Name: Sadeq Rajabi

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, experienced farmer, good English skills.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Sadeq was arrested and beaten by the Taliban because they had been wanting to overtake his land. At the time of praying, Sadeq found an opportunity and he fled to Indonesia by boat in 2014.

While living without his basic human rights, he received the heartbreaking news that his younger brother had been killed by the Taliban. He hopes now to find a group of friends who can bring him to Canada where he can study, work, support his family and contribute to society.

His Story

Sadeq Rajabi was born in January 1998, in a village in the Qarabagh district in Ghazni province in Afghanistan.

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and violence because of their culture, religion and love of education. Sadeq’s village was dominated by the Pashtun and the Taliban. His father was a farmer and he used to help him there. In December 2013, his father died and Sadeq started working as a farmer to support his family.

On June 19, 2014, Sadeq was on his land when some armed members of the Taliban approached him and told him that the land belonged to the Taliban afterward and they warned Sadeq not to come back to his land again.

“I was very frightened. I ran to my home and shared everything with my mother.”

He was then told by his mother that he had to speak with the elders of the village. When he spoke with them, they told Sadeq that the Taliban had seized the lands of many Hazara people and killed their owners. They also said that they could not do anything because they did not want to be killed by the Taliban. Sadeq was suggested to share the incident with the district government. So, he went there the next day, and the government authorities told him that they would investigate first.

Taken

Two days later on June 22, 2014, some armed members of the Taliban entered his home and took Sadeq to an unknown place. He was kept inside a dark room.

“While beating me with a wood stick, members of the Taliban were shouting at me and asking me the reason for complaining against them to the district government.”

The members of the Taliban also told Sadeq that they would kill him like they had killed many other Hazaras. There was another Hazara guy inside the room who was arrested because his father had been assisting the government. At the time of praying, members of the Taliban went to offer their prayers. Luckily, they forgot to lock the room’s door. Sadeq and the other Hazara guy knew that it was an opportunity to save their life, or else they would be killed by the Taliban.

After getting out of the room, they both jumped over a short wall and started running.

“I ran as fast as I could until I reached the highway.”

Journey

From there, Sadeq went to Ghazni on a heavy vehicle and then to Kabul. There, he contacted his uncle who was living in Kabul, and his uncle picked him up from the bus station. After he contacted his mother and told her about the incident, his mother told him not to return to the village and she requested Sadeq's uncle to find a way to send Sadeq to a safe country. After his uncle arranged for a people smuggler, Sadeq flew from Kabul to New Delhi, India on July 3, 2014. From there, he went to Malaysia by plane and then on to Pekanbaru, Indonesia by boat on July 14, 2014.

Tragic News from Home

After two days, Sadeq was brought to Jakarta on July 16. He registered himself at the UNHCR office on July 17, 2014. Sadeq stayed in Bogor for a month. With no right to work or way to support himself in the new country, he went to Makassar Immigration Centre to ask for assistance on August 16, 2014. He was then transferred to a temporary shelter on August 22. After 2 and a half months, he was transferred to an overcrowded detention centre.

In 2014, Sadeq came to know from his mom that his younger brother had gotten killed by the Taliban because he had gone to their land that had been overtaken by the Taliban.

“I was very shocked and saddened. I was not there for my family in the most difficult time.”

Got Sick

On July 15, 2018, Sadeq received his freedom from the detention centre and was transferred to a community house in Makassar.

In March 2019, Sadeq’s uncle contacted him and told him that Sadeq’s mother had been seriously sick. Sadeq decided to deport himself to Afghanistan, and he had to move to Jakarta for that.

“After I arrived in Jakarta, my mother told me not to return to Afghanistan because she knew that my life would be in real danger there.”

Life Now

Sadeq listened to his mother but he had lost the financial support of IOM. His mother sent him money for living until the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, and after that, she was not able to support him. Sadeq was out of money while living in Bogor, so he asked for help from his humanitarian Australian friend, and he has been financially supported by her.

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

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

You can also reach out to Sadeq 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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