Name: Feroza Sarwari and Rajab Ali Paiez

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Malaysia.

Advantages: Both are UN-certified, Feroza is school student, Ali is experienced as a waiter, car washer, butcher and security guard.

Partially Funded - a generous donor in Australia will provide $20,000 AUD towards the $24,800 CDN required to support the couple during their first year in Canada.

Risk: At risk of being Kidnapped or killed by Feroza’s paternal uncle if returned home.

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Feroza and Ali loved each other, and decided to get married, but her paternal uncle beat both of them and threatened them not to meet each other again. They both knew that they would not be able to live together in Afghanistan, so they fled to Malaysia and got married there.

Feroza has been studying school and wants to be a business woman in the future. On the other side, Ali has been working 14 to 15 hours a day for living. Their life is very tough since they cannot fulfil their dreams while living as refugees in Malaysia. They need a group of five friends who can bring them to Canada where they can pursue their dreams and live a happy life together.

Background

Feroza Sarwari was born on May 2, 2002 in a village in the Jaghori district in Ghazni.

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and violence because of their culture, religion and love of education. When Feroza was just a new born baby, her father left the country due to insecurity and fled to New Zealand where he was granted asylum. After two years, Feroza’s grandfather, step grandmother and two uncles reunited Feroza’s father in New Zealand but Feroza and her mother were left alone in Afghanistan.

Her mother was told to wait for the next opportunity to reunite with Feroza’s father. She was only three years old when her father sent divorce letter from New Zealand to her mother. Feroza and her mother then started living with her maternal grandparents in another village. Years passed, and Feroza was a school student now.

“I knew that I had a father who had been living abroad, but I never missed him. Probably because I had never seen him and had never talked to him. I didn’t know who he was and how he looked like.”

In 2005, Feroza’s mother got married again with a man whose wife had passed away. Feroza also moved to her step father’s home which was in another village. She had two step sisters and one step brother who was living in Pakistan. Later on, her step brother migrated to Sweden where he was granted asylum. Feroza’s new family was very nice. She and her mother were taken as family members and they were a happy family.

Left Alone

Feroza used to go to school with her step siblings. Her mother had told her no to walk alone because she had always had fear about Feroza’s being taken away from her by Feroza’s father’s family members. In Afghanistan, children are always considered to be with father after the divorce.

“I used to go to school with the fear of me being taken away from my mother by my uncles who were in Jaghori district. I never felt secure even around my step father’s home”

In 2017, Feroza’s mother, step siblings and step father moved to Sweden to join Feroza’s step brother there. She was only 15 years old and she was left alone in Afghanistan, so she moved to her maternal grandparents’ home again.

“I don’t know how hard it was for my mother to leave me behind but she had to go for the future of my half siblings.”

Love Story

Feroza fell in love with a guy whose name was Ali at school. They both decided to get engaged soon. In 2018, they both were in the market place of Ghojur, Jaghori for buying clothes for winter. Suddenly, her paternal uncle who had shop in the marketplace saw Feroza with Ali together. Her uncle approached them and started beating both of them. He also threatened to kill both if he saw them together again.

“I was very frightened. We both knew that my paternal uncles would not let us live together and I was at the risk of being kidnapped by them, so we both decided to move to a safe country and live together.”

The next day, Feroza and Ali escaped to Kabul where they arranged for a people smuggler. In January 2019, they both flew to New Delhi, India and then to Malaysia.

Life in Malaysia

After a month, Feroza and Ali registered themselves with the UNHCR. They have been living in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

Since Malaysia is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention Protocol, Feroza and Ali cannot work legally there for living. Once Ali got arrested by the immigration police officer while working in a carwash garage. He was imprisoned for several days. There is not any organization to support refugees. Ali has to work 14 to 15 hours a day to survive with Feroza there. He has worked in a restaurant, in carwash garage, and as a security guard and butcher.

In 2021, Feroza and Ali got married. Feroza is a school student. She has to pay monthly fee of 150 Malaysian Ringgit for her school. She is going to graduate from high school next year, and she wants to study in business at university, but as a refugee, she will not be able to pay for the university.

The Only Way

The only way for Feroza to fulfill her dream of becoming a business woman is to resettle in a country like Canada.

As UNHCR refugees, Feroza and Ali are eligible for Canada’s private sponsorship program. They need a group of five Canadian friends to support them. Even better news - Partially Funded - a generous donor in Australia will provide $20,000 AUD towards the $24,800 CDN required to support the couple during their first year in Canada. Our volunteers can guide you to help raise the rest.

To help support Feroza and Ali as a sponsor, please contact Stephen Watt on Facebook.

You can also reach out to Feroza and Ali 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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