Vigil puts light on Afghan bombing

A CANDLELIGHT vigil held opposite Town Hall on Monday evening has sought to raise awareness of about a recent bombing, and wider issues, in Afghanistan.

Monday’s event was in response to an attack on school in Kabul on 30 September that killed at least 52 people and injured many more.

Abdul Rasuli is a Ballarat local and Hazara, a large ethnic minority in the country.

He said the candlelight vigil was part of a global series of events in 91 cities about the challenges, people and especially women, face in Afghanistan.

“We stand against genocide of Hazaras,” he said. “We call it genocide because this has happened so many times and we want to stand against the Taliban who are locking up school girls, so the girls can’t study.

“I know one family who lost someone [in the bombing]. They came from a regional area in the mountains to the city and then she was killed. Her dad is a farmer, and they are struggling financially.”

Mr Rasuli came to Australia nine years ago, about halfway though the US led military action in Afghanistan, that Australia also took part in.

He said Hazara people are regularly targeted in Afghanistan and called on the Federal Government to do more to help refugees in Australia and other parts of the world, as well as people still living the central Asian nation.

“We are advocating to the government to take more refugees from Afghanistan,” he said. “Australian can do a lot more.

“We have people living here for almost 10 years on temporary protection visas. They cannot reunite with their families.”

Mr Rasuli is part of the Ballarat Afghan Action Group, and beyond leading awareness pushes, his organisation also raises money to support people back in the country.

“We’re taking action,” he said. “We did a series of fundraisers so we can practically work on the ground in Afghanistan. We support about 250 families with food aid.”