Names: Roya Yousofi (18), her parents Liaqat Ali Yousofi and Shakila Rahimi, her siblings Azizullah Yousofi (20) and Soraya Yousofi (16).

Profile: Hazara refugees from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, Roya Yousofi has excellent English skills, volunteer painting teacher, professional painter, basic computer skills, basic graphic designing and programming skills, her brother Azizullah has excellent English skills, Professional Muay Thai athlete, and her sister Soraya can speak English and Bahasa Indonesia fluently.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Roya’s father was a former soldier in the Afghan National Army. After being threatened by the Taliban, her family fled to Indonesia in 2016 to save their lives. Since then, they have been living without access to their basic human rights.

Despite living in limbo, Roya has developed skills in painting, web development, and basic programming, and volunteers as a teacher. Her brother Azizullah is a professional Muay Thai athlete.

Roya and her siblings are passionate about using their skills to contribute to society. Their hope is to find a group of five Canadian friends who can help bring them to Canada where they can start a new life.

Background

Roya’s father Liaqat was a soldier in the Afghan National Army. His home was in Tamaki, a village in the Qarabagh district in Ghazni province in Afghanistan.

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of their culture, religion, and love for education. Additionally, the Taliban have been killing former government officials, especially Hazaras since early 90s.

One day in 1992, Roya’s father Liaqat was on duty in the Jaghori district when some members of the Taliban entered his home and began searching for him. After failing to find him, the members of the Taliban threatened Roya’s mother and said that they would find Liaqat and kill him.

Sensing danger, Roya’s mother fled to Jaghori and informed Liaqat of what had happened. To save their lives, they both fled to Quetta, Pakistan and began living in Hazara Town, Quetta.

Life in Pakistan

Roya was born on January 1, 2006 in Quetta, Pakistan. Her father Liaqat worked in Iran to support the family, and he used to visit his family in Pakistan once in two or three years.

By early 2016, the government of Pakistan announced to deport Afghan immigrants without documents to Afghanistan. Thinking that they might not be in danger in Afghanistan since there was democracy government, Roya’s family moved to Ghazni, Afghanistan in 2016.

Unfortunately, after living for a few months there, Roya’s parents witnessed many incidents in which the members of the Taliban killed former government officials and Hazaras.

“Knowing that we would never be safe in Afghanistan, my parents made the painful decision to take me and my siblings to a safer country.”

The Way to Indonesia

With the help of his friends, Roya’s father arranged for a people smuggler, and on October 11, 2016, they (Roya, her parents Liaqat Ali and Shakila, and her siblings Azizullah and Soraya) flew from Kabul to New Delhi, India where they stayed for about 23 days at a people smuggler’s house. On November 2, 2016, they flew to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and then on to Medan, Indonesia. On November 4, 2016, they flew from Medan to Jakarta, Indonesia.

Seeking Refuge in Indonesia

On November 7, 2016, Roya and her family registered themselves with the UNHCR in Jakarta. Due to not having the right to work or way to support themselves in Indonesia, they went to Pekanbaru Immigration Centre to ask for assistance.

After about three months of living on the street in front of the immigration centre, Roya and her family were transferred to a community house in Pekanbaru. Since then, they have been living there.

Life as Refugees

As refugees, Roya and her family cannot get a proper education, work, drive and even open a bank account. Despite these restrictions, Roya has been painting for 6 years. She is a volunteer teacher, and has skills in web development, basic programming languages and basic graphic designing. Currently, she is learning IT essentials and soon will complete a course from Cisco Networking Academy. She is looking forward to begin her path in CCNA Networking.

Talented Family

Not only is Roya talented and hardworking, but her brother Azizullah is a professional Muay Thai sportsman. He has won many competitions that were held in Jakarta.

Additionally, Roya’s younger sister Soraya (15) is also very talented. She can speak English and Bahasa Indonesia fluently. Currently, she has been studying IT and homeschooling.

Roya says:

“My dream is to resettle in a safe country where I and my siblings can have the opportunity to learn new skills and have access to our basic human rights.”

Call to Action

This is time for this talented family to resettle in a country like Canada where they can live with freedom and peacefully. Since Roya and her family are officially certified as refugees by the UNHCR – unlike the vast majority of the world’s refugees – they qualify for Canada’s private sponsorship program.

If you would like to sponsor them – or if you’re just interested in helping to bring them here – please contact their friend Stephen Watt on Facebook.

You can reach out to Roya Yousofi directly on Facebook.

Reach out and discover how wonderful it is to privately sponsor a good family to start a new life – with your help – in Canada!

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