Name: Esmatullah Naderi

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, excellent English skills, volunteer interpreter and English teacher.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Being an English teacher, Esmatullah’s life was in threat. He was arrested by the Taliban, and luckily, he escaped from there and made it to Indonesia in 2014.

Unfortunately, as a refugee, he is not allowed to get proper education, work, drive and travel to another city. While living in the state of limbo, he has been helping his refugee fellows as a volunteer teacher and interpreter. His hope now is to find a group of Canadian friends who can bring him to Canada where he can start his life again.

The Reason He Left His Country

Esmatullah Naderi was born in January 1992 in Jaghori district in Ghazni province in Afghanistan. In 2009, he started working as an English teacher at a school in his village.

“Even though the government officials including teachers’ lives were threatened to be targeted by the Taliban, it couldn’t stop me from serving my people and country.”

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of their culture, religion, and love for education. On September 25, 2014, Esmatullah went to the marketplace of Angori for buying books, notebooks, pens and other stationeries. While coming back, he was intercepted by three gunmen (the Taliban) on the way. After they found Esmatullah’s ID Card with some English books, they separated him from the taxi driver who was Pashtun man, and started beating and torturing him. They kept asking him the reason for teaching English to students. According to the Taliban, English is a non-Muslim language and the English teachers are infidels. Esmatullah was then taken to an unknown place where the Taliban tortured him and kept saying:

"You are an infidel and an infidel must be killed, but before we kill you, you have to tell us the truth about which western organization has been supporting you."

Escaped

At the time when Azan started, one member of the Taliban took Esmatullah to the toilet for ablution. The toilet was a few meters away from the house he was kept in. While the member of the Taliban was waiting outside for him, he found a way to escape and got out of the toilet through a hole that was on the opposite side. After making outside, he kept running until he reached a highway, and then, he hid in a shallow till the early morning.

“It was a very rough and dark night full of danger and fear for me.”

The next morning, Esmatullah was helped by a car driver and he was brought to Ghazni. There, he contacted his mother and told her about the incident that had happened to him. His mother terrified of what had happened to him urged him to leave the country.

“Unfortunately, there was no chance for me to live in my country anymore.”

The Way to Indonesia

After arranging for a people smuggler, Esmatullah flew to New Delhi, India on October 5, 2014. From there, he was brought to Malaysia by plane and then on to Indonesia by boat. Before registering himself with the UNHCR, he was arrested by the police in Bandar Lampung and was detained for 45 days.

“In those days, I had no access to a telephone, so I couldn’t contact my family at all. My mother was dead worried for me all those days.”

Life in Indonesia

Esmatullah was then transferred to Kalideres Detention Centre in Jakarta where he started volunteering as an interpreter for refugees. He also read many books and started learning the Indonesian language.

After 2 years, he was released to a community house in Jakarta. Since then, he has been teaching refugees voluntarily, and he has a private English class too. He says:

“Teaching refugees and volunteering as an interpreter makes me happy and I feel more valuable that I can do something in society.”

His Hope

Esmatullah also completed 15 online courses from an online platform Coursera and has received their certificates. He reads books and exercises daily.

There is a way for Esmatullah to live his life with freedom in a country like Canada where he can learn more skills and help others.

As a UNHCR refugee, he is eligible for Canada’s private sponsorship program. He needs a group of five Canadian friends to support him.

“I promise to those kind people who will sponsor me that I will never forget your grace, and I will do my best to repay and contribute to the society that opened its arms warmly for me with kindness in the darkest moments of my life.”

To help support Esmatullah as a sponsor, please contact Stephen Watt on Facebook.

You can also reach out to him 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!