Name: Mohammad Mahdi Karimi

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills, bodybuilding trainer, experienced construction worker, electronic sales associate and farmer.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

After being captured and tortured by the Taliban, Mahdi escaped to Indonesia by boat to save his life.

It has been about a decade since he has been living in a state of limbo. He is an experienced electronic sales associate and a farmer too. It is time for him to resettle in a safe country like Canada where he can have access to his basic human rights and live with freedom. He only needs a group of five Canadian citizens who can help him start his life again in Canada.

Childhood

Mahdi was born on November 16, 1991, in Jaghori district in Ghazni province in Afghanistan. He was a child when his brother was killed in Iran and he heard about his brother from his father. Due to financial problems, he could only study until 4th grade at school. After that, he started working with his father as a farmer. Besides working, he used to train in martial arts too.

Taken and Beaten

In 2011, Mahdi opened an electronic store in which he used to sell TVs, satellite dishes and electrical appliances. On July 22, 2014, he went to Ghazni City along with his two friends named Jawad and Naeim who were supposed to do shopping there. The next day, they were on the way to return home when some armed members of the Taliban intercepted them.

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

“We were very scared. They blindfolded us, tied our hands and feet, and took us to an unknown place.”

After putting them inside a room, members of the Taliban searched Mahdi and his friends, and they found a list of satellite dishes and TVs in Mahdi’s pocket. Then they started beating Mahdi and his friends and kept calling them infidels. Later on, the members of the Taliban went out to offer their prayers. Mahdi and his friends knew that they would be killed soon if they did not escape from there, so they untied each other and ran away by breaking the window of that room. While running away, they got separated, and Mahdi took himself to a highway from where he went to Ghazni by car. He stayed hidden for a night in Allah Yar Hotel in Ghazni. The next day, he went to Kabul and arranged for a people smuggler with the help of his sister’s husband.

The Way to Indonesia

“Since the Taliban had my information, they could easily find and kill me. I had no way but to leave my country and seek a safe place.”

On August 30, 2014, he flew to New Delhi, India and stayed there for 6 days. From there, he went to Malaysia by plane and then on to Indonesia by boat in September 2014.

Detention Centre

After arriving in Jakarta, he registered himself with the UNHCR on September 13, 2014. With no right to work or way to support himself in the new country, Mahdi went to Balikpapan Immigration Centre. On October 17, 2014, he was transferred to a detention centre there. The detention centre was overcrowded and badly ventilated, and refugees faced many challenges like, lack of food, water and proper medical care. Due to the overcrowding, Mahdi and other refugees suffered from various diseases too. Despite facing such challenges, Mahdi kept himself busy learning the English language, exercising and playing volleyball.

His Life Now

After 180 days of demonstration for their freedom, they were finally freed and Mahdi was transferred to a community house in Makassar on August 3, 2018. Since then, he has been living there.

As a refugee, Mahdi cannot get proper education, drive, work and even open a bank account. He is an experienced farmer and electronic sales associate. He says:

“It has been a decade I have been living in the state of limbo. I wish to find a group of friends who can help me resettle in Canada.”

It is Possible!

It is possible! Since Mahdi is officially certified as a refugee by the UNHCR – unlike the vast majority of the world’s refugees – he qualifies for Canada’s private sponsorship program.

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

You can reach out to Mahdi Karimi 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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