Name: Ali Mohammadi

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills, been an assistant chef.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Ali and his father were arrested and tortured by the Taliban due to their work (cooking for policemen at a police station). While trying to escape from there, his father was shot but he told Ali to run, so Ali made it to Indonesia by boat in late 2014.

Recently, he has been very worried for his family who is stuck in Afghanistan. Ali hopes now to find a group of Canadian friends who can help him start his life again.

Early Life

Ali Mohammadi was born in January 1997, in a village in Jaghatu district in Ghazni province in Afghanistan.

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of their culture, religion, and love for education. Ali’s village was dominated by the Taliban. He could not study since he was the eldest child, he had to work with his father to support his family. His father was a cook at a police station in the city of Ghazni and Ali used to assist his father.

Once his father received a phone call from the Taliban. His father was threatened to mix anesthesia in the food, but his father refused.

The Incident

On November 15, 2014, Ali and his father took regular bus transport to get back home. They were not so far from the city when the bus was stopped by four armed men who were on two motorcycles. The armed men told everyone to get out of the bus, and then they separated Ali and his father from the other passengers. They blindfolded, tied their hands, and took them to an unknown place where they both were put inside a dark room.

“While beating and torturing us, the Taliban kept asking us the reason for refusing their demand which was to mix anesthesia in food of all the policemen.”

Shot

After a few hours, the Taliban left the room. The door of the room was locked. Ali’s father told him that they both would be killed by the Taliban soon. The only way for them to survive was to escape from there. They planned together and untied each other’s hands. Then Ali started shouting and asking for help. When a member of the Taliban unlocked the door and came inside the room, Ali’s father hit him on the head with a stick and said to Ali that it was time to run as fast as they both could. While running away, Ali heard a gunshot and then he saw his father falling.

“My father was not able to move because he was shot and bleeding. He told me to run and hide somewhere but not to go home.”

His Way to Indonesia

With a heavy heart, Ali left his father behind and kept running until he reached a highway. From there, he was helped by a truck driver and was taken to Ghazni. In Ghazni, he went to his uncle’s home and shared everything with him. Ali’s uncle told him to leave Afghanistan and save his life.

After Ali’s uncle arranged for a people smuggler, he went to Kabul and flew from there to New Delhi, India on November 22, 2014. From there, he went to Malaysia by plane and then on to Indonesia by boat on December 2, 2014.

Life in Indonesia

After Ali arrived in Jakarta, he was arrested by the Immigration police and was detained in the immigration centre for about 2 months. On February 20, 2015, he was transferred to a detention centre in Tanjung Pinang. On February 16, 2015, he was registered with the UNHCR inside the detention centre.

“We were being treated like prisoners. I was not even able to see the sky for months.”

On January 29, 2018, Ali was freed from the detention centre and was transferred to a community house in Tanjung Pinang. He has been attending a number of learning classes like, electric, bakery training and computer skills.

There is a Way!

Since the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, Ali has been more worried for his family who is left there.

“My family is not safe there. Especially now that Women in Afghanistan cannot go outside alone and I am not there for my family.”

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

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

You can also reach out to Ali Mohammadi 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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