After competing in Sydney at the 1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics, Mehari was one of four Ethiopians to seek political asylum in Australia, saying they faced ethnic discrimination back home and the threat of death or imprisonment. He ended up moving to Canberra and joined the Australian Institute of Sport, under the coaching of Dick Telford. In order to improve his limited English he enrolled in a language course at Dickson College. Any money he made in competition he sent back to his family, who remained in Ethiopia.