Name: Asif Akbari

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills, experienced farmer, chef and constructor.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Knowing that the Taliban were after his life, Asif had to leave Afghanistan immediately to save his life. He fled to Indonesia by boat in 2014.

Since then, he has been living without his basic human rights. While living in the state of limbo, he has learned cooking skills by working at a local restaurant without being paid. He hopes now to find a group of five Canadian friends who can help him start a new life in Canada.

His Story

Asif Akbari was born on July 1, 1992, in Malistan district in Ghazni province in Afghanistan. He was only twelve years old when his father passed away. To support his mother and two siblings, he left school and started working as a farmer in his village. 

In October 2012, Asif joined the local police whose commander was Abdul Hakim Shujaei. Their duty was to defend the Hazara area from Pashtuns and the Taliban. In late 2013, Asif received a threatening letter from the Taliban demanding him to be their spy. As a loyal soldier, he ignored the letter. After a month in early 2014, he received another threatening letter saying that he would be killed if he ignored their order.

“Like before, I did not take it seriously and continued my duty loyally.”

Attacked

A few weeks later, some armed members of the Taliban attacked Asif’s home. Fortunately, Asif was on duty that night. He was informed by his commander that the Taliban had attacked his home and after failing to find him there, they tortured his family.

“If I was at my home, I would be killed. Since the Taliban had my information, my commander also told me to leave the country immediately or I would be killed.”

His Journey

In April 2014, Asif fled to Quetta, Pakistan. Due to not having legal documents to stay and work there, it was not possible for him to continue living in the country. He then decided to move to Indonesia. After he arranged for a people smuggler, he flew from Pakistan to Thailand in August 2014. From there he went to Malaysia by land and then on to Medan, Indonesia by boat in September 2014.

His Life in Limbo

After arriving in Jakarta, he registered himself with the UNHCR on October 1, 2014, and started living in Bogor. About two years later, he moved to Jakarta and since then, he has been living there.

Asif has been learning English and Bahasa Indonesia from Atma Jaya University in Jakarta. Despite not being permitted to work, get proper education, drive and even open a bank account, he has learned cooking skills by working voluntarily at his Indonesian friend’s restaurant.

“I am so glad that I have not wasted my time while living in the state of limbo.”

The Only Way!

Asif cannot live with freedom in Indonesia nor he can return to Afghanistan. He says:

“My dream is to live with freedom and far from discrimination and fear of being killed. I want to work, help my family and other vulnerable people one day”

The only way for him to fulfill his dreams and continue helping the world is to resettle in a safe country like Canada.

It is possible! 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 Asif Akbari directly on Facebook – or by email: Asifakbari49@gmail.com – or through WhatsApp: +62 857-8000-3752.

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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