Mahboba Rawi
The journey of one woman through suffering to compassion and then on to her work to relieve the desperate circumstances of others – the innocent and the oppressed.
Mahboba was born in the middle class suburb of Sharnow in Kabul. She and her 9 brothers and sisters grew up in a comfortable and happy home. Mahboba had an excellent primary school education .At the age of 14, she was well into her High School curriculum when the Russians invaded Afghanistan and her city. The lives of Mahboba and her family were to change forever , and to take a direction none of them could have imagined.
Mahboba and her young contemporaries were incensed that their country should have been subject to invasion and oppression, and the brutality and horror of war that accompanied it. She immediately joined street demonstrations, and became the leader of an effective protest group at her school. The authorities were acting strongly against civil disobedience and they desperately wanted to capture Mahboba . To have been caught would at best have meant imprisonment, and all that went with it , but execution was more likely. The risk for her safety became extreme and she had to leave for Pakistan with her uncle without any preparation.
Mahboba and her Uncle walked for 10 days to reach Peshawar, with only the clothing they took and very little food. This was a bitter introduction of the life that was to follow.
Mahboba arrived in Peshawar in 1982 and went into a very crowded refugee house with her Uncle. They spent two years in these primitive conditions, and food , shelter and clothing were the focal point of everyday life. There were many restrictions for women. They rarely, if ever moved out of the Camp, and there were many days spent without seeing the sky. Whilst food was supplied by aid organisations, it was spasmodic and uncertain. Illness was a major problem, doctors were spread very thinly, and it took days of queuing to obtain the most rudimentary of treatment or medication. Her experiences of this suffering are still very strong in her mind. Mahboba makes the point, that there were many whose circumstances were far worse than hers, and she can only imagine what they must have suffered.
These experiences and the knowledge she gained were to serve her well as she moved on to her life of charitable commitment.
In 1984 Mahboba married an Afghan man, who was a permanent Australian Resident, and his sponsorship allowed her to to move from the Peshawar camp to her new Australian home. She arrived in Australia, as a young newly married girl speaking no English, and as she now humorously tells, she spoke “Body Language”. Within two days of arrival Mahboba had a place to live in north Sydney and a job as a cleaner. A year later the couple moved to Glen Iris in Victoria, where Mahboba was employed as a machinist for a clothing company. She did this work for three years, until the birth of her first son in 1987. The family returned to Sydney and in 1989, her daughter was born. The family was very close and starting to make headway in their country. Mahboba was in full time work.
The year 1992 brought a disaster. During the July School Holiday, Mahboba’s son went with a group of family members to see the Kiama Blowhole, South of Sydney. They were all standing around the Blowhole in excitement waiting to witness the event , when the water rose up with tremendous force , knocking seven of them into the hole and washing them quickly out to sea. Her son, and three other close relatives, and three close friends were drowned .Of the total party of 10 that went to the fateful picnic, only three survived. Mahboba was not there and went into deep shock when she received the terrible news, and went to visit the seven bodies all in the same room at the mortuary.
Then began the most difficult time of Mahboba’s life. After experiencing terrible war and atrocities, and escaping from it all to a safe and gentle country, her life was torn apart. In reality there was no escape for Mahboba from the misfortunes of life.
Characteristically, Mahboba resolved not to spend her time sinking into a deep and mournful depression, and she saw the only way to bear her acute pain and sadness was to improve her skills and to move strongly into productive community work. Mahboba went back to school to learn English, and actually started at the “A.B.C” stage. She completed Stages 1 through to 4 . In 1993 she passed her Year 11 and 12, and qualified for Tertiary Studies. She completed an Advanced Community Welfare Course at Granville College in 1996. Mahboba was a fighter through and through, she just did not give in to the destructive effects of the tragedy. She turned it into strength, and was determined not to be or to act like a victim .She completed the courses and did the homework.
Mahboba’s second son was born in 1996, when she completed her courses. However, the Kiama Blowhole and the subsequent events impacted on her married relationship and this broke down irretrievably.
Mahboba started work with the Afghan Women’s’ Group and this allowed her to practice her Community Welfare skills. She devoted herself to teaching Afghan Women how to live the “Australian Way” and to bring them out of some of the more traditional approaches to living. This was a unique experience for many of these women. Mahboba started teaching English under the Migrant Resources Corporation at Parramatta. She started swimming courses under sponsorship of the Parramatta City Council. None of the people who lost their lives at Kiama could swim. Mahboba expanded her teaching to Stress Management, The way to a healthy Life, How to deal with and combat domestic violence and other relevant items. Many of the women taught by Mahboba have become employed and have advanced and been promoted in their careers. Mahboba broke down barriers in this teaching and gave unique experience and tuition to people who had never had such instruction.
Mahboba’s reputation spread, and in 1997 she received a copy of a letter from Dr. Nasrin Seddiqee in Peshawar to an Australian friend. This letter caused another radical change in Mahboba’s life. Dr. Nasrin explained the horror of starvation in the camps, and how there were hungry, naked children sitting outside her office, and the impossibility of treating them. Dr. Nasrin , another outstanding and compassionate woman , was doing all she could on the ground , and dealing with the effects of the brutal Afghan Administration and war.
Mahboba read this letter to her English Class and they immediately collected and sent off $120 to help 35 children. A quick letter of thanks was sent back by the good doctor, together with letters from the children carrying their signatures and fingerprints as authentication. Dr. Nasrin pleaded for more assistance and told stories of horror, terror sadness and hardship that had affected the lives of countless women who were also seeking her help.
Mahboba and her women have worked tirelessly for the past four years, and have made outstanding contributions to Orphans and Widows in the Peshawar Camps. During this time Mahboba has continued to experience tragedy in her life with the loss of at least one close relative or friend every two years. She has continued to move on.
The situation is now changing in Afghanistan, and there is a movement of people back into their country from the Peshawar camps. Many are moving back to God knows what after the devastation of the wars and more recently the American bombing. Mahboba is now faced with a different challenge, aiding the resettlement of “Her People” in the camps back into Afghanistan, and working to offer them a future and hope.
The circumstances are continually changing, but the need for continuing funds is not. The problem has not just gone away, it has intensified, and the long delay between the promise of aid and the receipt of it by the needy, if at all for some, is one of the facts of the situation.
Mahboba has developed and is funding three Girls’ Schools for 1400 pupils, she operates a bakery that produces bread for her people and teaches skills to the workers. This bakery feeds 120 families, each family having between five and 10 children. There are approximately 100 families under Dr. Nasrin’s care and again each has five to 10 children. Cash is needed each and every month to keep these people fed. Mahboba has an office in Afghanistan, almost an impossibility under present conditions , and is also finalising four adjoining buildings which have been donated, to house 50 Orphans and Widows from Peshawar. There are three two story and one three story building in the complex. All need refurbishment, but are in a very good suburb of Kabul, and will give outstanding opportunities to the people who are housed there. A new orphanage is being set up in Peshawar for 100 children as a holding location until facilities can become available in Afghanistan. A numbing amount of work for a small but devoted team.
As a result of two major coverages on the Channel 2, 7.30 report, Mahboba is receiving wide recognition for her work. Many non-Afghani Australians are volunteering their services and their money to help this cause. Fund raising goes on, and outstanding and generous support has come from all Australians. Right now there is planning for a 700 person fund raising night, and other functions and speeches to organisations and groups are continuously being delivered.
There is support from all segments of the Australian Community. The United Nations in Australia and Pakistan are now conducting an on the spot accreditation, and the B’NAI B’RITH NSW COUNCIL INC , is about to recognise Mahboba’s work with an award and a donation in March 2002. Mahboba has given 100% of all charity collected to her Orphans and Widows. However with the growth of her work, and the administration this entails, some expenses are being taken. However, a very high proportion of collections go immediately to the needy, and there are no Australian salaries or wages. All work in Australia is voluntary, and much of the work in Afghanistan and Pakistan is voluntary.
Mahboba has come a long way, and has had an effect on many thousands of lives. She has set fine examples, she is a humanitarian, and an outstanding human being. She has done work which has brought together all sections of the Australian Community, and if ever this was needed it is now.
Mahboba has sacrificed everything, including personal relationships for this selfless work. She has done it as a single mother with two children and a home to support and by the strength of her determination.
Her work has only just begun.
Sydney
16/2/02