With their four-year-old daughter Awen, Afghan couple Mursal and Amam Nazar Nazari have begun a new life in Adelaide after fleeing their homeland last year when the Taliban took control.
It was a difficult decision to leave their friends and relatives for safety elsewhere, but the family is now starting to have good feelings about what life in Australia will be like.
With the help of neighbours living in their housing complex in Adelaide, the trio is, day by day, becoming more settled in their new community, and looking forward to developing their English and sending their daughter to kindergarten.
Ms Nazari said her family enjoyed a good living in Afghanistan, with both her and her husband working rewarding jobs.
When the Taliban seized power, however, their lives came under threat.
"Suddenly the situation completely changed, and it was very dangerous for us to live in our country," she said.
During all hours of the day, they tried to access Kabul Airport to leave Afghanistan, but with thousands of others also trying to escape, they did not make it out.
After a month, they received approval to enter Pakistan, where they boarded a flight to Dubai, before travelling to Australia.
"[Leaving Afghanistan] was very, very difficult for us," Ms Nazari said.
"We thought, we don't know how we can start our life from the beginning, we don't know the language.
The family has been living in Christie Walk – a 27-dwelling complex with a shared laundry and garden – in the CBD for about two months.
The connections they have been able to build in their new neighbourhood have made a big difference in helping them settle in.
So, when they heard about Neighbour Day — an annual day encouraging neighbours to get together — they thought it was the perfect chance to get to thank their new neighbours for welcoming them by cooking a dinner full of traditional Afghan food.
Yesterday's get-together was also a chance for them to exchange cultural experiences with their neighbours, through the sharing of food, and to show them that their country was so much more than a place of war and poverty.
"We are very new in this country, and we want to know lots of people, talk to people," Ms Nazari said.
Neighbour Sue Gilbey, whom Ms Nazari said had become a grandmother-like figure to Awen, said having the Nazari family join their community had been enriching.
"It's been a learning experience all round; I've been trying to learn Persian while they're learning English," she said.
Nick Tebbey, the executive officer of Relationships Australia, which runs Neighbour Day, said neighbourhoods could play a pivotal role in welcoming new arrivals to Australia.
"One of the great things about neighbourhoods is we can foster that sense of belonging when there are new people moving in," he said.
It is a sentiment echoed by Ms Nazari.
"We know about Australian culture and it's good for my neighbours to know us better," she said.
