Blue Mountains escape

In their final year of school, friends Zarifa, Samina and Nasima had an opportunity to see the Blue Mountains for the first time. Recent arrivals to Australia on humanitarian visas, the trio are part of Sydney’s Hazara community, and are originally from Afghanistan. The Hazaras are still being persecuted in the region; as a result, the girls had their schooling severely interrupted and were only able to complete up to year 6. Here in Australia they are now competing against the rest of the state in the HSC, with dreams of going to university and continuing their education. It is a dream they thought would not be possible only a couple of years ago.