When the Sydney Invictus Games ended in October, six athletes and officials from the Afghan team failed to board their flight home.
The Sydney Invictus Games involved about 500 wounded or sick servicepeople and disabled war veterans from 18 nations.
Eight athletes and three officials from Afghanistan fielded a team for the sitting volleyball and a range of individual sports.
Since staying behind, the group say they have received threats from Afghan government officials.
Aminullah Arsalan, 25, joined Afghanistan’s national army after his father’s death, aged 18, to support his family, but before his 20th birthday, he had lost his leg in a Taliban ambush.
“We are disabled it is very hard for us to live in Afghanistan. We are under the Taliban’s target as well”, he said.
Sohail Naseri, another member of the group was working on a joint patrol with British forces in Helmand province when he lost both of his legs to a landmine.
He says countries involved in the coalition forces in Afghanistan, including Australia, have a responsibility to him and other wounded veterans.
“We have sacrificed our lives for the safety of these countries, even for the safety of Australians. That is why I brought myself to Australia and sought asylum”, Mr. Naseri told SBS.
Naseri also wants to re-unite with his four children: “I want my children to get an education and earn a life through the pen, not the gun, as I have”.
The group have been granted bridging visas, meaning they can stay in Australia legally while their asylum claims are being processed.
They are receiving help from members of Sydney's Afghan community, but say their housing isn't disability-friendly.
They're also hoping to have prosthetic limbs fitted so they can start a new life in Australia.
