In August 2001, Afghani-born Mr Rafyee was rescued from a distressed 20m-long wooden fishing vessel along with 432 others.
It was stranded in international waters about 140km north of Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.
Before the rescue, he was a 6-year-old who had not been expecting to die aboard the fishing vessel because there were many adults about, including family members.
But he had become increasingly concerned.
``I was hopeful but the only thing I could see was water.
``I could see no land, which was kind of scary,'' he said.
The vessel's passengers had made ``SOS'' and ``HELP'' signs, on the vessel's deck, and they were later rescued by the Norwegian container ship Tampa.
After Australia refused a request by the captain of the Tampa to land the refugees at Christmas Island, the ship was boarded by Australian special forces troops.
The New Zealand Government later accepted 150 of the refugees, including Mr Rafyee.
Mr Rafyee, now living in Dunedin, is a final year Otago BSc microbiology student, who plans to study a paper in forensic biology- one of the most popular papers at the university's latest summer school.
This paper appealed because of its involvement with crime scene investigation and the potential for him to extend his studies towards police work, he said.
This was the third paper he had taken at the school.
By taking papers at the summer school, students can gain credit for courses with six weeks of study, instead of about 13 weeks usually required to complete equivalent papers during the main university study year.
