As a child back home in Afghanistan, Hussain Sadiqi idolised martial arts icon Bruce Lee. Today, with two shaolin kung fu Afghani national championship wins under his belt, the 27-year-old has trod faithfully in his hero’s footsteps inside the ring—but that’s nothing compared with the metaphorical fight he’s faced away from it.
An Hazara and minority Shi’ite Muslim, Sadiqi fled Afghanistan and the Taliban’s violent regime in 1999, eventually travelling by boat to Australia with 147 other asylum seekers. After landing on our shores, they were dispatched to the Port Hedland detention centre, where Sadiqi was incarcerated for six months.
During our interview, in a bustling inner city café that seems a world away from that oppressive place, Sadiqi’s dark eyes shimmer as he recalls the experience.
"We were punished in Afghanistan because of our religion, and escaped to Australia to find freedom," he says. "But when I came to Port Hedland and saw that camp with the fence around it and the chains and lock on the door, I thought, ‘This is not the freedom I was looking for.'"
It’s a painful and all-too-familiar story, but Sadiqi is not willing to play at being a victim. The quietly spoken migrant eventually won his freedom and, during the ensuing years, set about building a new life. Today, he is fresh from a year of study at the National Institute of Circus Arts, where he’s been honing his martial arts skills while broadening his performance horizons, culminating in an acclaimed performance alongside fellow students in NICA’s end-of-2006 show, the Federico Fellini-inspired DiVino.
"I learned a lot about performing," says Sadiqi, whose role in DiVino comprised the enigmatically titled 'Flying Fork' feat (which fuses martial arts with acrobatics and juggling), as well as an a cappella vocal solo. "I’d love to be in a movie eventually, especially an action movie, and DiVino gave me good insight into how people perform, and how they use their ability to express themselves."
For most people, an aspiration toward action movie stardom would sound like a pipe dream, but given Sadiqi’s martial arts expertise (he also came within kicking distance of competing in both the 1997 kung fu world championships and the 2000 Sydney Olympics), for him it has the ring of a genuine career goal.
In truth, and sturdy physique notwithstanding, Sadiqi, with his mop of black hair, rugged features and grin-full of white teeth, looks as