Boat tragedy victim finally honoured after remaining unknown for 20 years

More than 20 years after one of the worst civilian maritime disasters in Australian history, Nazar Saleem and Maysoon Dawood visited a special place to honour the memory of their son.

"We feel comfortable when we come to see this land, this place, this memorial," Maysoon said, remembering her son Bashar, who would have been 46 years old this year.

"We feel like we see him. He is in our hearts."

Bashar Nazar Saleem was one of the 353 people who died after the Indonesian fishing boat known as SIEV X sank while en route to Christmas Island on October 19, 2001.

His body was never recovered. He was 23 years old.

Decades later, Nazar and Maysoon have come to the shores of Lake Burley Griffin to view the memorial dedicated to the victims of the tragedy.

Maysoon Dawood, left, and her husband Nazarlaid a photo of their 23-year-old son Bashar one of the 'unknown' poles, which now reads his name. Picture by Karleen Minney

The Iraqi-born couple spoke of their eldest son as a kind, clever and honourable computer science graduate who wanted to find a better life in Australia.

"He couldn't find a job in our country and he wanted to come here to look for himself, to be something," Nazar said.

After leaving Baghdad, Bashar travelled to Indonesia with his friends and boarded a fishing boat after being told it would be a faster way to come to Australia.

"He loved someone. A girl in his class, and because he couldn't find a job, he couldn't find a way to marry her. That's one of the stories of his life."

Eleven years after their son went missing, Nazar and Maysoon left Baghdad and moved to Melbourne to find out more about what happened to Bashar.

Nazar met with one of the survivors of the boat accident in 2019, who told him there was a "special place" built to commemorate those who lost their lives.

The family flew to Canberra and visited the national SIEV X memorial in Weston Park.

They laid a picture of Bashar on one of the "unknown" poles, which represent over half of the victims who were never identified.

The couple travelled to Canberra last Friday to attend an event honouring the public memorial at the National Museum. Picture by Karleen Minney.

After caretakers at the site discovered the photo and tracked down Nazar and Maysoon on social media, Bashar's memory was formally remembered

Nazir reflected on the red birds painted above the plaque that now reads their son's name during a visit last Friday afternoon.

"I think it means peace, because the bird can fly, and no one can catch it, only god can," he said.

"This memory place, it is a message for all governments to do well with their people, so they can stay home.

"If governments do well with their people, they will be happy in their country."