PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE AFGHANISTAN INSTITUTE

When Australia implemented strict border enforcement policies a decade ago, thousands of asylum seekers found themselves stranded in Indonesia with no clear future. Rather than yielding to despair, a small group of Hazara refugees – including husband and wife Muzafar and Nagina Ali – took matters into their own hands. Starting with a modest $200 donation, a couple of notebooks, and endless determination, they established a makeshift two-room school in Cisarua. Over ten years, this grassroots initiative blossomed into a thriving educational movement serving over thirteen hundred students and employing dozens of refugee teachers, opening doors to university degrees across the globe.

Co-directed by Australian filmmaker Jolyon Hoff and refugee activist Muzafar Ali, this uplifting Australian feature documentary captures a powerful ten-year journey of hope and solidarity. Proving that love, community, and education can overcome global geopolitical barriers, We Are Not Powerless offers a deeply moving testament to human resilience.

The screening will be introduced by Muzafar Ali and Jolyon Hoff, the film’s co-directors and co-CEOs of Cisarua Learning, as well as Wahidullah Waissi, Founder & President of The Afghanistan Institute and former Ambassador of Afghanistan to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji.