Hazara Exodus- Barat Ali Batoor in conversation with Mike Bowers

In partnership with The Global Mail, we present a conversation with Barat Ali Batoor, the inaugural Nikon-Walkley Photo of the Year Award winner. Barat is also nominated for a Nikon-Walkley Award for Feature/Photographic essay for his incredible collection of images documenting his journey from Afghanistan to Australia as a refugee. Fleeing persecution in Kabul, Batoor travelled with 92 other passengers on a treacherous journey to Australia via Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia. Along the way, he shot images of his fellow passengers, capturing their fear and hope and anticipation of a new life. Sadly, many of the fellow travelers Batoor met never made it to safety. Barat spoke to one of Australia’s most experienced photojournalists, director of photography at The Global Mail, Mike Bowers. You can see Barat Ali Batoor’s winning image and his photo essay along with all the finalists work for the 2013 Walkley Awards at www.walkleys.com