Name: Ali Reza Sekandari

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills, volunteer English teacher, experienced tailor and retailer, FULLY FUNDED.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

After refusing to give extortion money to the Taliban, Ali Reza received a threatening letter and his father got captured by the Taliban. To save his life, he fled to Indonesia by boat in 2014.

While living in the state of limbo, he volunteered as an English teacher and now, he has been improving his tailoring skills. His hope now is to find a group of Canadian friends who can help him come to Canada where he can get proper education, help society and live a peaceful life.

His Story

Ali Reza Sekandari was born on January 1, 1998 in Jalriz District in Maidan Wardag 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. Reza’s village has been controlled by the Taliban where the Hazaras have been vulnerable to constant torture, death threats, and Miadan Wardag has been infamous for the dominance of the Taliban.

Although Ali Reza was deprived of education due to the Taliban’s brutality and forced laws in the village, he had hardly managed to go to school until 10th grade. Meanwhile, he used to help his father in their retail store as well.

The Incident

Before Ali Reza was born, his father had owned a retail store and relied on it for the survival of the whole family. Like other Hazaras, Ali Reza and his father had to pay extortion money to the Taliban in order to avoid torture and run their store. On September 9, 2014, Ali Reza was in charge of the store alone when some members of the Taliban came and asked for the extortion money. When he refused to pay, an argument took place between the Taliban and Ali Reza. Consequently, Ali Reza received a warning letter from the Taliban which stated that he had a few days to explain the reason he refused to pay the extortion money to the Taliban. Upon receiving the warning letter, Ali Reza took it to his father. His father knew the torture of the Taliban was unavoidable and Ali Reza’s life was at serious risk. At the same night, his father talked to a truck driver and sent Ali Reza to Kabul secretly. After 3 days, his father himself decided to come to Kabul to send Ali Reza out of Afghanistan, but he was identified and captured by the Taliban on his way. As a result, his mother came to Kabul with some money and explained the situation of his father.

“Hearing that my father had been captured by the Taliban, I did not know what to do. My mother insisted that I had to leave the country as soon as possible.”

The Way to Indonesia

Ali Reza managed to find a people smuggler, and on October 14, 2014, he flew from Kabul to New Delhi, India. From there, he flew to Malaysia on November 3, 2014. He arrived in Indonesia on November 8, 2014 and registered himself with the UNHCR in Jakarta on November 13, 2014.

Life in Indonesia

With no right to work or way to support himself, he went to Balikpapan Immigration Centre to ask for assistance. In January 2015, he was transferred to a detention centre there. While living inside the detention centre, he volunteered as an English teacher.  There were no other educational activities nor facilities in the detention centre.

In December 2018, he received his freedom and was transferred to a community house in Jakarta. Since then, he has been living there. He participated in a local tailoring activity as a volunteer to build up his communication skills with locals and get some experience on tailoring.

His Hopes and Dreams

Ali Reza dreams to pursue higher education and inspire more people. He is looking forward to settling down in Canada where he can live a peaceful life and help his community in building a friendly and prosperous society. He says:

“I hope for a life in which I can have access to my basic human rights, pursue formal education and get reunited with my family.”

Since he 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 him – or if you’re just interested in helping to bring him here – please contact his friend Stephen Watt on Facebook.

You can reach out to Ali Reza directly on Facebook – or by email: ali.reza12395@gmail.com – or through WhatsApp: +62 821 1302 6421.

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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