Stateless, a six part drama series, is inspired by true events of four characters; a woman escaping a cult, a refugee fleeing with his family, a father trapped in a dead-end job, and a bureaucrat on the verge of a national scandal all of their lives become intertwined in an immigration detention centre.
Burhan Zangana, although plays a minor role, but it can be argued that his character symbolises the story of every asylum seeker.
From creators such as Tony Ayres, Cate Blanchett and Elise McCredie, and staring Yvonne Strahovski, Jai Courtney, and Asher Keddie, among other Australian talents. However, it was initially criticised for having "white" actors as leading characters in the series.
When asked about this fact, Mr Zangana referred to the answer of this question given by Elise McCredie, "like she explained in Berlin International Film Festival, those characters were used as the Trojan Horse, to make the audience relate to the story, then reveals the stories and the condition of asylum seekers and refugees in the Australian detention centres."
Left: Cate Blanchett, right: Burhan Zangana Source: Supplied
Burhan Zangana like majority of Kurdish people that call Australia home, first arrived as a refugee himself. "I first realised I was stateless when I attempted seeking asylum in Greece...
I was caught without a passport, so the Greek authorities wanted to hand me over to the Iraqi embassy there, but they said I didn't have a passport and they couldn't consider me a citizen. I was a stateless Kurd.
Mr Zangana says he has received many positive feedback regarding the series as well as his role as Mr Raheem. "Not just through family friends and neighbours, but also reading the many positive reviews about Stateless, has made me feel really proud to have been a part of this experience," says Burhan.
He tells SBS Kurdish that through this experience he was able to meet many people and make new friendships. He particularly highlights how he was able to assist the Kurdish character in the drama series, Roşna, played by Helana Sawires, with how to pronounce some Kurdish words as well as Kurdish history and culture.
Stateless premiered on the ABC on 1st of March, it is also set to be available on Netflix
