"I don't want to begin to imagine how difficult that decision is for each of the individual women, but certainly last night it was joy, it was relief. People were very excited about embarking on a life in Australia."
"The Iranian team arrived in Australia for the Women's Asian Cup last month, before the Iran war began on Feb. 28. The team was knocked out of the tournament over the weekend and faced the prospect of returning to a country under bombardment."
"Burke added that the players wanted to make clear that they were 'not political activists.' The women granted asylum were happy for their names and pictures to be published, he said."
Five members of Iran's women's soccer team received asylum in Australia after arriving for the Women's Asian Cup tournament before the Iran war commenced on February 28. The players were transported from their Gold Coast hotel to a safe location after submitting asylum requests, where Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke finalized their humanitarian visa processing. The women expressed relief and joy about beginning new lives in Australia. Burke emphasized the players were not political activists and were willing to have their names and pictures published. The remaining 21 squad members and coaching staff face uncertain futures regarding their return to Iran.
Read at www.npr.org
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