Name: Mustafa Haidari

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills, Experienced as a volunteer teacher and interpreter. Skilled welder, baker and in sales.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Mustafa was living as an Afghan refugee with his family in Quetta, Pakistan. He survived two terrorist attacks against the Hazara but his closest friend was not so lucky. In the second attack, his friend lost his life. His mother was devastated by the idea of losing her son, so she made the greatest sacrifice. Even though she knew she might never see him again, she wanted him to be safe. She arranged for him to flee to Indonesia by boat in 2014.

In Indonesia, Mustafa was safe, but not free. He lived inside a detention centre for more than 4 years, treated like a criminal when all he did was flee for his life. Despite these hardships, Mustafa did not stop volunteering as an English teacher to other refugees. He has also kept interpreting for refugees voluntarily into the hospitals. His hope now is to find five friends who can bring him to Canada where he can live freely, support his family and help society.

Born into Violence

Mustafa Haidari was born in 1995 in Quetta, Pakistan without papers or citizenship. The Hazara people of the Afghanistan have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of their culture, religion, and love for education. Like other Hazaras, Mustafa’s parents were threatened to death in Afghanistan, so they fled to Quetta, Pakistan, and he was born and grew up there, already stateless.

In 2010, Mustafa’s father returned to Afghanistan, but after that, no one heard about him. He vanished.

“My father was disappeared in 2010, and it was my responsibility to work and support my family, so I started working at my father’s clothing shop.”

A Violent Ambush

With his father gone, Mustafa had to work to support his family. He juggled his new family responsibilities, and completing an English teaching training course. All the time, life in Quetta was becoming more and more dangerous for the Hazara. Extremist wanted to kill them for their moderate ways and because their religion is Shia rather than Sunni. The number of attacks on the Hazara people in Pakistan were increasing. Hazara were being targeted while they travelled between Hazara Town, where they mostly lived, and the city of Quetta.

On October 1, 2014 Mustafa and his Hazara class fellow were returning from their English Academy in Quetta to their home when they were stopped suddenly by four armed men wearing masks. The armed men threw Mustafa and another man out of the car, started punching and kicking them.

“They were shouting “Kafar Kafar Shia Kafar” (Shia infidel). Then they aimed their guns on us and were busy asking one another to shoot us. I thought it was the end of our life, but suddenly, the police siren rang and they took their bikes and left.”

After Mustafa and his fellow told the police everything about the incident, they were dropped to the Hazara Town safely by the police.

The Second Ambush

After this violent ambush, he realized that it was too unsafe to continue at the English Academy. He was responsible for his mother and siblings - his mother, four sisters and two brothers depended on his support and he could not risk being injured or killed. He focused on working at his shop, and teaching English at an English Language Academy in Hazara Town.

As refugees, they could not move away from Hazara Town to a safer place. They had to live their lives as safely as possible, while knowing they could be targeted for senseless violence at anytime. In his daily routine, Mustafa met friends to excercize. They would meet and jog together on the surrounding roads. One morning, two men with covered faces on a bike stopped and asked them where they were going. As Mustafa and his friend answered their question, they went a little forward and stopped the bike. The one sitting on the backside took out a gun from his big scarf and started shouting “Allah O Akbar” (God is great, god is the greatest).

“Seeing this, we got so scared that we started running towards the fruit garden which was beside the road. While running in the garden, I got separated from my friend because gunshots began and I could not look back for my friend, so I kept running.”

Mustafa ran till he reached his home. He went inside while his family was having breakfast, and he could not talk a word, so he sat beside the gate.

“My mom got worried. She hugged me and asked me what had happened and I just hugged her tightly.”

He started contacting his friend whose phone was ringing but no one was responding. At noon, Mustafa heard an announcement from Mosque that his friend had not survived the attack - he had been murdered.

Leaving Home

After losing his friend, he was deeply saddened and shocked. He was no longer safe in Pakistan nor he had the option to go back to Afghanistan which was more dangerous. His mother discussed with people and their neighbors, and then she decided to send Mustafa to a safe country. Their neighbors helped Mustafa to arrange for a human smuggler, and in October 2014 he started his dangerous journey to safety in Indonesia.

Life in Limbo

On November 10, 2014 he registered himself at the UNHCR office in Jakarta, and then he went to Balikpapan Immigration Centre to ask for assistance. He was transferred to a detention centre on December 18, 2014. The Indonesian refugee detention centres are like prisons. They were overcrowded and there was sometimes not enough food. They were places were it was difficult to survive and even more difficult to stay positive. But Mustafa contributed to improve life in detention for others. H put his English skills to good use, volunteering to teach English to his fellow refugees. After spending more than 4 long years inside the detention centre, he was released into community house in Makassar on August 13, 2018.

Before the outbreak of COVID-19, Mustafa was volunteering as a teacher for refugees. Now, he has been voluntarily interpreting for them in hospitals.

His friend reached out to say:

“Mustafa is very caring person and he is always ready to help his fellow refugees. I myself get impressed when I see him approximately 3 days per week in hospital helping a refugee. I think such good person deserves to have chance for a new life.”

More Tragedy

While living in limbo, he got another tragic news about his younger sister. She passed away in 2019, and Mustafa's mother has been taking care of her daughter's newborn child. But his mother herself is not in a good health condition.

“After losing my sister, I have been living in fear of losing any of my family members. I ask my Canadian friends to help me resettle in Canada where I can support my family and see them once again in my life.”

A Chance for Peace

Mustafa was born into a violent world, but his hope is resilient. He dreams of peace. He dreams of a new start in Canada. As a UNHCR refugee, Mustafa is eligible for Canada’s private sponsorship program. He needs a group of five Canadian friends to support him.

"My dream is to have a peaceful life and be a good person for Canada and what ever positive I can do for people around me or Canada. In detention center and out here in accommodation, I help my sick refugee friends as an interpreter or a english teacher. In Canada, I will try my best and continue this activities, my education, and try to be a inspiration for younger sibilings."

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

You can also reach out to Mustafa 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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