Name: Mohammed Hussain

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, experienced driver.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Mohammad Hussain was a Hazara driver. He was forced to drive 2 guards of a commander who was fighting against the Taliban. While being on the way, the Taliban attacked them and the gunshots began between those guards and the Taliban. Mohammad Hussain escaped from there but the Taliban had recognized him and they started looking everywhere including his home and village. Luckily, he fled to Indonesia by boat in 2013.

While living in limbo since 2013, he has been hoping to meet his family and start living a new life in a safe country. All he needs is a group of 5 friends who can help him come to Canada.

The Incident That Made Him Flee

Mohammad Hussain was born in January 1976 in a village of the Khas Uruzgan district in Uruzgan 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. Mohammad Hussain was a taxi driver in Afghanistan, and he had a retail shop too. In October 2013, he took some passengers and drove them to another village of the district Khas Uruzgan. While returning from there, two guards of commander Shojae, that was fighting against the Taliban, hopped into Mohammad Hussain’s car by force and told him to drive. When they reached a place called Thangi Sawz Cho, there were stones placed on the road to block the way. Mohammad Hussain started removing the stone from the road.

“I suddenly heard voices that were warning us to raise our hands, and gunshots began from both sides. I ran and hid behind a stone wall, and then escaped from there to my friend’s (Dost Mohammad’s) home.”

Dangerous Situation

After Mohammad Hussain’s friend Dost Mohammad, came to know what had happened, he sent his wife to Mohammad Hussain’s home and went to the marketplace to see the situation. After Dost Mohammad’s wife returned from Mohammad Hussain’s home, she told Mohammad Hussain that the Taliban had come to his home to find him, and his mother had warned Mohammad Hussain not to return to home otherwise, he would be captured and killed by the Taliban.

Mohammad Hussain’s friend Dost Mohammad, also came from the marketplace and told Mohammad Hussain that the Taliban had been searching for him and they had come to his shop as well. Hearing this, Mohammad Hussain escaped to the Jaghori district of the Ghazni.

The Way to Indonesia

His uncle managed for a people smuggler by selling his shop, and in November 2013, he flew from Kabul to New Delhi, India where he stayed for 3 weeks. Then he went to Malaysia by plane and stayed there for about 1 week, and on December 5, 2013, he arrived in Indonesia by boat.

His Life in Limbo

After arriving in Jakarta, Mohammad Hussain registered himself at the UNHCR office in Jakarta on January 5, 2014. He did not have the right to work in Indonesia nor did he have any supporters, so he went to Manado Immigration Centre to ask for assistance.

On April 24, 2014, he was transferred to a refugee camp in Kalideres, Jakarta where he was kept for more than a year. On June 9, 2015, he received his freedom and was transferred to a community house in Makassar.

The Last Word

Mohammad Hussain was in Indonesia when he found out that his family had fled to Pakistan in 2014. He contacted his mother and she said that the Taliban had given them a deadline for bringing Mohammad Hussain to them. Otherwise, the Taliban said that they would kill every member of his family.

“My family is living in Pakistan without legal documents to stay there. This means they are at risk of being arrested and deported back to Afghanistan where they would never survive. Thinking of these dangerous situations, I am very stressed”

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

To help support Mohammad Hussain as a sponsor, please contact Stephen Watt on Facebook.

You can also reach out to Mohammad Hussain 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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