Kurdish artist and refugee Farhad Bandesh plans to remain in Melbourne among his many friends who supported him while he was in immigration detention for eight years – first on Manus Island and later in Melbourne.
Now that he has been released and given a visa, Mr Bandesh wants to fulfil many of his artistic wishes, including hosting a concert and releasing his new album.
“My plan is to host a big exhibition in Melbourne, and hopefully next year I’m going to have a big concert,” he tells SBS Kurdish.
The 39-year-old’s many artistic talents include being a guitar maker, singer, musician, songwriter, painter and poet.
He also plans to release new songs, but he will wait for his fellow inmates with whom he sept time in detention, to be released as well.
“When my friends are all released from detention, I’m going to release a song called ‘Celebrate’.”
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Freedom 'a complete shock’
Mr Bandesh fled Iran in 2013 and arrived on Christmas Island. He was held on Manus Island for six years until his transfer to Australia under the now-repealed Medevac law in July 2019. He spent nine months detained at Melbourne's Mantra hotel, before being transferred to MITA earlier this year.
He says he was in a complete shock when he was told on his 39th birthday that he was being released.
“On the morning on my birthday 11th of December, my caseworker called me, and I didn’t answer, because I didn’t know whose number that was,” he recalls.
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Farhad Bandesh shares plans for near-future after gaining freedom
SBS Kurdish
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He says then the detention centre manager told him that his caseworker has been trying to get in touch with him, and asked him to answer his phone.
“He rang me again and said ‘you got your freedom’.”
Mr Bandesh says he had different plans for his birthday, which included releasing a new song ‘The smiling boy’.
“My friend Sean Kelly and other people were waiting for me to go on live chat to wish me a happy birthday.”
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Given that he had little time to pack up his belonging, Mr Bandesh had to call a friend and organise to be picked up that afternoon, and he was soon a free man.
"I have received my freedom on my birthday. This is a gift after eight birthdays in detention," he said after his release.
"I thank all the people who supported me and fought for my freedom, and I wish for the freedom of all my brothers and sisters who are still imprisoned.”
Among his friends still in detention is Kurdish asylum seeker Mostafa Azimitabar, and other in Melbourne's Mantra Hotel, who on 17 December.
