Name: Ali Aqa Ahmadi

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills, experienced farmer, familiar with construct work.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

The Taliban was looking for Ali Aqa to kill him because he was in love with a Pashtun girl. The only way for him to stay alive was to leave Afghanistan, so he fled to Indonesia by boat in 2014.

Despite living more than 3 years inside a detention centre where he was treated like a prisoner, he spent his time learning English and painting. He is looking for a group of five Canadian friends who can help him start his life again in Canada.

Childhood

Ali Aqa was born in January 1997, in a village in Malistan district in Ghazni province in Afghanistan.

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres due to their culture, religion, and love for education. Ali Aqa had a dream to become a doctor or engineer in the future but he could not continue his education because the Taliban had burned down many schools and they had threatened everyone not to go to school.

Ali Aqa used to help his father in farming. The Pashtun nomads used to deliberately send their livestock to Ali Aqa’s wheat field and they threatened Ali Aqa and his father not to stop their livestock.

In Trouble for Loving

Ali Aqa was only 13 years old when his father passed away and he took the responsibility for his family. He used to go to Ajristan (a Pashtun populated district) for buying groceries. Sometimes, he stayed at the house of his father’s friend Qayum Khan, in Ajristan. In 2013, he saw a Pashtun girl who was a neighbor of Qayum Khan and he fell in love with her. Her name was Farzana and they both started meeting each other secretly. After a while, Ali Aqa decided to send a marriage proposal to her home but she refused and said that her family would never accept their relationship due to their tribal and religious differences. Farzana suggested Ali Aqa to escape together and get married but Ali Aqa did not agree because he was the only supporter of his family, and he did not want to put his family in danger too.

“In 2014, when I came to Qayum Khan’s home, I heard that Farzana had engaged a Pashtun man.”

The next day on September 23, 2014, Ali Aqa was staying at Qayum Khan’s home when Farzana came and invited him to her home because her family members had gone to a wedding in another village and she was alone.

While Ali Aqa and Farzana were together in the room, the door was suddenly opened and it was her brother’s wife who started shouting and saying that a Hazara guy had entered their house.

“Farzana told me to run away or else, I would be killed. I was very scared and I escaped to my aunt’s home in Malistan.”

After Ali Aqa’s mother found out from Qayum Khan what had happened, she called Ali Aqa and told him to stay hidden at his aunt’s home. Later on, at night, she called again and said that the Taliban entered Ali Aqa’s house to arrest and kill him. She then asked Ali Aqa’s cousin for making an arrangement to get him out of Afghanistan as soon as possible.

“The Taliban had taken my picture from my home and they could have found me at any time.”

From Afghanistan to Indonesia

That night, Ali Aqa’s cousin took him to Kabul and arranged for a people smuggler. On October 2, 2014, Ali Aqa flew from Kabul to New Delhi, India where he stayed at a house with 3 other refugees for 15 days. On October 17, he flew to Malaysia and stayed there for 3 days. On October 22, he arrived in Sumatra, Indonesia by boat. After staying 3 days at a house provided by the people smuggler, Ali Aqa and other refugees were taken to Jakarta by land.

Detention Centre

After arriving in Jakarta on October 26, he registered himself with the UNHCR on October 27, 2014 and stayed in Bogor. Since he was not allowed to work and support himself, he went to Makassar Immigration Centre to ask for assistance on November 11, 2014.

“The immigration officers used to beat and make fun of us. We slept behind the immigration office on the footpath for nearly 3 months.”

On January 31, 2015, Ali Aqa was transferred to a detention centre that was overcrowded and refugees had to sleep in tents. In the first few months, Ali Aqa was anxious and depressed because of being behind high walls and barbed wires.

“The bad behavior of security guards was very disturbing and frustrating.”

To overcome his stress, he joined English language and painting classes that were conducted by other refugees. On December 16, 2016, he was interviewed by the UNHCR and was recognized as a refugee on February 21, 2018.

Freedom

After spending more than 3 years inside the detention centre, Ali Aqa was freed and was transferred to a community house in Makassar city on August 27, 2018.

“I was so happy that finally, I had a bit of freedom after years but it was for a few days. I found out that we had a curfew and were subjected to unnecessary rules.”

Ali Aqa cannot go out of the community house after 10 pm. On the other hand, he is not allowed to work, study, drive and travel to another city.

It is Possible!

There is a way. Since Ali Aqa is officially certified as a refugee by the UNHCR – unlike the vast majority of the world’s refugees – he qualifies for Canada’s private sponsorship program.

If you would like to sponsor Ali Aqa – or if you’re just interested in helping to bring him here – please contact his friend Stephen Watt on Facebook.

You can also reach out to Ali Aqa directly on Facebook or by email: aliaghaahmadi44@gmail.com - or WhatsApp: +62-857-5653-6249

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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