Name: Juma Khan Behroozi

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills, experienced in construction work, volunteer as a painter for human rights activists.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

After being captured and beaten by the Taliban, Juma found an opportunity and fled to Indonesia by boat to save his life in 2014.

While living in the detention centre, he spent his time learning English and reading books. Also, he has been a volunteer painter for human rights activists.

Now, he needs a group of friends who can help him come to Canada where he can live his life again.

His Story

Juma Khan Behroozi was born in 1987, in a village of the Malistan district in Ghazni province in Afghanistan.

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of their culture, religion, and love for education.

Juma was a taxi driver in his village. One day in July 2014, he took some passengers from his village to another district Ajristan. When he arrived there, his car was intercepted by the Taliban. While searching Juma and his passengers, the Taliban found some governmental documents from Juma’s passengers that were related to the government.

“I was very frightened. We were beaten by the Taliban. Then they put us in the car and were taking us to their place when suddenly the tire of the car punctured.”

The Opportunity

After changing the tire, the Taliban started driving but a stone was stopping the car. A member of the Taliban told Juma to remove that stone and while removing the stone, he noticed an agricultural land beside the road and decided to escape from there to save his life.

“I knew that I would be killed, and without worrying about my documents which were with the Taliban, I kept running through that land until I reached another village. From there, I went to my home by car.”

His Way to Indonesia

Juma’s mother told him to leave the country to save his life because his documents had been with the Taliban and they would have found him any time, so he went to Kabul where he arranged for a people smuggler.

On August 3, 2014, he flew to New Delhi, India and stayed there for 1 day. Then he flew to Malaysia and then on to Pekanbaru, Indonesia by boat on August 7, 2014.

Life in The Detention Centre

On September 3, 2014, he registered himself with the UNHCR in Pekanbaru. With no right to work or way to support himself in Indonesia, he went to Pekanbaru Immigration Centre to ask for assistance.

On December 5, 2014, he was transferred to a detention centre in Surabaya.

While living there, Juma spent his time learning English and reading books to stay far from depression. His favorite book was “I Am Malala”.

He was interviewed by the UNHCR on July 8, 2015, and got his Refugee status on May 19, 2016.

“I was very happy knowing that I was one step further and I was hoping to be resettled soon to a country where I could live peacefully, work and support my family.”

On December 16, 2016, he received his freedom and was transferred to a community house in Surabaya. Since then, he has been living there.

His Life Now

Despite facing restrictions like, not being allowed to work, study, drive and travel to another city, Juma has been learning drawing from professional volunteers.

Also, he has work experience in installing tiles, windows and doors and other construction works.

It is Possible!

It is possible for Juma to live a good life, study, work, stay with his family and help society in Canada.

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

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

You can also reach out to Juma Khan 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!

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