Just finished reading After the Tampa by Abbas Nazari. Well worth a read, given the nature of the topics traversed it isn't always an easy read, but thought provoking.
A much better review than I can write here, including:
Four doors down from the Nazaris in Ballantyne Ave were the Mo’ungas, and Abbas and his brothers quickly became mates with Richie, now an All Black.
Mo’unga remembers them all playing touch rugby, barefooted, down the cul-de-sac, with language barriers never standing in the way of the fun they had.
“The thing that amazes me about Abbas and his family was, when they got to Christchurch, it took Abbas probably two years before he spoke better English than me, and was five-times smarter than me, and you could see the way he applied himself – Abbas was always at the library, reading.
“Him and his family, they were all on a mission when they landed.”
All Black Richie Mo’unga grew up a few doors away from Abbas Nazari in Christchurch, and the pair would join the street’s other kids playing rugby, barefoot on the road. “I’m sure he’d still back himself to put me on my back, now.”
Mo’unga says Abbas was a decent rugby player, though they didn’t face each other after primary school.
“Thankfully. Coz he could put me on my backside. He’s a big boy. You see what he’s been through, I think, he’s scared of nothing.”
Abbas played 1st XV rugby, trialled for Canterbury representative teams, and became a devoted Crusaders fan.
From Taliban to Tampa to Aotearoa: One boy's remarkable journey
