Name: Noor Agha Naseri

Profile: Hazara Christian refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills, driver, experienced in construction work.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Noor Agha’s life was in danger because the Taliban had been looking for him to capture and kill him. Fortunately, he came to know before being captured and he fled to Indonesia by boat to save his life.

While living in Indonesia, he has been deprived of his basic human rights. His only hope is to find a group of Canadian friends who can bring him to Canada to start his life again.

Childhood

I was born in 1991 in the Jaghori district in Ghazni province in Afghanistan. At the age of 18, I lost my parents and I started living with my brothers. After graduating from high school, I had no supporters to continue studying, and I had to work to take care of my younger brothers.

My Story

In 2009, I went to Iran and worked in construction for almost 5 years. In 2014, I returned to Afghanistan and planned to buy a car to work as a taxi driver.

We, the Hazara people in Afghanistan have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of our culture, religion, and love for education. I bought a car from a Pashtun man whom I was introduced to by my cousin. After a few days, people told me that the car’s document was feigned. I had no experience before so my cousin and I went to that person and asked him to give us the real document or give the money back but he refused. He threatened us and told us that he was a member of the Taliban. One night in September 2014, we were out at a wedding party when some members of the Taliban came to our house looking for me and my cousin. They tortured my uncle and told him that they would kill us.

“My uncle called and told us to run away to save our life.”

Afghanistan to Indonesia

In the early morning, I decided to go to Kabul and my cousin decided to go to Kandahar city. Fortunately, I arrived in Kabul, but my uncle called and said that the Taliban had killed my cousin on the way to Kandahar. He told me to never come back.

After I arranged for a people smuggler, I flew from Kabul to New Delhi, India on September 15, 2014. Then I went to Malaysia by plane on September 30. On October 9, 2014, I arrived in Pekanbaru, Indonesia by boat.

Life in Indonesia

After arriving in Jakarta, I registered myself with the UNHCR on October 14, 2014. With no right to work or way to support myself in the new country, I went to Kopand Immigration Centre on October 18, 2014 to ask for assistance.

On December 18, 2014, I was transferred to a detention centre in Medan. After almost 3 years of living in the overcrowded camp behind locked doors with limited access to proper food and medical care, I was transferred to a community house in Medan in April 2017. I have been learning English and computer skills. Also, I have been doing exercises to keep myself healthy.

Last Word

“As a refugee, I am not allowed to study, work, drive and travel to another city in Indonesia.”

Afghanistan is never safe to go back to either, especially for the Hazara people.

UNHCR is always saying that there is almost no chance for a single refugee to be resettled from Indonesia, but I hope to get help from a group of Canadian friends to start a new life with freedom and peace where I will be able to support the rest of my family members.

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

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

You can also reach out to Noor Agha directly on Facebook or by email: noor.agha.naseri1991@gmail.com.

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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