Name: Abdul Hamid Karimi

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills, experienced farmer and construction worker.

Risk: At risk of being tortured and killed by the Taliban if returned home.

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Abdul Hamid was a farmer who came on the target list of the Taliban after he prevented them from entering his home. When the Taliban could not find him at his home, they took his father and killed him by torturing him.

Abdul Hamid knew that he would be killed by the Taliban if he stayed in Afghanistan, so he fled to Indonesia by boat in 2014.

Since then, he has been deprived of his basic human rights. His only hope is to find a group of Canadian friends who can bring him to Canada where he can work, support his family and reunite with them one day.

Childhood

Abdul Hamid was born on October 23, 1987 in a small village in the Helmand province in Afghanistan. The village where he lived was completely controlled by the Taliban and Pashtun, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan.

Abdul Hamid was the eldest son of his father, and his father was old enough to work on the farm. Instead of going to school, Abdul Hamid had to work as a farmer to support his family.

The Incident That Changed his Life

The situation in the Helmand province was very dangerous. As it was being controlled by the Taliban, the Afghan government had fights with the Taliban to take control of Helmand province. The Taliban used to enter civilians’ houses forcefully whenever the Afghan National Army attacked them.

One day in 2013, Abdul Hamid had some guests at home from another village, and suddenly, the Taliban were attacked by the Afghan National Army. While escaping, some members of the Taliban were trying to enter Abdul Hamid’s home, but Abdul Hamid stood at the door and did not let them enter his home.

The night of that day, he was at home when someone knocked on the door. He looked out from the window and saw some armed members of the Taliban behind the door.

“I knew they had come to arrest and kill me, so I left my home from the back door and came to the city to save my life.”

Since he was the target of the Taliban and not safe in Afghanistan, Abdul Hamid migrated to Iran. After a few days of his arrival in Iran, he called home and his sister picked up the phone.

Her sister was crying continuously and Abdul Hamid came to know from her that the Taliban had come to his home to arrest him. When they could not find him, they took his father with them. After a few days, his father’s dead body was brought to his home by the people of his village.

“My father was killed while being tortured by the Taliban. It was a big shock for me and at the same time, I was not able to do anything either.”

The Way to Indonesia

Abdul Hamid worked in a construction site for 10 months. Due to not having legal documents to stay in Iran, he was arrested by the police and deported back to Herat province in Afghanistan. From there, he went to Kabul and arranged for a people smuggler to send him to a safe country.

In July 2014, he flew from Kabul to New Delhi, India. From there, he flew to Malaysia and then on to Indonesia by boat.

His Life in Limbo

After arriving in Jakarta, he registered himself at the UNHCR office on August 4, 2014.

With no right to work or way to support himself in the new country, Abdul Hamid went to Manado Immigration Centre to ask for assistance. In January 2015, he was transferred to a detention centre in Manado where he and other refugees were being treated like criminals.

After spending 42 months there, Abdul Hamid received his freedom and was transferred to a community house in Tanjung Pinang in February 2018.

It was very difficult for Abdul Hamid to go out and buy something because he could not speak English and Indonesian language. So, he spent his time learning both languages. Now, he can speak both languages very well.

His Family

Since the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, Abdul Hamid is very worried for his family who is left there. His family leaves the village to contact him because the internet in his village does not work properly. On the other hand, they are not safe there under the Taliban’s rule.

“Life is extremely tough for my family and I cannot do anything for them as I am stuck in Indonesia.”

The Only Way!

As a refugee, Abdul Hamid does not have the right to work, study, drive and travel to another city. He has no option to return to Afghanistan. The only way for him to live his life again is to be resettled in a safe country like Canada.

As a UNHCR refugee, Abdul Hamid is eligible for Canada’s private sponsorship program. He needs a group of five Canadian friends to support him.

To help support Abdul Hamid as a sponsor, please contact Stephen Watt on Facebook.

You can also reach out to Abdul Hamid directly on Facebook.

Reach out and discover how wonderful it is to privately sponsor a good person to start a new life – with your help – in Canada!

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