Mehdi Ali

NAME: Mehdi Ali

HOMELAND: Iran

DENTION: Nauru / Australia

AGE: 24

TIME IN DETENTION: Nine years

REASON FOR SEEKING REFUGE: Escape torture & persecution

DESTINATION: Resettled in USA on 5 March 2022 

Story

Mehdi Ali is a refugee, who was held in Australian detention for nine years. He committed no crime and like many others is a political pawn for attempting to seek safety in Australia by boat. After seven years of incarceration on the tiny 21sq km island nation of Nauru, he was moved to detention in Australia. He was held in Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation, Kangaroo Point hotel QLD detention, and The Park Hotel Victoria detention, in Australia. It was at the Park Hotel where Mehdi would be forever linked to tennis player, Novak Djokovic, who was held in the same hotel detention facility on arrival in Australia.

Prior to the global media frenzy that occurred when journalists realised they could get access to Djokovic through Mehdi, there was very little attention paid to the group of unaccompanied minors who had grown in the harsh Australian detention regime for nine years. There is one journalist, Ben Doherty who was and still is, consistently telling the human stories, even when the stories are not ‘the flavour of the month’. It was Ben Doherty’s story ‘Everyone asks about Novak’ but Mehdi has languished for nine years in Australian immigration detention”, coincidentally published on 7 January 2022 (Mehdi’s birthday), and the same day Djokovic was held in hotel detention, that kick started the media frenzy. This article was a follow up story from another story Ben Doherty had written for The Guardian Australia called ‘Time can break your heart’: the harsh toll of eight years in Australian immigration detention”. The exhibition of Mehdi’s art at Sonder Studio Gallery is also mentioned in this article. Founding Director of Sonder, Gabby Sutherland, was Mehdi’s teacher on Nauru.

Prior to the two Guardian articles, Al Jazerra, was also consistently telling the human stories. “Two refugees to sue Australia over continued detention” By By Zoe Osborne was published on 19 Aug 2021.

Mehdi was released from Australian Immigration Detention, on Nauru and in Australia, after nine years, and resettled in the USA on 5 March 2022.

Mehdi’s says his “art means nothing. At the time of painting the canvas, the action means everything. I try to meditate into feeling freedom, but like a dream, the glimpse of freedom disappears from my mind. All remains is a coloured flat thing to give away.”