They are among the lucky 1,000 who secured “Women at Risk” refugee visas last year but came with no English, no husbands and no qualifications.
Women from Afghanistan receive about half the visa quota and are flown to Australia from refugee camps in Pakistan.
“All I have been feeling since I got to Australia is joy and happiness,” said Latifa Amini who arrived in March.
“Through this move and the help that I got is here, I feel safe, my children feel safe, we live in a home we know is not going to be attacked by anyone, we know there is nobody that is going to come and take away things from us, we are safe here, that’s the main difference, I feel at ease,” she said.
Since 1989, Australia has issued about 14,000 “At Risk” visas to women from 37 countries. Initially only a few hundred a year were offered.
Many have suffered torture and abuse; lost their husbands, fled war zones and have limited means to provide from themselves.
“These are some of the most vulnerable women and children in the world and we've (Australia) really made a strong international commitment to take women through this program. It's something we can be immensely proud of,” said Kerrin Benson, head of Multicultural Development Australia the organisation that is supporting the Hazara women.
Latifa Amini arrived in March with her two sons and a sister and was brought straight to Toowoomba to start her new life.
“We're delighted to have them here, we welcomed them when they first arrived, in fact we'll have a celebration soon of their 12 month stay in Toowoomba,” said Toowoomba mayor Paul Antonoi.
“There was a deliberate move by council to become a Refugee Welcome Zone.
"We’ve had a lot of people coming here for a long time, and even if you look back in our early history, while that immigration was European, there was tremendous cooperation between cultures, the Irish, the Germans, who wouldn’t have known each other.”
Since the first Hazara arrive about a year ago they have been learning English and how to use their cooking and sewing skills to earn an income.
This weekend they put their results of their hard work to the test, with a food and craft stalls at the Toowoomba Cultures and Languages Festival, attended by about 15,000 people.
“My ultimate goal would be that I would not be a burden to the Australian community and government and people, my aim would be to be independent and work and earn enough money to live,” said Latifa Amini.
Toowoomba did make them feel welcome and the Hazara food stall sold out of everything.
“I want it to be like today, full of joy and happiness and we can present our culture through our handiwork or crafts, food or cooking, music. Today was a happy day,” Latifa Amini said.
