Name: Khaliq Dad Ibrahimi

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

After being attacked by the Taliban and being shot in the leg, Khaliq’s father could not run to save his life, but he told Khaliq to escape from there to save himself. However, Khaliq had no choice to stay in Afghanistan anymore because the Taliban had been looking for him, so he fled to Indonesia by boat in 2014.

He spent almost 4 years inside a detention centre in Indonesia, and he has been deprived of his basic human rights there. His only option to live a normal life is to find a group of friends who can bring him to Canada where he can start his life again.

Childhood

Khaliq Dad was born in January 1996, in a village in Uruzgan Khas district in Uruzgan province in Afghanistan. His village was a mountainous area and it was surrounded by Pashtuns and the Taliban.

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of their culture, religion, and love for education. There was not any school in Khaliq Dad’s village. He was a child when the villagers volunteered to build a school with brick dust.

“We were so happy that we had a place which we called school, but our happiness did not last very long.”

Unfortunately, in the second year of the school, the Taliban attacked and burned down the school. They threatened to kill anyone who would try to get education. Khaliq dad had no choice, so he started helping his father in working on his tractor and agriculture.

The Attack

In 2013, Khaliq and his father were carrying building materials by their tractor for building checkpoint for the militias of Hazara commander Hakim Shujae, who was fighting against the Taliban.

Three months later, the Taliban came to know and they threatened Khaliq’s father to stop delivering building materials for the checkpoint, so Khaliq and his father stopped their work.

On September 18, 2014, Khaliq’s father was asked to take his neighbour’s home tools and furniture to the centre of Uruzgan Khas district. In the marketplace, the head of their village met Khaliq and his father and asked them to take sacks of cement to their village by their tractor. The sacks of cement were for building bridges and they both did not know who or which organization sponsored that project.

While being on the way to the village, they saw the Taliban waiting on a hill for them. When they reached near the hill, the Taliban pointed them to stop the tractor. Khaliq’s father stopped the tractor and they both ran toward trees, suddenly, the Taliban started open fires on them and Khaliq’s father was shot in his leg. His father was not able to move and he told Khaliq not to stop and keep running to save his life.

“I was very terrified. I had no way but to listen to my father.”

Khaliq kept running through trees and mountains until he reached his home at night. After he told his family members what had happened, they were shocked and horrified.

“I had no idea what had happened to my father.”

The Journey

The next morning, the villagers came to his home and told Khaliq to escape from there immediately to save his life. They rented a car to take Khaliq to Jaghori. After arriving there, Khaliq contacted his family and asked about his father, but he got the heart-breaking news.

“My mother cried and told me that my father had been killed.”

His mother told him not to return to the village because the Taliban had been looking for him. Khaliq had to leave the country and find a safe place for himself.

On September 20, 2014, he went to Kabul and stayed in a hotel. With the help of the hotel manager, he arranged for a people smuggler who arranged his travel documents, and on October 1, 2014, he flew to New Delhi, India where he stayed in a house that was provided by the people smuggler for 19 days. Then he went to Malaysia by plane and then on to Pekanbaru, Indonesia by boat on October 22, 2014.

Life in Indonesia

After arriving in Jakarta by car on October 25, Khaliq registered himself at the UNHCR office on October 27, 2014.

With no right to work or way to support himself in the new country, Khaliq went to Makassar Immigration Centre to ask for assistance. After the security guards checked all his belongings and took his money and phone, he was put in the field of the immigration centre for 2 months and 16 days.

“Due to not having the roof, the rain used to wake us up in the middle of the nights and the mosquitoes were also not letting us sleep.”

In those days, Khaliq also witnessed the misbehaving of the security guards who used to beat and harass refugees and used to demand gifts from them.

Detention Centre

On January 21, 2015, He was transferred to a detention centre that was overcrowded and refugees did not have access to proper food, enough water and proper health care.

Due to facing many challenges there, Khaliq started feeling exhausted and frustrated for a while, but then he decided to stay strong and be patient.

“I decided to spend my time attending English and other classes which were organized by refugee volunteers.”

He also started doing regular exercises like, running and playing volleyball in order to fight anxiety and depression.

Khaliq’s left eyesight was weak in the detention centre, He asked IOM several times for proper treatment but due to lack of facilities, his right eyesight also got weaker and he was compelled to wear eyeglasses.

Freedom

Finally, on July 27, 2018, he received his freedom from the detention centre and was transferred to a community house in Makassar.

After almost 4 years of detainment, Khaliq was so happy that he was able to go out and enjoy the air and walking, but his happiness did not last long because he eventually realized that he had been facing so many restrictions like, he was not allowed to work, get proper education, drive and travel to another city. Also, he and other refugees are not allowed to be outside of the community house after 10 PM.

The Only Option

Refugees in Indonesia have been told by the UNHCR that they will most likely never be resettled. This is especially true for single men, as women and families are prioritized for UNHCR sponsored resettlement. Integration in Indonesia is also not an option. Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention so refugees’ rights are not protected, hence they cannot work or access formal education. They live in a state of permanent limbo: they cannot go back nor move forward.

The only option for Khaliq Dad to live his life and pursue his dreams is to resettle in a country like Canada.

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

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

You can also reach out to Khaliq Dad directly on Facebook - or by email: khaliq.ibrahimi2015@gmail.com or WhatsApp: + 6285757150768

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!