Name: Mohammad Zaki Masumi

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, excellent English skills, experienced volunteer basic English teacher, flute player, a construction worker.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Needed: 5 Canadian citizens who can sponsor him to Canada.

Zaki grew up in Iran without having legal documents to stay in the country. He was expelled from school because of not having documents, and then he got deported to Afghanistan, a country he had never been to.

He was then captured by the Taliban due to having some books and an English dictionary book with himself. After being beaten by them, he managed to escape from there, so he fled to Indonesia to seek a safe country.

Zaki has been living without his basic human rights. He spent about 1 and a half years inside a detention centre where he improved his English skills and started teaching his refugee fellows the basics of English. He now hopes to find a group of kind Canadian friends who can bring him to Canada where he can get proper education, pursue his dreams and contribute to society.

Life in Iran

During the civil war in 1990, Zaki’s family left Afghanistan and fled to Iran to save their lives. Zaki was born in Iran on March 08, 1992. He grew up in Iran as a stateless person where he faced discrimination and humiliation even at his school.

When he was 11 years old, he got arrested for the first time by the local police due to not having legal status to stay in the country. 

One day, he was at school when the principal called him Afghan and told him to come to the office. He was then told that he was no longer allowed to study at school anymore. It was a new law by the Iranian government.

“It was a bitter moment in my life and my childhood. I and my mother begged the principal to let me study, but he said that he could not do anything because of the new law.”

Zaki’s life changed after that day. He became a construction worker at the age of 12. For him, it was particularly difficult in winter moving carriage with construction materials, crushing the material for the work required and working with sharp instruments. Due to working hard those days, he still has scars on his hands, feet and back. He says:

“I felt heartbreak whenever I saw students of my age going to school and I used to hide from them so that they could not make fun of me.”

Losing His Mother

Despite all the barriers, Zaki started attending private English classes and computer courses. He used to pay all the fees himself. His mother was suffering from diabetes. He spent what he had saved from his salary to at least help his mother be with him, but she died due to renal failure.

Deported to Afghanistan

One day in June 2014, Zaki’s friend asked him to join him in working in another province in South Iran. He accepted the offer and went with him. Unfortunately, he was arrested by the Iranian police on the way. The authorities then deported him to Afghanistan.

                  “It was the first time that I saw Afghanistan.”

Zaki contacted his father and told him what had happened. His father got so worried for him that he cried. He then connected Zaki to his uncle on the phone. Zaki’s uncle guided him to get to his home in Jaghori.

Taken

Zaki had some books, an English dictionary book and his phone with himself. On the way to Jaghori, some members of the Taliban intercepted the car and pulled Zaki and another Hazara man out of the car. After checking their belongings and finding Zaki’s English dictionary book, they started asking about it. They thought that the dictionary was a Bible and that Zaki had been working with the government. He kept telling them that he had never been to Afghanistan before and had just been deported from Iran, but they did not believe him.

“They kept beating and threatening to kill me. I was very scared and did not know what to do. I was telling myself that it was the end of me.”

A member of the Taliban told Zaki that they would find out everything about him until the next morning. Zaki and the other Hazara man were taken to an unknown place where they were locked inside an old room.

They both knew that they would be killed if they remained there. In the middle of the night, they both untied each other and escaped through a hole in the roof of that room. They kept running for almost two hours and then, they arrived in Jaghori.

Journey to Indonesia

After arriving at his uncle’s home, Zaki told him everything. The next day, he contacted his father and shared everything with him. 

His uncle told him to leave Jaghori immediately because the Taliban spies were everywhere, and if they knew that Zaki was his nephew, his life would also be in danger. His uncle then took him to the government office and got him an Afghan Identity paper (Tazkira). The next day, he sent Zaki to Kabul. Since the Taliban could recognize Zaki easily, he was at the risk of being captured and killed if he stayed in Afghanistan, so Zaki’s father decided to send him to a safe country.  

Zaki arranged for a people smuggler, and he flew to New Delhi, India on June 27, 2014. From there, he was brought to Malaysia by plane and then to Indonesia by boat on July 14, 2014.

Detention Centre

After arriving in Jakarta and registering himself with the UNHCR, he stayed in Bogor with some of his refugee fellows for a month. Due to not having the right to work or way to support himself, he and his friends went to Manado Immigration Centre to ask for assistance.

On September 26, 2014, he was transferred to a detention centre in Bangil where his belongings including his phone and money were taken from him.

“The detention centre was like those high-security jails we watch in Hollywood movies. High walls with barbed wires were making me feel like a criminal.”

While living in the detention centre, Zaki and other refugees faced security’s aggressive manner. They were treated like criminals.

Despite facing many restrictions, he kept himself busy joining English classes and other events or competitions which were supported by IOM and JRS. On March 11, 2015, he was interviewed with the UNHCR and received his refugee recognition about six months later on September 15, 2015.

Freedom

Finally, on March 23, 2016, he was freed from the detention centre and was transferred to a community house in Sidoarjo Regency.

“Being detained for 1 and a half years with no crime committed was a very tough time in my life.”

Zaki has been keeping himself busy by playing football, going to the gym and sometimes playing the flute. He also used to teach his refugee fellows basic English language. In addition, he has motivated Indonesian students by sharing his life experiences at their schools or institutions.

His Dreams

Zaki dreams to resettle in a safe country where he can live with freedom, get proper education and contribute to that country. He says:

“I would love to live in a country like Canada that encourages education and allows people to develop to the best of their capabilities. I would like to be able to contribute to the growth and economy of such a nation which I can be proud of.”

There is a way for Zaki to start his life again. Since he 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 Zaki Masumi directly on Facebook  - or through WhatsApp: +62 838‑3356‑9686.  

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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