Ghulamreza Haidari has not seen his wife Jamila or son Ali since he left Afghanistan in 2012, facing persecution as a Hazara man. Ali was 7 when he left, he is now 20. Ali didn't know the alphabet then and now is trained as a teacher.

His father says the pain of missing so much of his son's life is unimaginable. Source: Supplied "When people ask me about my family I say 'yeah everything is okay' but it's so hard for me," he told SBS News. "You see in the park, the people walking with their relatives and their kids and their wife and with their girlfriend and it's so beautiful.

But I haven't had this right for 12 years. "I'm not living, just alive." Haidari's plan was for his family to follow him, but he claims this hasn't been possible because of his visa status — he's been on a series of bridging visas since he arrived in 2013.

do not automatically enjoy the same rights as many other visa holders or Australian citizens when it comes to studying, working or travelling overseas. Source: Supplied Haidara says he is constantly worried about his wife and son because they have such hard lives back in Afghanistan and their freedoms are limited. After , Ali was fired and Jamila has been practically housebound due to the .

"Hazara people are more discriminated [against] in Afghanistan. He didn't know the Pashto language and he lost his job," Haidara said. In 2017 Ghulamreza applied for a Temporary Protection Visa to work in Australia as a chef, with the hope of eventually getting p.