After a decade in detention, an Iranian refugee family dares to dream of the possibility of resettlement
Abbas Maghames , his parents, Malakeh and Yaghob, and his sister, Hajar, are now living in community detention.Abbas Maghames , his parents, Malakeh and Yaghob, and his sister, Hajar, are now living in community detention.Nine months after his release from immigration detention, refugee Abbas Maghames struggles to imagine his future.
Unlike the Nadesalingams, Maghames’ story has largely flown under the radar. He lives with his sister, Hajar, and his elderly parents, Malakeh and Yaghob, in community detention in Loganlea, a 40-minute drive from Brisbane’s CBD.Refugees who have been granted bridging visas are able to work while their right to stay in Australia is substantively reassessed, but do not receive government support.
One group are those who arrived after 19 July 2013 and were sent to Nauru or Manus Island. Those who arrived earlier and were not sent to offshore detention form the second category.Sign up to receive the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning. “Sometimes I’d hear ladies screaming because there would be rats, cats, cockroaches inside the tent.”To deal with the days stretching out ahead, Maghames would listen to music. He played Luis Fonsi’s hit single so many times that locals in Nauru nicknamed him “Despacito”.
The Maghames family received an offer for resettlement in the United States three years ago. After a long time in limbo, the family is thinking of cancelling the offer, as they fear they’d be offered little support after such a traumatic experience in detention.
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