Nabila (not her real name) fled Afghanistan almost a year ago.
As a public figure and women's advocate in her home country, she was targeted by the Taliban.
One day she received a note from the group, intended to precede her murder.
"When I received that message, I was shaking. I had to hide from my kids and relatives. I went to the kitchen and was breathing so deeply," she told the ABC on the condition of anonymity.
The mother of two was torn as she had recently declared in front of an audience that she would never be threatened into leaving her country, but her family told her to run.
She made it out just in time.
"There was just half an hour's difference between me leaving and the Taliban occupying and looting my home," Nabila said.
She grabbed nothing but her young children and nephew, destroyed her sim cards, and headed for safety, before spending days in sewerage, as similarly desperate Afghans overwhelmed the airport.
Nabila hid her face as she attempted to cross into the airport for days, and moved among the thousands of Afghan people trying to leave, before New Zealand and Australian forces managed to lift her and her family from the waste.
Rights activist to refugee
Now settled in Canberra, Nabila's mind is elsewhere, as she has ongoing concerns for her family back in Afghanistan.
"Physically I am here, but mentally I have big challenges and I'm back home," Nabila told the ABC.
She has shared her story to remind the world of the devastating plight of women and girls living under the Taliban's occupation.
"On a daily basis, the Taliban are murdering, they are searching and shooting. But the international organisations are silently looking on."
She said women and girls cannot currently leave their homes unaccompanied by a male and many are terrified and impoverished.
"It is so, so tough for women."
Challenges finding affordable housing for refugees in Canberra
Many displaced Afghans have made it to Australia, but the Australian Red Cross has said finding them shelter has never been more difficult.
"Our clients are being impacted by the affordable housing crisis quite severely," volunteer engagement officer Danielle Sweetman said.
"Being able to provide [the refugees] with something secure in the long term is quite hard to obtain, and additionally, the cost-of-living issue in Australia is definitely a problem."
She said when families, including Nabila's, have arrived, "What we look out for is really the immediate mental state … and then housing is a top priority."
The Red Cross's Humanitarian Settlement Program has also helped Afghan refugees with food, school enrolments, language programs and assisting new arrivals to understand local laws, transport and currency.
"What's important is that refugees get a sense of their local community," Ms Sweetman said.
Nabila said she has been spared the brunt of Australia's rental affordability crisis after a generous Canberra family allowed her to cheaply lease their house.
But before that, she had been living in a caravan park with her children.
"I can't imagine a country with such nice people. I now have everything I need here," she beamed
"In the Canberra community, every day, people ask, 'How are you doing? What do you need?'"
She said after a long year, she was finally beginning to feel like herself again.
"I never give up. I am standing up."
