Name: Ali Sharifi

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, excellent English skills, volunteer English and Math teacher, Educated, Mechanic Skills.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Ali was born and grew up as a stateless person in Iran where he and other Afghan refugees were always held away from their basic human rights. However, his life changed when he was deported to Afghanistan and his life got in danger there because of his love and belief for Christianity. He had no other way but to seek a safe place, so he fled to Indonesia in 2014.

While living in limbo, he has been keeping himself busy improving his English skills, volunteering as a math teacher and working as an intern in a car repair shop. Since he has mechanic skills, he would find no difficulty in settling in a safe country. As a UNHCR refugee, he qualifies for Private Sponsorship in Canada. His hope now is to find a group of five Canadian friends who can help him start his life again.

Background

Due to Soviet-Afghan War in 1979, Ali Sharifi’s family fled to Iran to save their life. Ali Sharifi was born in the same year 1979 in Mashhad, Iran where he grew up as a stateless person. However, he managed to enroll at the University of Mashhad but in 2013, he was dropped out due to not having legal status in the country. He also worked as a mechanic’s assistant at a large automotive shop in Iran.

His Love for Bible

His life changed in the winter of 2013 when he was arrested by the local police and deported to Afghanistan.

“Before deportation, the Iranian police took my belongings including my phone and wallet. Since I had never been to Afghanistan before, I was very afraid there.”

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres due to their culture, religion, and love for education. Ali had an Afghan friend named Nasir in Iran who had moved back to Afghanistan a few years ago, but they both were in touch, and luckily, Ali had his friend’s (Nasir’s) phone number written on a piece of paper. After he borrowed a phone from a boy and contacted Nasir, he went to Nasir’s home in Ghazni, where he was living with his wife and his parents.

“Nasir gave me some clothes and a second-hand phone. He was a Christian and when I was in Iran and Nasir was in Afghanistan, we often discussed Christianity over the phone. For several years, he encouraged me to read the Bible, to think and learn about it. Even though it was not easy because my family is Muslim, I became more interested in Christianity. By reading Bible, my desire to learn about Christianity increased.”

Threatened

Ali joined Nasir for a few Bible studies at some hidden places. His friend, Nasir also stocked Christian literature books in his bookstore. One day, Ali sold two Bibles to customers who he did not know, and it was a big mistake. Three weeks later, they both received a threatening letter from a group that had a link with the Taliban. In the letter, Ali and Nasir were considered apostates and infidels by the extremist group (Taliban). Their sentences were severe punishment or death.

On that same day, Nasir showed the letter to the nearest police office, and the officer told him not to worry but to be more careful. The Presidential Election in 2014 was near and the situation in Ghazni was worrisome. One day, Ali heard gunshots, and then he found his friend, Nasir lying on the floor of the bookstore.

“He was bleeding, and I remember the blood and broken glasses. After I took him to the clinic and informed his father, I left Ghazni immediately.”

His Journey to Indonesia

That same day, Nasir’s father called Ali and told him that Nasir had died, and now, Ali’s life was in danger too. He had to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible to save his life. Ali hid in Kabul for a few days until his family arranged for a people smuggler. The people smuggler then gave him a passport and sent him to India.

“It was very expensive. I don’t know how my family arranged that amount.”

From there, Ali came to Malaysia by plane and then on to Indonesia by boat in April 2014.

Living in Limbo

After arriving in Jakarta, Ali registered himself with the UNHCR. Due to not having the right to work or way to support himself, he slept on the street near the UNHCR office for more than a year. Fortunately, some kind locals let him sleep in the large mosque in Central Jakarta.

One morning, Ali woke up on the floor of the mosque and found his phone, shoes, backpack and eyeglasses were gone.

“I missed my glasses the most because I had glasses since the age of 14. At first, I didn’t realize I needed ones, but after getting glasses, I began to make more progress at school by being able to see the blackboard.”

His Passion

Despite facing many difficulties like, waiting for the uncertain time for resettlement to the third country, and struggling with food and housing issues, Ali started attending learning classes at two learning centres, HELP and ROSHAN that are for refugees. Since he had the experience of teaching at an unofficial school for Afghans in Iran, he started volunteering as a Math teacher in Jakarta too. Fortunately, Ali found an internship opportunity with a car repair workshop in Jakarta, and since then, he has been working there. He says:

“I like working with my hands, solving problems and helping people. I know that I will be a positive and productive member of society when I am resettled.”

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 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!

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