An Afghan exhibition in Melbourne, called Safar e Ma: Our Journey, has so far attracted more than 8000 viewers. Amongst the visitors in September were H E Mr Mahmoud Saikal, Ambassador of Afghanistan in Australia and Mr Mohammad Eshaq Director General of Radio & Television of Afghanistan who was on a visit to Australia.
The exhibition, organized by The Immigration Museum of Victoria celebrates the migration of Afghans to Australia over 140 years– from first “Ghan” cameleers, to contemporary young Afghan-Australians.
The exhibition retraces the journeys of successive waves of Afghan immigrants to Australia. The first Afghans arrived in Australia in mid-1800s. They are now known as legendary Afghan cameleers. More recently, Soviet occupation in the 1980s and the brutal Taliban regime and invasion of Afghanistan by international terrorist networks in the late-1990s have brought further waves of Afghans to Australia.
Safar e Ma: Our Journey exhibition was officially opened on the Independence Day of Afghanistan, 19 August 2003, and was attended by members of the Afghan community in Melbourne and Australian friends of Afghanistan. Since its opening the exhibition has proved to be a large success. The exhibition has enjoyed great media coverage on SBS radio (Dari & English programs), community radio and local newspapers and magazines.
The exhibition will be on display until 9 November 2003, at Immigration Museum, 400 Flinders Street, Melbourne. Tel: 03-9927 2700.
Storey submitted to the Afghan Embassy website on 22 Sept 2003
