Name: Jessica Dewan and her family.

Profile: A Pakistani Christian family, living in Malaysia as refugee since 2014.

Advantages: UN-certified, excellent English skills, educated, experienced teacher and microbiologist.

Risk: At the risk of being killed by the extremist group of Al-Qaeda if returned home.

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Jessica’s family (a Christian family) were no longer safe in Pakistan after her father was accused of converting his religion into Christianity, and they were threatened to death. So, they fled to Malaysia in late 2014.

They have been facing many difficulties in Malaysia as they don’t have full access to legal employment and education, and they are not safe there as well, because the local authorities threaten them to arrest and deport them anytime.

Jessica and her family deserve to live in a safe country with full access to their basic rights. All they need is a group of five Canadian friends who can sponsor them to Canada.

Her Story

Jessica Dewan was born on March 15, 1989 in Karachi Pakistan. Her family belongs to political background. They always raised their voice against unfair and disastrous situations for the minorities, and they had organized a lot of protests and rallies to get solutions for the issues which were hurdles for minority communities in Pakistan.

In 2014, Handry Masih Baloch, a member of Parliament who was from the Christian community from Balochistan, was assassinated by a terrorist group, and as a result, Jessica’s family and their political party had a protest at Karachi Press Club.

During the protest, a fanatic group created violence. Jessica’s family spoke with them to ensure peace, and they encountered another problem. As her father’s name is Arfan Jehangir, the fanatic group thought that he had been converted from Islam into Christianity, and they tried to trouble them but Jessica and her family managed to escape from there.

The fanatic group found their political office and gave severe threats by their law which was a penalty of death for those who convert from Islam to other religions.

“We were in danger, and my sister-in-law was pregnant which made traveling impossible at that time, so we had to switch places to take shelter.”

Leaving Home

After the Party’s leader advised Jessica’s family to save their life and leave Pakistan, they flew to Malaysia on December 28, 2014.

On December 31, 2014 they were registered with the UNHCR office.

Problems Faced in Malaysia

Refugees lack access to legal employment and formal education in Malaysia, and they are always at risk of imprisonment and deportation. The local police always catch them and ask them for some money or they put them in prison. Jessica’s brother was caught by the local police several times and was lucky enough to be released by them. One day, her sister-in-law was stopped by the police and was driven to an unknown place where she was threatened to go back to her country or else, she would be prisoned and deported.

“She had cried a lot that day. Since then, she has been traumatized and she doesn’t go outside alone now because she is scared.”

Jessica and other refugees are always being threatened by local authorities and they are being told that they are not welcome in Malaysia.

Deprived of Education and Work

Since 2017, Jessica’s nephew has been deprived of going to school because they can’t afford the school fees.

“My nephew always says that he wants to go to school and we feel so helpless that we don’t have the right to work legally.”

As refugees don’t have access to legal employment, they do dangerous and difficult jobs at low wages. Jessica also worked at a Salon for three months without getting paid. Her work time was from 4 in the morning to 11 at night, and she was not even offered food to eat.

“Whenever I asked my employer for my salary, she made excuse and promised to pay the other day.”

Jessica is a microbiologist but she couldn’t find a job in her field, so she worked as a teacher in a school where she was the lowest-paid teacher. Her brother also worked in a number of places and some of them didn’t pay him.

The Last Word

Jessica is worried about her old mother who is left back in Pakistan, and she has been switching to different places to be safe. Also, she is not keeping well.

“I hope to be in such a country soon with my family where our health and lives matter. As I mentioned above, we are being tormented, and we deserve a better life.”

As UNHCR refugees, Jessica and her family are eligible for Canada’s private sponsorship program. She needs a group of five Canadian friends to support her and her family.

To help support Jessica and her family as a sponsor, please contact Stephen Watt on Facebook.

You can also reach out to Jessica directly on Facebook or by Email.

Reach out and discover how wonderful it is to privately sponsor a good family to start a new life – with your help – in Canada!

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