their solidarity with affected members of the Australian community through donation and recovery volunteering. As a result of a three-week campaign, they raised more than $90,000. That is an amazing amount. I was absolutely astounded when they told me how this community had put their hand in their pocket and given back to the wider community in South Australia who are doing it tough. They also recruited more than 100 volunteers, in conjunction with Volunteering SA, to assist with the recovery and rebuilding efforts.

I would like to thank all the organisers, including Hussain Razaiat for his tremendous efforts and compassion. However, this is only one of two fundraising efforts by our inspiring Hazara community. Last Sunday, on 16 February, I was invited to attend a second handover ceremony at the Fatima Zahra Mosque and Hussainia in Green Fields. Members of this group ran a four-week campaign to raise funds to assist in response to the bushfires in South Australia. The community saw it as their duty to stand with their Australian brothers and sisters during such a difficult time.

Board members held a general meeting with all members of the mosque to discuss this tragic disaster and the damage that had occurred. They were able to raise more than $30,000 for this bushfire appeal and put forward 50 young men and women for volunteering efforts. I would like to thank the members, board and organisers at the Fatima Zahra Mosque and Hussainia, including Mr Esaq Farhmand, for helping to coordinate the fundraising efforts and for providing me with information for my speech.

To our South Australian Hazara community, can I take this opportunity to thank you for your friendship and your commitment. At this time of devastation, you went out of your way to show how much you wanted to help. I thank our Hazara community for their great efforts.