Name: Ali Jan Zare

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills, experienced constructor, driver and carpenter.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

After being captured and tortured by the Taliban, Ali Jan luckily escaped from their hands and made it to Indonesia.

While living in the state of limbo, he has been improving his English skills. He is an experienced constructor, driver and carpenter, but as a refugee, he is not permitted to work or get a proper education. His hope now is to find a group of five Canadian friends who can help him start his new life in Canada.

Childhood

Ali Jan was born in 1993 in the Jaghori district of Ghazni province in Afghanistan. Due to not having financial support, he could only study until 6^th grade in school. His father was a carpenter and he was suffering from serious back pain, so Ali Jan started helping his father in carpentering and farming too.

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of their culture, religion, and love for education. In 2011, his father decided to go to Iran to work and support the family. Unfortunately, his father died on the way to Iran due to a car accident.

“After my father, I had to work harder to support my family.”

Captured and Tortured

Later in 2014, Ali Jan started working as a driver for the campaign group of presidential candidate Dr, Abdullah Abdullah. The head office was in Ghujor. He was given a membership card too so that they could identify him easily. After half a month, his car broke down. The mechanics in the village was not able to fix his car due to the lack of facilities, so he had to take his car to Ghazni city.

On August 02, 2014, Ali Jan was on the way to Ghazni to repair his car. When he reached the place named Qarabagh, some members of the Taliban stopped him and started interrogating him. While searching him and his car, the members of the Taliban found his membership card from his jacket.

“I did not know that my card was in my jacket. They tied my hands, blindfolded me and took me to an unknown place where they tortured me and kept calling me “infidel”.”

The members of the Taliban kept beating, torturing and interrogating him. There was a family living inside the house where Ali Jan was kept. Ali Jan whenever found the chance to talk to that family, he kept asking them for help to make him escape from there. He had also shared his story with them, and they had told him to wait. It was the evening praying time when a member of that family opened the door, untied Ali Jan hands and told him to run. He kept running until he reached a garden where he took a rest until the next morning. Then he kept walking for about 2 hours and reached a police check post. He was helped by the police to reach Ghazni.

His Journey

After arriving in Ghazni, he contacted his family and told them what had happened. His family members told him not to return to the village because the Taliban had his information and they could easily capture and kill him. Ali Jan’s uncle asked his friend to help Ali Jan escape from the country. His uncle’s friend took Ali Jan to Kabul and kept him in a hotel. After his uncle arranged for a people smuggler, he flew to New Delhi, India on August 09, 2014. From there, he went to Malaysia by plane and then on to Pekanbaru, Indonesia by boat on August 28, 2014.

Life as a Refugee

Due to not having the right to work or way to support himself, he went to Tanjung Pinang Immigration Centre to ask for assistance. On September 09, 2014, he was registered with the UNHCR there, and on May 25, 2015, he was transferred to a detention centre where he kept learning English and Indonesian languages. Also, he did self-study, played football and exercised regularly.

On January 28, 2018, he was freed and transferred to a refugee community house in Tanjung pinang. Since then, he has been learning languages to improve his speaking skills so that he can communicate easily with people around the world.

His Hopes

Like other refugees in Indonesia, Ali Jan is not permitted to work, get proper education, drive and travel to another city. He says:

“I am hoping for a life in a peaceful country where I can live with freedom.”

The Way

There is a way for Ali Jan to live his life in a peaceful country like Canada where he can work, support his family and contribute to society.

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

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

You can also reach out to Ali Jan directly on Facebook – or through WhatsApp: +62 831-8463-1214.

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

Thank you for your support. And help spread the word by sharing this post!