Names: Ali Nazari, his wife Aqila and their sons Mujtaba (14), Murtaza (12).

Profile: Ali is a Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia, and his wife Aqila and their children Mujtaba and Murtaza are living in Afghanistan.

Advantages: UN-certified, Ali is an experienced construction worker and painter. He has good English skills and basic computer skills.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Ali Nazari was a member of the Afghan Army. Unfortunately, he was arrested by the Taliban. He was to be killed by them if he had not escaped from there. Finding an opportunity, he fled to Indonesia in 2014.

Ali has been living in a state of limbo since then. He is very concerned about his wife Aqila, and his two children Mujtaba and Murtaza who are stuck in Afghanistan. Ali’s dream is to reunite with them in a safe country where they can live together with freedom. He now needs a group of Canadian friends who can sponsor him and his family to Canada.

Serving his Country

Ali Nazari was born on June 20, 1985, in the Jaghori district in Ghazni province in Afghanistan. His passion was to serve his country, and in February 2010, he voluntarily joined his training for the Afghan National Army. After three months, his training was completed and he joined the army forces. Based on his merit, he was appointed to the Personnel Management Department. After about 9 months, he shifted himself to the department of logistics management.

Injured

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of their culture, religion, and love for education. In August 2013, Ali took a leave for the first time and visited his home. While returning from his village to Kabul in a taxi, he saw a Taliban checkpoint where they had been searching each passing car. The taxi driver knew that Ali was an army man, and if the Taliban came to know about Ali, the taxi driver would also be in danger. Finding a chance, the taxi driver increased his car’s speed, and members of the Taliban fired an RPG (Rocket-Propelled Grenade) on their car to stop them. Their car was not hit, but there was another car close to them that was hit and exploded. Due to that explosion, Ali got injured, and luckily, when they reached the highway, they encountered the National Army Forces who took Ali to the hospital.

“After my recovery, I was not able to return to my village due to the threat of the Taliban.”

The Incident

Ali started going to his duty again. Later on, he was warned by higher-ranked corrupt officers to converge with them, but he did not listen to them, because he did not want to deceive his country.

In September 2014, his wife told him on the phone call that she was extremely sick. During that time, Ali’s duty was in Herat. His wife needed to visit a hospital in Ghazni or Kabul, and there was not anyone who could risk their lives and bring her there. It was too risky for Ali to go to his village and bring his wife to Ghazni, so he told her to come to Ghazni in any way. His plan was to meet her in Ghazni and take her to a hospital.

Ali was on his way to Ghazni when the bus stopped at noon.

“I assumed the bus stopped for praying time, but then I saw armed members of the Taliban hopped in the bus. I was very terrified.”

When a member of the Taliban reached Ali, he was pretending to sleep. The member of the Taliban awoke him and asked his name. He said the wrong name, and that member of the Taliban slapped him. They had been reported by those corrupt officers about Ali’s travel to Ghazni, and they already had his picture and details. Ali and one other Hazara man were blindfolded and taken to an unknown place where they both were kept inside a cave. When Ali chatted with the other Hazara prisoner, he came to know that he was a commando. After a while, members of the Taliban went somewhere and left only two members to watch their prisoners. At evening praying time, one of them went to offer his prayers and another one was left there. The Hazara man told Ali that they both would be killed anyway, so they had to try to escape and save their lives. The Hazara commando told the member of the Taliban that he would need to go to the toilet, and after a few minutes, he returned with a gun and untied Ali’s hands. After tying up the member of the Taliban, Ali and the Hazara commando ran until they reached a garden where they rested until the next morning. Then they reached a highway and Ali went to Kabul by bus.

His Way to Indonesia

In Kabul, he hid in a hotel for a week and met some Hazara men who were migrating to Indonesia. Ali knew that he would not survive if he stayed in the country because the Taliban had recognized him.

After he arranged for a people smuggler, he flew to New Delhi, India on September 30, 2014. From there he went to Malaysia by plane and then on to Pekanbaru, Indonesia by boat on October 10, 2014.

Detained

On December 02, 2014, he registered himself with the UNHCR in Pekanbaru. Due to not having the right to work or way to support himself in the new country, he went to Pekanbaru Immigration Centre to ask for assistance. On November 11, 2015, he was transferred to a detention centre in Manado where he was detained for more than a year. The detention centre was overcrowded and badly ventilated. Ali and other refugees faced many challenges there like, lack of food, water and proper medical care 

   “Being detained without committing any crime was very hurtful.”

Instead of being released from the detention centre, Ali was told by the immigration authorities that he would soon be transferred to another detention centre in Makassar. In February 2017, he got himself out of the detention centre and moved to Kalideres, Jakarta.

His Life Now

Life for Ali has been very difficult since 2014. As a refugee, he cannot get proper education, work and even open a bank account. On the other hand, he has been very worried for his family who is left in Afghanistan. His wife and two children have been living without a guardian. According to the Taliban rules, a woman cannot go outside of her home without her man, and Ali cannot help his family.

You Can Help!

There is a way for him to reunite with his family in a safe country.

Since he is officially certified as a refugee by the UNHCR – unlike the vast majority of the world’s refugees – he and his family qualify for Canada’s private sponsorship program.

If you would like to sponsor this beautiful family – or if you’re just interested in helping to bring them here – please contact Ali’s friend Stephen Watt on Facebook.

You can reach out to Ali Nazari directly on Facebook.

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

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