Following an influx of kindness from refugee networks across Australia, the family now have enough money to buy airfares to attend Sarwar Rezai’s funeral and give him a proper burial which is important under Shiite Islam.

Australian Migration Options agent Libby Hogarth said they had raised $7000 after sending out a plea for donations and that would be enough to cover the airfares for Mr Rezai’s wife, four children and grandchild who currently live in Quetta, Pakistan.

“We’ve been speaking to the family every day – they are amazed and very grateful,” she said.

“Any support we receive from now on will go toward his funeral.”

She said after tireless work from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, the family’s temporary visas had been approved.

Now all that stands in the way of the funeral being held next week – which is the current aim – is pending exit permits to be approved by the Pakistan government.

She said that could be tricky because of the political situation involving Hazara refugees in the region.

A Hazara refugee who has family in the same area as Mr Rezai has spoken out about the terrible situation the family faces now Mr Rezai, its only source of income, is no longer alive. Mohammad Jan said the family could not go anywhere to work because terrorists would stop buses, divide the Hazaras up into a line and then shoot them.

He said because Mr Rezai had lived as a refugee his entire life in many countries, fleeing persecution, he would not go to visit his family until he was an Australian citizen.

“The most important thing to him was that he did not want his family to suffer the way he suffered,” he said.

“He used to talk to me a lot about his dream

for his family to come here and to finally belong.

“He talked of Australia as their last hope.”

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