Names: Ali Rahimi and his son Hussain Rahimi.

Profile: Hazara refugees from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, Ali Rahimi is an experienced builder and Hussain Rahimi is an experienced welder, plumber and electrician.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Ali Rahimi, a Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, fled persecution in his homeland and sought safety in Iran. After years of living in uncertainty, Ali and his son Hussain immigrated to Indonesia, where they face numerous challenges as refugees. They are unable to access education, work, or basic necessities. Ali's wife passed away due to a lack of medical care in Iran. They are seeking sponsorship through Canada's private sponsorship program to start a new life and find freedom. They need a group of five Canadian friends to help bring them to Canada.

Background

Ali Rahimi was born in 1966 in Tamaki 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. In Ali Rahimi’s area, the Pashtuns used to attack the Hazaras and loot their property. In one of the attacks, a Pashtun attacker was killed, and Ali's father became one of the suspects due to his self-defense. His father was forced to abandon his possessions at night due to the Pashtuns who had threatened him and his family to death. He fled to Mashhad, Iran along with his family in 1968.

But again, Ali's father was informed by the people of his region that the Pashtuns were looking for him in Mashhad, so he was at risk of being captured and killed in Mashhad as well. He then moved with his family to Najaf, Iraq and lived there until 1974.

Life in Iran

During the rule of Hassan Bakr and Saddam Hussein, they came to Iran due to the mass expulsion of immigrants from Iraq, but they could not return to Afghanistan due to the threat to their lives from the Pashtuns. They were forced to settle in the city of Mashhad.

Since Ali’s family had come from Iraq, they were given the certificate of those expelled from Iraq which was the beginning of uncertainty for him and his family.

In 2004, he and his family members were given Iraqi Identification documents by the Iranian government. After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime, with the establishment of a new government in Iraq, the Iraqi embassy in Iran rejected the title of Iraqis for his family.

After that, the Iranian government issued them Afghan refugee cards in 2009. Later on in 2010, Ali’s children needed passports to continue their studies at university. For this reason, he went to the Afghan embassy in Mashhad, but the embassy asked him for a document that could prove his Afghan identity. Since he had been away from his homeland for years, he had no documents except cards issued by the Iranian government. When he asked the Afghan Embassy to provide him and his children with Afghan Identification Documents, they got rejected because they had been in Iraq before moving to Iran. Ali Rahimi says:

“It was so painful that the embassy of my own country was not accepting me to be Afghan.”

The Way to Indonesia

Ali Rahimi raised his children in the shadow of an uncertain future and without having the right to enroll at a university. Knowing that his family could never have a future in Iran nor they could return to Afghanistan, Ali Rahimi arranged for a people smuggler to send his eldest son Hussain Rahimi to Indonesia where he could ask the UNHCR for his resettlement to a third country.

On March 12, 2014, Hussain Rahimi flew from Tehran to Malaysia. From there, he went to Indonesia by boat on March 21, 2014. After arriving in Jakarta, Hussain Rahimi registered himself with the UNHCR on March 24, 2014. Following his son, Ali Rahimi also planned to immigrate to Indonesia. After his travel documents were arranged by the people smuggler, he flew from Tehran to Malaysia on October 1, 2014. From there, he went to Indonesia by boat on October 2, 2014. After arriving in Jakarta, Ali Rahimi registered himself with the UNHCR on October 13, 2014.

Detention Centre

Due to not having the right to work or a way to support themselves in Indonesia, they both went to Balikpapan Immigration Centre to ask for assistance. On November 7, 2014, they were transferred to a detention centre that was overcrowded and badly ventilated. After about 3 and a half years of being detained, Ali Rahimi received his freedom and was transferred to a community house in Batam on May 24, 2018. A few days later, on June 5, 2018, his son Hussain Rahimi was also transferred to that community house in Batam. Since then, they both have been living there.

Their Life Now

As refugees, Ali Rahimi and Hussain Rahimi cannot get proper education, work, drive or even open a bank account. Living for nearly a decade in a state of limbo, they are losing their hopes day by day. Ali Rahimi says:

“In 2014, my youngest son Mohammad in Iran won the first prize in the Physics Olympiad Competition of Khurasan Razavi province. But he was prevented from continuing his passion due to not having legal status in the country.”

His Family’s Situation in Iran

While Ali Rahimi was in a state of limbo, his wife worked hard in Iran and took responsibility for her family members there. She was the sole source of encouragement for Ali Rahimi and his children. Unfortunately, in 2021, due to not having access to medical care in Iran, Ali Rahimi’s wife died of the Corona Virus. Ali Rahimi says:

“I am in a lot of grief because I could not help my wife in her illness. This will always remind me of my helplessness.”

There is a Way!

Ali Rahimi’s health is also not good. Since he cannot have access to proper medical care, his life is also in danger. On the other hand, his children need him to support them. There is a way for Ali Rahimi and his son Hussain Rahimi to start their life again in a safe country like Canada where they can work, support their family and live with freedom.

Since Ali Rahimi and his son Hussain Rahimi are officially certified as refugees by the UNHCR – unlike the vast majority of the world’s refugees – they qualify for Canada’s private sponsorship program.

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

You can reach out to Ali Rahimi directly on Facebook.

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

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