Milad Zaree, supported by COFA for 5 years, leaves for New Zealand

written by Alex Reilly

Circle of Friends wishes Milad all the best as he begins a new journey to settling into New Zealand. Circle of Friends supported Milad for most of his 5 years in Australia.  On 7 November  2025, Milad Zaree flew from Australia to New Zealand to begin a new life after 7 years in Manus Island Detention, and 5 years as a stateless asylum seeker in Australia.

Milad fled Iran when he was 25. He is now 37 years old. He has no family connections in Australia, and has navigated his journey alone. I met Milad in 2021. At that time, he was homeless and living in his car or in the Adelaide Hills, above Waterfall Gully.

Since that first meeting I have walked alongside Milad as he has navigated life as a stateless person with an insecure status in Australia, with no government support, and limited language skills. Milad was in and out of paid work as a Disability Support worker, an Aged Care worker, a barista, an Uber eats driver and as a soccer coach. He attempted to start a house painting business, and a business cooking and delivering meals he cooked at home. He wrote a book about his experiences, and about his unique philosophy of life. He encountered discrimination in the work place, and battled depression without any medical or psychological assistance.

Circle of Friends’ support for Milad over the years has been invaluable. The Emergency Circle was an extraordinary source of support for Milad, responding at short notice to requests for rental assistance, car registration, and dental treatment. The Manresa circle contributed to the cost of a TAFE course, and provided money for the development of a website for a painting business that Milad tried to launch.

Milad was reluctant to accept the assistance of COFA, particularly in the early years, as he did not want to feel indebted. It took some time for me to be able to convince him that there were no strings attached to the assistance, and in fact, Circle of Friends’s mission was to support people in his situation.

I am deeply grateful to Circle of Friends and to Monica O’Wheel and Trish Dundon, in particular, for their unwavering support for Milad.

Milad left Adelaide with high hopes for the future and great excitement at the prospect of belonging to a country, and finally being able to see his mother  after 13 years.

In the next post we will include the heartfelt letter Milad wrote to the Minister for Immigration seeking the exercise of the Minister’s power to intervene in his case. This was written before he was offered the chance to relocate to New Zealand. It is a detailed and heartbreaking account of what asylum seekers arriving by boat to Australian waters are subjected to.