Name: Hakim Shafahi

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills, has experience working as a tailor and car mechanic, footballer, FULLY FUNDED.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Needed: A group of 5 Canadians who can sponsor him.

After arresting his father, the Taliban started looking for Hakim to capture and kill him. He luckily learned about this and fled to Indonesia to save his life in 2017.

Hakim loves learning. Despite living in a state of limbo, he has been studying at a learning centre that is for refugees. He has photography skills too and has experience working in a mechanic workshop. His hope now is to find a group of five Canadian friends who can help him come to Canada where he can live with freedom.

Early Life

Hakim was born in January 2004, in the Jaghori district in Ghazni province in Afghanistan. He was a school student and his father was a truck driver who used to deliver goods for organizations on the way of Kandahar to Kabul.  

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of their culture, religion, and love for education. One day in 2016, Hakim’s family lost contact with his father. After about three months, they heard the sad news that his father had been arrested by the Taliban.

“It was so painful that we could not do anything for my father except pray.”

The Incident

A month later, due to their financial problem, his family left their hometown and moved to Moqur district in Ghazni. Since Hakim was the eldest son, he started working in a mechanic workshop to support his mother and 4 siblings.

One day, Hakim heard that the Taliban had been looking for his father’s family and especially for the eldest son of his father (Hakim) to kill him. He did not take it seriously and continued working in the mechanic workshop.

In march 2017, he was at work when he learned that the Taliban were coming to his shop to capture him, so he ran away to his home.

                  “I was crying while running away to save my life.”

When he arrived home, he found his mother in a worse situation than his. She was scared, panicked and crying. She then told Hakim that the Taliban had come to their home searching for him.

“She was crying and begging me to leave the country or else I would be killed.”

His Journey

Hakim went to Kabul City where he arranged for a people smuggler. He spent 14 days there until his travel documents were arranged by the people smuggler. On April 07, 2017, he flew to New Delhi, India. From there, he was brought to Malaysia and then on to Jakarta, Indonesia by plane on April 23, 2017.

Life in Indonesia

On April 24, 2017, he registered himself with the UNHCR. Since he was 13 years old, he was transferred to an adolescent shelter for refugees. While living there, Hakim learned English and Bahasa Indonesia. He also learned tailoring, and computer skills like photoshop. To stay healthy, he kept playing football too.

His Life Now

After turning 18, Hakim left the shelter and started living independently. Since then, he has been busy going to the gym, playing futsal and studying at Hope Learning Centre in Cisarua, Bogor. He is now in grade 8 at the learning centre. Hakim loves photography and he has been improving his photography skills.

Despite all his activities, as a refugee, Hakim cannot work, get proper education, drive and even open a bank account. On the other hand, he has been worried for his mother and siblings who need his help. He says:

“I have fantastic motivation, dreams and the desire to help everyone, but as a refugee, I cannot do anything.”

The Only Option!

This is the time for Hakim to resettle in a safe country like Canada where he can have access to his basic human rights and reunite with his family. The only option for him to live his life with freedom is to be sponsored to Canada.

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. Another good thing about him is that he is FULLY FUNDED.

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 Hakim Shafahi directly on Facebook – or by email: hakimshafahi5@gmail.com  – or through WhatsApp: +62 856-9256-8036.

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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