Name: Asma Ahmadi

Profile: Hazara refugee girl from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English and Bahasa Indonesia skills, a volunteer teacher at a refugee learning centre.

Risk: At risk of being tortured and killed by the Taliban if returned home, she is the daughter of former high-rank military.

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Asma Ahmadi is the daughter of the former high-rank military. As a Hazara girl, she witnessed multiple bomb attacks in Kabul, and her school was also attacked by the Taliban. Knowing that it was not possible for her to pursue her dreams in the country, she fled to Indonesia by boat.

While being deprived of her basic human rights, she has been volunteering at a refugee learning centre. She hopes to find a group of five Canadian friends who can bring her to Canada where she can start her life again.

Childhood

Asma Ahmadi was born in 1996 in a village in the Maidan Wardak province in Afghanistan. When the Taliban overtook Afghanistan, Asma’s family moved to Quetta, Pakistan for their safety. In Pakistan, her family asked the UNHCR to resettle them in a safe country, but it did not happen. When Afghanistan became a republic, Asma and her family returned to Kabul, Afghanistan with the hope that they would live peacefully.

Life in Threat

To support the family of 9 people, Asma’s father joined Afghan National Army. It was risky for him but he had to cover the expenses of their living.

Since the Taliban were against the government, they attacked Asma’s father’s workplace multiple times, and fortunately, he survived. Her father received threats from the Taliban to stop working for the government or else, his whole family would be in trouble.

“This state of panic and fear were always present in all of us.”

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of their culture, religion, and love for education. Unfortunately, Asma never witnessed peace and security in Afghanistan.

“The terrible sounds of the explosion were regular for us. It was what we always watched in the news on our TV.”

Asma lived in Dasht-e-Barchi, Kabul where many explosions took place at religious, educational and health centres. The school where she was studying had been threatened repeatedly by the Taliban, and then there was a huge explosion which killed about ninety students.

“I was so scared of the situation. I had dreams and goals to achieve but Afghanistan is not safe for education lovers, so I had to decide for my future.”

The Journey

Asma decided to flee to a safe country and continue her education. After arranging for a people smuggler, she flew from Kabul to New Delhi, India in November 2015. From there, she went to Malaysia by plane and then on to Indonesia by boat.

“I was alone in this dangerous journey and I did not know anything about the world of immigration.”

Life in Indonesia

After arriving in Jakarta, she registered herself with the UNHCR in late 2015 and stayed in Bogor. While living in Indonesia, Asma has been volunteering as a teacher at a refugee learning centre located in Cisarua, Bogor. She left her country to seek a safe place where she could get proper education and pursue her dreams, but as a refugee, she cannot work, study, drive and travel to another city. Due to these restrictions, she has been going through years of tension and problems. As she says:

“Being far away from my family and friends, I realized that life has never been easy. But human desires, hopes and dreams are ways that motivate us to try again and not to be disappointed. There is a lot to say, the words of an immigrant and a displaced person never end but in tears.”

Her Dreams

Asma wishes for peace in the world so that no child would be separated from his/her parents. Her dreams are to be a professional photographer and a human rights activist for Children and Women.

Since Asma Ahmadi is officially certified as a refugee by the UNHCR – unlike the vast majority of the world’s refugees – she qualifies for Canada’s private sponsorship program.

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

You can also reach out to Asma Ahmadi 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!