<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/12/iranian-women-refugee-asylum-visa-australia-nauru>
"When I heard this week that Australia had granted humanitarian visas to the
Iranian women’s football team, I felt two very different emotions at once. I
felt proud and happy for them because I know how difficult life can be for
women in Iran. They deserve safety and protection.
But at the same time, the news broke my heart. Because while some Iranian women
are offered protection, others like me are still waiting – despite the war that
is now raging in our country.
I arrived in Australia in 2013 with my husband and our one-year-old son. We
fled Iran because it was not safe for us. Under the Iranian regime, human
rights are ignored and women live under constant harassment and fear. Like many
others, we came to Australia believing it was a country that respected freedom,
safety and fairness.
But the Australian government sent my family to Nauru under the offshore
processing policy. That decision changed the course of our lives. We were later
medically evacuated back to Australia along with hundreds of others who were
suffering in Nauru, but still we were told we could not stay here permanently
even though we were refugees.
I have built my life in Australia working in aged care and have raised my
family here, but for 13 years our lives have been defined by waiting. Waiting
for answers. Waiting for stability. Waiting to know whether we will ever be
allowed to truly belong in the country we now call home.
Many people who arrived in Australia around the same time as us have since
received permanent visas and become Australian citizens. Their lives have moved
forward, while around 750 people remain stuck in uncertainty, many of them
Iranian families like mine. Under Australia’s migration laws, we are labelled
“transitory” and prevented from applying for any permanent visa. But there is
nothing transitory about the life I have built in Australia.
My youngest son was born here. On his 10th birthday, he became an Australian
citizen. He proudly calls himself an “Aussie”. My oldest son was only a baby
when we fled from Iran. He is now a teenager.
Both my children go to school here. They play sport and have a close circle of
friends. Their dreams and futures are in Australia.
I work as an aged care worker, caring for elderly Australians who need
compassion and support. My husband works as a landscaper, helping create and
maintain the spaces where people live and raise their families. We both work
hard because we want to contribute to the community that has given us safety.
But we are trapped in permanent limbo. We live with constant uncertainty about
the future, not knowing whether we will one day be ripped from our home. We
must apply for a short-term bridging visa every few months. Processing delays
and administrative barriers mean there are periods where we cannot work or
access healthcare.
Every year in this limbo, I lose another part of myself."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
