Name: Masuma Safdary

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, excellent English skills, volunteer English teacher, strong computer skills and expertise in digital marketing.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

After losing her mother and brother, Masuma, a Hazara girl, escaped to Indonesia by boat in 2017. Despite facing numerous challenges and living in a state of limbo, she learned Bahasa Indonesia and began volunteering as an English teacher.

Masuma is highly talented, with strong computer skills and expertise in digital marketing. She now hopes to find a group of Canadian friends who can help her start a new life in Canada.

Her Story

Masuma was born on January 1, 1997, in Maidan Wardak 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.

Each year, Masuma’s village faced attacks from a group called Kuchi, linked to the Taliban and Pashtun, who inflicted harm and injustice upon her community. In 2017, Masuma’s village was attacked once again, resulting in the tragic loss of two of her family members.

“That night, I lost my mother and brother—my mother was killed, and my brother was taken captive. To this day, I have no news of him.”

The houses were looted and set ablaze, but her father, sister, and another brother managed to survive.

Journey to Indonesia

After losing everything, Masuma’s father made the difficult decision to send her away for her safety. After her father arranged for a people smuggler, she flew from Kabul to New Delhi, India on September 24, 2017, where she stayed until September 28 at a people smuggler’s house. On September 28, 2017, she took a flight to Malaysia and stayed there at a people smuggler’s house for about 3 days. On October 1, 2017, she arrived in Indonesia by boat.

Life in Indonesia

After arriving in Jakarta, she registered herself with the UNHCR on October 6, 2017, and began living in Depok, Indonesia.

“Initially, I struggled to communicate with locals due to my lack of proficiency in Bahasa Indonesia.”

However, with the help of some locals, Masuma started learning Bahasa Indonesia. She later volunteered at schools to inspire local students to learn English and began offering private classes in both Bahasa Indonesia and English.

Tragedy

Tragically, in 2021, Masuma’s father passed away due to the stress of his daughter Masuma’s loneliness in a state of limbo. The emotional strain contributed to her father’s high blood pressure, and because of the inadequate healthcare system in Afghanistan, Masuma lost her father.

This is the Time!

While facing many restrictions such as not being allowed to work, get a proper education, drive, or even open a bank account, Masuma has been hopeful to get an opportunity to resettle in a safe country where she can live with freedom and start a new life.

This is the time for her to fulfill her dreams. Since Masuma is officially certified as a refugee by the UNHCR – unlike the vast majority of the world’s refugees – she qualifies for Canada’s private sponsorship program.

If you would like to sponsor her – or if you’re just interested in helping to bring her here – please contact her friend Stephen Watt on Facebook.

You can reach out to Masuma 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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