FOR an Afghanistan-born Hazara trapped in civil war, life had no value. Kazim Mosawi, 16, says that’s what motivated him to become the first Afghan lifesaver in Melbourne’s west.
The West Footscray teenager this week starts his first patrol at Williamstown beach.
A year ago, he arrived on our shores by boat.
“I was born in Afghanistan, but I lived in Pakistan for 12 years,” he says.
“I came [to Australia] from Indonesia. We were on the boat for 15 to 20 days — 10 days on an Indonesian boat and then 10 more days in a Customs boat.
“They wanted to take us to Christmas Island first, but because of the weather they had to take us to Darwin.
“I was in community detention first when I came to Melbourne from Darwin . . . it’s like a house where we have carers and they came and they do our stuff and then they bring our food and those things. They drop us to school. I was there for two or three months. Then they told me that there is a program for swimming, if you want to learn. I just told them that I know swimming already, but I’ll give it a try.”
Kazim, a VCE student at Footscray City Secondary College, was so skilled in the water that he got a job as a lifeguard at Yarraville Swim Centre. But he wanted to volunteer as a lifesaver, so he got his Surf Lifesaving bronze medallion award at Williamstown.
Life Saving Victoria multicultural services manager David Holland says he hopes Kazim will pave the way for other new arrivals, who are over-represented in drownings, injuries and beach rescues. “To the best of my knowledge, he is the first Afghan lifesaver in the western suburbs of Melbourne. But we want more [migrants]. The reason being — and Kazim again is an example of this — is they become role models and conduits of water safety education messages to their community.
“This summer we had 11 young kids, between the ages of eight and 13, who trained as Nippers, which are junior lifesavers.
“They’re Karen kids from Burma. There were 11 this year and there were 12 last year who did the same thing.
“The more kids and the more youth and the more adults who do it the better. It’s these little Karen kids and the Kazims of the community who pave the way for others to get involved. They just need an opportunity.”
Kazim’s mother and two younger brothers remain in Afghanistan. Another brother is in detention in Tasmania.
A fourth, who arrived in Australia by boat before Kazim, is enrolled in mining engineering at a Perth university.
“In Pakistan, just five or six years before, it was a good place,” Kazim said. “No one cared about Hazaras. But in the past five or six months or so they started killing Hazaras. They said, you are infidels. So there is no value of life there. That’s why I came here and joined lifesaving.
“I grew up in a civil war country and there is no value for life.
“But here, saving people at the beach, at least if you can save one life, according to me, saving a human means helping your community so at least I can do something for this.”
