By Danielle Kutchel
The final hour of December 2008 was life-changing for Bashir Bakhtiari.
In the dying moments of that year, he was granted a new life as a refugee in Australia, landing at Sydney Airport for his new start.
It capped off a tumultuous few decades for the Afghani reporter and artist.
Speaking through his son Marty who acted as an interpreter, Mr Bakhtiari said he hadn’t wanted to leave Afghanistan and the work he loved.
He was a reporter filing stories for Voice of America about “the truth about politicians and the government” in Afghanistan. He also made documentaries for news agencies including the BBC, focusing on war and conflict in Afghanistan.
Unfortunately his reporting for Voice of America drew the ire of politicians and the Taliban. Another reporter was murdered by the fundamentalist organisation and Mr Bakhtiari began receiving anonymous calls from people threatening to kidnap his family and children; desperate to save his family, that was when he knew he needed to leave the country.
A caricaturist of some renown back home, once in Australia he threw himself into work writing scripts for theatres and taking part in cartoon exhibitions.
Some of Mr Bakhtiari’s works were on display at the Heartlands Exhibition at Walker Street Gallery in Dandenong throughout July.
Mr Bakhtiari’s art focuses on politics and social issues. He said he enjoys cartoons because they are a language that people all over the world can understand and communicate through – “It’s like talking to people I don’t know,” he said.
He has participated in international competitions too and his caricatures have been exhibited in galleries in Turkey, Iran, Belgium and Japan.
His dream is to one day get his own cartoon exhibition in Melbourne.
He is currently also writing a series of memoirs about his experiences, as well as short stories for Afghan magazines and comedic poetry on Facebook which he hopes to publish in English one day.
Mr Bakhtiari said Australia and its people had been supportive of him from the moment he touched down.
“I’m very thankful to the people and government of Australia. I will be all the best I can be for the country,” he said.
