Name: Semiullah Abbasi

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills.

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

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Semiullah and his father were captured by the Taliban. They both were soon to be killed by them, but his father sacrificed his life and made Semiullah escape from there. Since he was no longer safe in Afghanistan, he fled to Indonesia by boat in 2014.

Since then, he has been deprived of his basic human rights. The only way for him to live his life again is to find a group of kind friends who can bring him to Canada where he can study, work and live a peaceful life.

His Story

Semiullah was born on January 21, 1997 in a village in the Ghazni province in Afghanistan. His father had an electronic shop at which he used to sell TV, satellite dishes, antenna and other electric items. Semiullah used to help his father at the shop.

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and violence because of their culture, religion and love of education. One day in late August 2014, two Pashtun men approached their store and told Semiullah’s father that they had recently opened an electronic shop and they would buy goods from his shop. His father gave his contact number and told the Pashtun men to come the next day because it was late at night. The next morning on September 1, 2014, Semiullah and his father were having breakfast when the Pashtun man called his father and said that they had been waiting outside the shop. The Pashtun man also said that they would come and pick him up to drive to the shop. While being on the way in the car of the two Pashtun men, Semiullah and his father saw that the car turned another way. When his father asked, the Pashtun men hit on his head with the back of the gun. Then they tied Semiullah’s and his father’s hands and took them to a dark room.

“We knew that they were members of the Taliban and they would kill us soon.”

Escaping Alone

Since it was not possible for both of them to escape from there, Semiullah’s father carried Semiullah on his shoulder and told him to get out of the room from the small window that was high. Semiullah spent the whole night on a mountain. In the morning, he went to a village from where he contacted his cousin who had a restaurant in Ghazni.

“My cousin told me that my father had been killed last night and the Taliban had come to my home to search for me. He told me to be very cautious and to come to his restaurant in any way.”

The Journey

Semiullah went to his cousin's restaurant by car. His cousin hid him in the warehouse of the restaurant and arranged for a people smuggler to send Semiullah to a safe country. The next day, he was sent to Kabul by car and kept in a house provided by the people smuggler. After a week, the people smuggler brought his passport and visa, and he flew from Kabul to New Delhi, India on September 6, 2014. From there, he went to Malaysia by plane and then on to Pekanbaru, Indonesia by boat on September 17, 2014.

Life in Indonesia

Due to not having the right to work for a living, Semiullah went to Pekanbaru Immigration Centre to ask for assistance, and he was detained for a month there. Then he was transferred to a hotel in Pekanbaru. On August 14, 2015, he was transferred to a detention centre in Pontianak where he spent his time learning English and Indonesian languages and playing football with his refugee fellows. After spending about 3 years inside the detention centre, Semiullah was freed and transferred to a community house in Batam on June 25, 2018.

Last Word

Since the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, Semiullah has been more worried for his family who is left in Afghanistan.

“I cannot sleep for nights because I keep thinking about the safety of my family.”

Semiullah cannot return to Afghanistan nor he can continue his life in Indonesia because as a refugee, he is not allowed to work, study, drive and travel to another city. His only option to live his life again in a safe place is to resettle in a country like Canada.

Since Semiullah 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 Semiullah – 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 Semiullah directly on Facebook – or by WhatsApp: +62-896-8936-4610.

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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