Prospect Rd: The rise of Adelaide’s rich Afghan cultural hub
THE northern end of Prospect Rd was once a drab and derelict pocket of suburbia. Now, it boasts a rich cultural mix of Afghan, Persian and Middle East cultures. Refugee Mohsen Nazari explores the changing face of Kilburn since he arrived from war-torn Afghanistan.
FROM a high-crime neighbourhood to cultural hub, I’ve watched the north of Prospect Rd in Kilburn go through a spectacular transition over the past 13 years.
I arrived in Australia as a refugee from war-torn Afghanistan back in 2003 and settled in Kilburn two years later.
I was nine years old and couldn’t speak any English, except “hello”.
It was hard for my family to communicate or find what we needed.
Asking for a grocery item, we would pull out a Farsi/English dictionary and find what we wanted.
Kilburn was close to school and we would catch the bus everywhere.
But it wasn’t safe to walk at night. You would regularly hear sirens and not know what was going on outside.
We were afraid, not only of the crime, but of the language and cultural barriers beyond our front door.
Back then, the only supermarket that stocked foreign produce was the Vatan Supermarket on the corner of Hopetoun Ave.
As a kid I used to go to Vatan to buy Persian bubblegum, a familiar sweet from home I couldn’t find anywhere else in Adelaide.
At the time Mr Yunus Noori owned the shop.
He had set up in Kilburn after discovering a very small Afghan community of refugees in the area due to the cheap rents and proximity to the city and refugee services.
Mr Noori sold his shop, became the president of the Afghan United Association of SA and later worked as a Community Liaison Officer for Lutheran Community Care at Kilburn.
He worked with newly arrived refugees, often finding them accommodation nearby.
“The community population slowly started to increase as refugees chose to live close to support facilities like Lutheran Community Care,” says Mr Noori, who now runs Migration Advice & Refugee Services Australia.
Today, Prospect Rd is bursting with restaurants and shops on every corner and boasts a rich and fascinating culture.
My people, the Hazara of Afghanistan, are a large ethnic group in Kilburn. They have opened more than a dozen businesses along the strip in the past 14 years.
Community leader Hussain Razaiat, who arrived in 2002, is amazed by the changes he has seen.
“During the time I settled in Adelaide, Kilburn was commonly known as a dangerous suburb. You would not be able to go out alone at night to shop,” Mr Razaiat says.
“The local community has been welcoming and worked along with new businesses during this transition.
“It has brought safety, better quality of life, growth in population and shifted focus of local and state government funding and support to the area.”
The small businesses that have popped up aren’t just from the Afghan community — Persians, Iraqis and other Middle Eastern groups have opened a myriad of shops, from retail and clothing to traditional products such as carpets.
“The businesses that have opened have brought new life and energy to the area, with the new IGA opening that caters for the local community,” Enfield councillor Michael Iammarrone says.
“It has benefited all Australians in the area, fertilised the northern side of Prospect.”
Najafi Carpet Gallery owner Ramazan Najafi said when he came to Adelaide from Melbourne, he found the area affordable and convenient.
“I saw the potential of Kilburn and love the community here,” he says.
“I have seen the change happen around me and it makes me proud to be part of it.”
Today, it’s easy for locals like me to dine and shop for products I never would have found a decade ago — and all close to home.
Qabuli Palaw, a lamb rice dish that was common on our dinner table in Afghanistan, was impossible to find in Kilburn in 2005.
Now it is a popular dish at Rumi Palace and a number of other restaurants along the strip.
And the one that started it all, the Vatan Supermarket, is still going strong.
MO’S FAVOURITE PLACES:
Rumi Palace
2/303 Prospect Rd, Blair Athol
“Rumi Palace is a family-run restaurant with experienced chefs, spanning two generations in hospitality from both Afghanistan and Iran. This is where I would go to eat for a nice dinner.”
The Ghan Kebab House
366 Prospect Rd, Kilburn
“Traditional Afghan dishes and charcoal kebabs in the heart of Kilburn, Ghan Kebab is my go-to weekend place to eat.”
Najafi Carpet Gallery
5/392 Prospect Rd, Kilburn
“In the heart of a hub of Middle Eastern shops. Best-quality Persian carpets in Adelaide since 2006. I have every spot in my house covered with Persian carpets.”
Blair Athol IGA & KSM
371 Prospect Rd
Blair Athol
“Your go-to convenient supermarket for all products Afghan or Australian. Very helpful and time-efficient and lots of parking.”
Tasty Bread Bakery
424 Prospect Rd, Kilburn
“Every morning, the ritual is to get a hot Turkish bread from here and enjoy a nice, tasty breakfast with Danish cheese and tea.”