Fighting for a future and his freedom, led 23-year-old former refugee Ali Mashal to boxing.
He dreams of representing NZ one day in the feather or lightweight class. The past two years have been a long and hard hiatus for him after a serious injury to his hand in a fight in 2020. These days, he's slowly training his way back to full fitness.
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Ali Mashal at Wellington Boxing Photo: RNZ
Ali is from the long-persecuted Hazara community of Afghanistan. At a time where even going to school became dangerous, Ali was brought up home-schooled by his father, a teacher in the central province of Maidan Wardak. It’s a region listed a high risk, with the Taliban active in most of its districts.
He left his town as a 15 year-old and travelled to India, onto Malaysia and eventually to Indonesia where he spent nearly five years in limbo a refugee camp. That’s where he started boxing with a friend who knew a thing or two about Muay Thai and boxing - they became his route to a release.
Listen to Ali's full story on this week's Voices:
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