‘It changes your whole mood’: the hiking project that helps new arrivals feel at home
One student joked at the beginning of our hike through the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. At Jamison Lookout, the…
One student joked at the beginning of our hike through the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. At Jamison Lookout, the valley view that stretches beyond Mount Solitary slaps you in your face. Rayleigh scattering, an optical phenomenon that gives the mountain range it’s name, is lighting up the eucalypts.
This first lookout seems to be the highlight of our hike, but this is just the beginning. I’m admiring the scenery along with about 30 young Australians, mostly students from the Afghan community.
The First Hike Project has provided us with the Overcliff – Undercliff track, a well-maintained 3.5km route that is not too difficult. There are optional side tracks. This cliff-hugging hike is named after its precarious-looking sandstone overhangs. Most of the group is visiting the Blue Mountains for the first time. Some are making their first trip to Australia; others, their very first.
Parwin Taqawi is the president of the Students of Afghanistan Association. As a young girl, she hiked the mountains of Afghanistan’s Ghazni Province. She fled Afghanistan with her family when she was 12. She has accomplished a lot since arriving in Australia. She has two jobs, is studying for her Bachelor of Business, and volunteers at two refugee-support organizations. She also co-founded a fashion label that promotes social enterprise, as well as a community group called Walk Towards Peace.
She is a good listener and empathic to newcomers who tend to gravitate toward her, especially when they are “extra nervous” on their first hike. She says, “It is fascinating to see how people change once they are in nature.” Even those who feel lonely will find new friends and engage in conversations that last for hours. There is something magical about hiking. Strangers can become best friends.
The First Hike Project was started in 2015 by avid hiker Neil McCulloch, who invited a group of local youths from refugee and migrant backgrounds to go on a social hiking trip with a friend. The Scottish-South African, who moved to Australia in 2004, says that the idea was to connect young people with their new country by allowing them to experience nature. “The door to acceptance was wide open for me when I came here. “It’s not the same for everyone.”
McCulloch’s hiking intuition was a success. After one hike, social workers noted a marked improvement in the participants’ well-being. McCulloch describes the non-profit initiative as having “grown very quickly and taken on a new life.” First Hike Project now operates day hikes, overnight camping trips, and other volunteer-run adventures in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Canberra.
Joel Patel is the leader of the First Hike Project and gathered us all together before we started our hike for a safety talk and a recognition of the country. Darug elder Uncle Chris Tobin, who is unable to attend, sends his warmest greetings and “best wishes” for a wonderful walk in the country.
All three are members of Sydney United Girls, an Afghan women’s soccer team. All three are members of Sydney United Girls, a women’s Afghan soccer team. They smile when I tell them I’m from Manchester. I then share stories of how I used to clean my dad’s cab for 90p in order to get into Saturday games, long before Old Trafford became known as “the theatres of dreams.”
The Overcliff-Undercliff, though one of the shorter hikes in the Blue Mountains National Park, is full of epic views, tunnel overhangs that engulf you, beautiful rock cascades, and bubbling, iridescent creeks. Everywhere you turn, a series of screams and gasps fill the air.
Twenty-three-year-old Sadeqi, who is coming to the end of a double degree in business and law while working full-time as an analyst, explains the walk today is in collaboration with Safa, which was established last year at Western Sydney University as distressing events unfolded in Afghanistan. She says, “We just needed to regroup… for hope and support.” “And knowing you can lean on others.”
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Each young person’s story is different. Conversations range from work to study, women’s rights, sports, and fleeing Afghanistan.
Amnesty International states that while all Afghans face precarious living conditions under the ultra-conservative Taliban regime, the situation of Hazaras, which is the ethnic group most students belong to, is particularly desperate. Taqawi says that Afghan students were in a desperate situation.
We debate from another viewpoint on top of Wentworth Falls whether we should take the steep and long hike down to the valley’s bottom. The voice says: “I can almost smell the barbecue.” Decision taken.
The aroma of grilled chicken and lamb kebabs fills the air. On the grass, a long line of blankets is laid out. Ludo games and keepie-uppie begin.
Faeza Karimi, a former participant who is now a volunteer guide, reflects on her very first hike. The 21-year-old law student says, “I felt like I belonged by walking in the bush. I heard the stories of other people who came here.” I replaced negative energy with the positive calmness you can get in nature. It can change your mood.
Karimi explains that when someone produces a portable audio device, the group starts to dance. It’s a celebration for any happy occasion. Everyone who is not dancing captures the joy with their phone. She says it’s vital to preserve this culture. To be around people who have experienced the same things and to enjoy the simple things of life.
Karimi explains that as part of the diaspora, “we could not call any place our home.” When I hike in the woods and learn the stories about the land, I get to know this place. “I’m making this place my home.”