Name: Rauf Sultani

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, excellent English skills, house painter

FULLY FUNDED

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

When Rauf was just 17 years old he experienced the unthinkable. Rauf was tortured by the Taliban and his older brother was murdered. He escaped murder, but now had to flee Afghanistan in order to save his life. He left his mother and sisters behind on a desperate journey to freedom.

In Indonesia, Rauf found safety, but not freedom. As a refugee, he has no rights – o school, no work, limited health care. The UNHCR does not resettle refugees in Indonesia. Rauf has all the funds needed for the private sponsorship program to Canada – he just needs 5 Canadian friends to guide him to a life of freedom.

A Normal Childhood

Rauf was born in a village in Afghanistan and lived there with his family. He loved school.

“My dream was going to school to be educated person in my future and serve people through my knowledge and career.”

As an ethnic minority, the Hazara face widespread systematic discrimination, targeting and persecution with ruthless ethnic cleansing in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Taliban and ISIS have targeted the Hazara for more than a century and no place is safe. Houses, shops, markets, squares and even schools are not safe and have been targeted in suicide attacks for decades.

“Taliban and kuchi groups attacked on our village and destroyed our school and our homes and farms. They killed innocent people because we are HAZARA Ethnic nation in Afghanistan.”

When Rauf was 15, his father passed away. Rauf’s elder brother needed his help working with him on his truck, transporting goods from Kabul to their district. Rauf quit school to help support his mother and two sisters.

“I went to work with my brother for his truck, I hoped and prayed I could go back to school again.”

Attacked and Tortured

Rauf worked with his elder brother transporting all sorts of materials on his truck. When Rauf was 17, they agreed to transport materials for a girl's school under construction. Every truck goes through checkpoints on the way out from Kabul. It isn’t usually a problem, but this day, there were many Taliban at the check points. They had guns.

“We saw there were many Taliban standing up with guns in front our truck on the street. They raised their guns and blocked street to stop us. My brother was a driver and he had no choice except stop the truck. My brother told me stay in the car and don’t come out and I will go and speak to them. First they asked my brother show your identity. After they saw his Identity card they said with anger, ‘You are Hazara.’”

When they discovered Rauf and his brother were carrying governmental school building materials, they assaulted him. They hit his brother with the back of their guns. Another pointed their gun at his brother and called Rauf to come out of the truck. The Taliban blindfolded them and bound their wrists. They were taken to an old house where they were beaten and tortured at intervals for two days. They gave them no food or water.

His Brother’s Murder

“My brother told me, ‘They will kill us anyway because we were transferring governmental girls school materials. We have to try to escape.’ My brother was injured badly because Taliban beat him a lot. He said we have to run different directions. In the morning when Taliban went for prayer, we broke the window. Me and my brother separated, and I ran as far I could.”

Rauf found a highway. A driver stopped, and Rauf explained all that had happened to him ad his brother. The kind man drove him to a place to hide in Kabul. That’s when he learned the terrible news. His brother had been found, dead on the street. The Taliban had murdered him.

“I couldn’t dare to go back home because Taliban who stopped us and killed my brother - they already saw my face and know me. If they arrest me again, they would kill me like my brother.”

Escape to Indonesia

Rauf arranged a smuggler to get him to Indonesia. Alone, and only 17, the journey took 37 days.

“It was very hard to leave behind my mother my sisters and my three nephews and their mom. I had no choice except to get somewhere safe.”

He spent 2 months in Jakarta with no help or support. He was then transfer to Makassar Detention Centre.

Life in Limbo

He spent three years in a detention centre. The living conditions were terrible. Men whose only crime was fleeing for their lives were treated worse than common criminals. It would be easy to find despair in such a place, but Rauf worked hard to stay healthy and better himself. He studied English and Indonesian.

“In the detention center we had just (2 hours) freedom daily to walk around the yard. I used that 2 hours as a opportunity to exercise to stay healthy.”

After three years, UNHCR transferred Rauf to a refugee accommodation house in Makassar. Since then, Rauf has learned house painting, he reads and improves his English.

“I faced many hardships in this past 8 years. I tried my best to stay positive. I am hopeful and I believe one day I can live with my family in a Safe Country where humanity is valued.”

The Opportunity

Rauf’s dreams can come true in Canada. 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.

Another advantage about Rauf is that he has a friend who has agreed to donate the costs of his first year in Canada. Rauf is fully-funded and no fundraising is required.

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 also reach out to Rauf directly on Facebook – or by email - or through WhatsApp: +6281525917977

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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