Name: Rahmatullah Uruzgani

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills, experienced and skillful constructor and carpenter.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Due to working as a constructor at a government building, Rahmatullah came to the Taliban’s target list. After the Taliban attacked his home, he fled to Iran and then to Indonesia by boat in 2014.

He was detained in Indonesia for more than three years, and due to his uncertain future, his wife left him and took his 2 children with her. Rahmatullah is an experienced carpenter and he hopes to be given an opportunity to resettle in a safe country where he can work, live with freedom and meet his children one day. He now needs a group of Canadian friends who can help him start a new life in Canada.

His Story

Rahmatullah was born in 1989 in the Tarinkot district in Uruzgan province in Afghanistan. Being the eldest son of his father, he could not study, and he started working as a construction worker to support his family.

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of their culture, religion, and love for education. In June 2011, Rahmatullah was working in a government building when his father received the Taliban’s threatening message to Rahmatullah that if he did not stop his work, he would be killed. Rahmatullah had no way but to continue his work to support the family.

After about a month, some armed members of the Taliban entered his home at late night. Luckily, Rahmatullah saw them entering the home, so he escaped through a backside window and kept running until he reached a highway. From there, he went to Kandahar by car.

  “I was very scared and did not know what to do or where to go.”

Migrating to Iran

Rahmatullah knew that he was in grave danger and had to leave his country immediately. He arranged for a people smuggler who took him to Iran through the mountains of Pakistan. While living in Iran without having a legal status to stay, Rahmatullah worked as a carpenter to support his family.

Unfortunately, three years later, he was arrested by the Iranian local police due to not having documents and was deported to Herat, Afghanistan.

The Way to Indonesia

Knowing that he would never be able to live safely in his country since he was on the target list of the Taliban, he decided to go to a safe country. He arranged for a people smuggler, and on July 01, 2014, he flew to New Delhi, India. From there, he went to Malaysia by plane and then on to Indonesia by boat on July 27, 2014.

Detention Centre

After arriving in Jakarta, he registered himself with the UNHCR on August 04, 2014.

Due to not having the right to work or way to support himself in the new country, he went to Tanjung Pinang Immigration Centre to ask for assistance. On August 10, 2014, he was transferred to a detention centre there. The detention centre was overcrowded and badly ventilated. While living there, Rahmatullah spent his time learning the English language and Bahasa Indonesia. He also joined computer classes to improve his skills.

Rahmatullah was in the detention centre when his wife left him and took his two children with her. Since that time, he has not heard from her and his children. He says:

“Due to my uncertain future, she could no longer wait for me and she left me.”

Freedom

After months of protests for their freedom, Rahmatullah and some other refugees were freed and transferred to a community house in Tanjung Pinang on January 28, 2018.

Getting his freedom from the detention centre, he thought that he was getting out of the state of limbo, but nothing changed and he still has no way out to start his life and meet his children.

His Hopes

Rahmatullah has been very worried for his children whom he does not know where they are or who they are with. He says:

“I have no idea where my children are and how they suffer being far from their father.”

Rahmatullah hopes to resettle in a safe country where he can work, live with freedom and reunite with his children one day.

It is possible! 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 Rahmatullah directly on Facebook – or by email: Amirhasanafg@gmail.com – or through WhatsApp: +62 831-6181-1517.

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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