Obaidullah Jamshidi is living his dream.
The 16-year-old Afghan refugee can barely believe his life in Australia after enduring 15 years in a Pakistani refugee camp with his mother, three sisters and two brothers.
He speaks quietly about his family’s long wait for a visa, when he lost his father to illness and thought he would never escape.
Obi, as his fellow fOrT Rangers futsal players call him, now freely chases a soccer ball while laughing with his new mates.
Obi competed in a Country Challenge athletics meet at Geelong’s Landy Field on the Australia Day weekend, winning gold in the steeplechase and bronze in the 1500 metres.
“I was very nervous when the visa selection was for Australia because it was such a different culture but once I got here I loved it,” Obi said.
He now attends North Geelong Secondary College and has landed his first job, as a weekend kitchen hand in a Ryrie St restaurant.
“I sometimes dreamed in the refugee camp of what life could be like. I wanted to become a mechanical engineer.
“It is much easier to achieve your plans and goals here.”
Wanting to give back to the region that has offered him so much, Obi and some friends plan to begin culture classes to help new arrivals cope with life in Australia.
“The Afghan community is becoming bigger with more refugees and they have different programs but not one that is about our culture,” Obi said.
“Teaching the holy Koran is important for our culture because the young boys need a deeper understanding because many are not doing well and do not understand the right thing to do. Our culture has broken down because of the years of war.”
