A photo taken by Australia's MV Bison after arriving at an asylum seeker boat and prior to its capsize in 2012. (Picture released by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). Photos: AFP
On Jan 2, 2013, my mother, two brothers and I got into the taxi and left Kabul just after 1am. At 3.20am, our driver slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting the men who suddenly appeared in the middle of the dark road. I could see the silhouettes of the Afghan turbans, the signature dress of Taliban militia. A young man, barely in his 20s, with a long beard, approached the car and peered in.
My facial features, especially my flatter nose, give me away as a Hazara, an ethnic minority in Afghanistan despised by the Taliban. I pretended I could not understand the Talib’s questions to our driver, trying to appear uneducated.
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