After the Tampa

When the Taliban were at the height of their power in 2001, Abbas Nazari's parents were faced with a choice: stay and face persecution in their homeland, or seek security for their young children elsewhere.

The family's desperate search for safety took them on a harrowing journey from the mountains of Afghanistan to a small fishing boat in the Indian Ocean, crammed with more than 400 other asylum seekers.

When their boat began to sink, they were mercifully rescued by a cargo ship, the Tampa. However, one of the largest maritime rescues in modern history quickly turned into an international stand-off, as Australia closed its doors to these asylum seekers. The Tampa had waded into the middle of Australia's national election, sparking Australia's hardline policy of offshore detention.

While many of those rescued by the Tampa were among the first inmates sent to the island of Nauru, Abbas and his family were some of the lucky few to be resettled in New Zealand.

Twenty years after the Tampa affair, Abbas tells his remarkable story, from living under Taliban rule, to spending a terrifying month at sea, to building a new life at the bottom of the world.

The heart-rending story of a child rescued in the Tampa affair who grew up to become a Fulbright scholar, highlighting the plight and potential of refugees everywhere.