From There To Here
Mahshid Babzartabi · 37 min
At 52, Mahshid Babzartabi left behind a career, a home, and a country to risk her life on an overcrowded boat — and arrived in Australia to build a community of thousands from almost nothing.
If this story feels close to home
You don't have to be in crisis to call.
At 52, Mahshid Babzartabi left behind a career, a home, and a country to risk her life on an overcrowded boat. She had spent decades in Tehran as a translator, but censorship of her work and the closing of doors for women meant there was no space left for her to exist as herself. In less than a week, she arranged passage on a boat with 81 other people and set out across the ocean with a third of a glass of water per day. Eleven days later, the Australian Navy found them. Everyone survived.
Instead of retreating into the safety of isolation, Mahshid spent her 45 days in immigration detention translating for other detainees, working through the nights so others could sleep. That act of showing up led to everything that followed. A chance meeting with a pastor, a church hall, and a Facebook page with 15 people became a community of 2,200 asylum seekers gathering for food and connection. She started cooking classes to teach her culture and advocate for people still caught in limbo. She became Auntie to hundreds of people she had never met before.
Ten years later, Mahshid has permanent residency but still does not feel Australian. She has no biological family left in her life, yet she built a family of choice through work that mattered. She has just finished her book, Spot: Next Chapter, which covers the period from her decision to leave Iran through to landing in Darwin. She learned that fear is useless, that getting involved in community kills despair, and that the place between homes can become a home if you fill it with people you help. She chose freedom over security, and she would not change it.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses grief & loss, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au • GriefLine: 1300 845 745 · griefline.org.au
Every story here belongs to the person who lived it. They said yes to sharing it, and we sat with it carefully before it went up. Nothing here is exaggerated and nothing is used without permission. Read how we handle these stories ↗
Kintsugi Heroes · Registered Australian not-for-profit · kintsugiheroes.com.au ↗