Help Nurullah to Reach Freedom
Australia
Name: Nurullah Ahmadi Profile: Hazara refugee living in Batam City, Indonesia Place of origin: Ghazni province, Afghanistan Risks: At risk of being caught and killed by Taliban if being returned to Afghanistan. Needed: $19,000 (Australian) which is about $16,500 Canadian for his private sponsorship to Canada
My name is Nurullah Ahmadi and I am a former engineer from Afghanistan who was forced to flee my home country in fear for my life.
EARLY LIFE I was born in January 1988 in Ghazni province in Afghanistan. I studied at the Polytechnic University of Kabul. After I graduated, I was hired as an assistant engineer in a private road construction company in Ghazni province.
MY BACKGROUND My family are Hazaras, a persecuted minority in Afghanistan. We follow the Shia branch of Islam while the majority of Afghans are Sunni Muslims. For many years our people have been subjected to murderous attacks by the Taliban. Since the fall of the Republic of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have become the Government of Afghanistan.
CAPTURED BY THE TALIBAN In 2014, about 40 days after I began my work as an engineer, I was traveling in a van to Ghazni city with my senior colleague from the road construction company. It was late in the day. Suddenly the van was stopped by four members of the Taliban. They seized the work documents that my colleague and I were carrying, and they ordered us to get off the bus. We knew that our lives were in danger, and we were terrified.
They took us by car to a place that we did not recognize. It was dark. They put us into a room with an old wooden door. After about two hours, I heard two of the Taliban speaking outside the room. They spoke to each other in Pashto but I was able to understand what they said. They were waiting for a senior Taliban person to arrive. One of them suggested to the other that they should kill us, and then explain to their boss that we had tried to run away, so they had been forced to shoot us. The other said that it was time to go for prayers, and that after prayers they should come back and kill us, because they did not want to have to watch us until the following morning.
THEIR PLAN TO KILL US On hearing that they were planning to kill us, fear overtook me. I was desperate to escape. I noticed that the lock on the door was not secure. I could not see or hear the guards, so I made the decision to break free. I said to my colleague, “I am going to run. If they shoot me when I am running, it is better than dying by torture.” My colleague said that he would also run. I said to him, “Do not run in the same direction as I am running so that there is a better chance that one of us will survive”.
In the distance I could see the headlights of vehicles on a road, and I knew that it was the main road from Ghazni to Kabul. I ran towards it. I managed to hitch a ride to Kabul, which was about two and a half hours away. I do not know what happened to my colleague. I have never seen him since that day.
LEAVING AFGHANISTAN I had no choice but to leave Afghanistan. I took a flight from Kabul to India, and from there I travelled to Indonesia, where I have been trapped for the last ten years. I left behind my elderly parents, who have always been my source of strength and inspiration. Their faces still haunt my dreams. I am desperately hoping for the day when I can hold them close again.
MY LOST DECADE IN INDONESIA Life as a refugee in Indonesia is difficult to endure. Since Indonesia is not a signatory of the UN Convention for Refugees, there is no pathway to citizenship. I am not allowed to earn an income, study at university, travel, drive or open a bank account. I receive only basic support – food and shelter – from the International Office for Migration. As there are 12,000 refugees in Indonesia, and I have been living here since 2014, it is most unlikely that the UNHCR will re-settle me. As I arrived after July 2014, I can never hope to be resettled in Australia. This life of inactivity and hopelessness causes many refugees to suffer mental and physical breakdown. But I am determined to remain proactive, and to work continuously towards my long-term goals. I have undertaken some short courses in cooking, writing and medical skills that have been offered to refugees.
I have also taught English, mathematics and chemistry to some of the other refugees here.
MY FUTURE I believe that these difficulties make us strong. I hope to resettle in Canada where I will be able to contribute to society. With my skills in road construction, English and also my culinary skills, I believe that I will have the opportunity to be a productive citizen in Canada.
I need to raise $AUS19,000 dollars, ($16,500 Canadian dollars). When I have raised this amount, I can apply to the Government of Canada for private sponsorship to Canada. The money will be held in a trust account in Canada until the application is approved. All the money that I have raised will then be made available to me for living expenses until I get established. A team of five sponsors who are Canadian citizens will mentor me for the first twelve months.
If you can make a donation, that would help me to achieve my goal of living a normal and productive life in Canada.
Geraldine Moore, Melbourne
Sandra Brunner, Toronto
Stephen Watt, Toronto
Bayside Refugee Advocacy and Support Association, Melbourne, Australia.
BRASA FundraiserDanceAuction
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$19,000.00
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Product Description
Australia
Name: Nurullah Ahmadi Profile: Hazara refugee living in Batam City, Indonesia Place of origin: Ghazni province, Afghanistan Risks: At risk of being caught and killed by Taliban if being returned to Afghanistan. Needed: $19,000 (Australian) which is about $16,500 Canadian for his private sponsorship to Canada
My name is Nurullah Ahmadi and I am a former engineer from Afghanistan who was forced to flee my home country in fear for my life.
EARLY LIFE I was born in January 1988 in Ghazni province in Afghanistan. I studied at the Polytechnic University of Kabul. After I graduated, I was hired as an assistant engineer in a private road construction company in Ghazni province.
MY BACKGROUND My family are Hazaras, a persecuted minority in Afghanistan. We follow the Shia branch of Islam while the majority of Afghans are Sunni Muslims. For many years our people have been subjected to murderous attacks by the Taliban. Since the fall of the Republic of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have become the Government of Afghanistan.
CAPTURED BY THE TALIBAN In 2014, about 40 days after I began my work as an engineer, I was traveling in a van to Ghazni city with my senior colleague from the road construction company. It was late in the day. Suddenly the van was stopped by four members of the Taliban. They seized the work documents that my colleague and I were carrying, and they ordered us to get off the bus. We knew that our lives were in danger, and we were terrified.
They took us by car to a place that we did not recognize. It was dark. They put us into a room with an old wooden door. After about two hours, I heard two of the Taliban speaking outside the room. They spoke to each other in Pashto but I was able to understand what they said. They were waiting for a senior Taliban person to arrive. One of them suggested to the other that they should kill us, and then explain to their boss that we had tried to run away, so they had been forced to shoot us. The other said that it was time to go for prayers, and that after prayers they should come back and kill us, because they did not want to have to watch us until the following morning.
THEIR PLAN TO KILL US On hearing that they were planning to kill us, fear overtook me. I was desperate to escape. I noticed that the lock on the door was not secure. I could not see or hear the guards, so I made the decision to break free. I said to my colleague, “I am going to run. If they shoot me when I am running, it is better than dying by torture.” My colleague said that he would also run. I said to him, “Do not run in the same direction as I am running so that there is a better chance that one of us will survive”.
In the distance I could see the headlights of vehicles on a road, and I knew that it was the main road from Ghazni to Kabul. I ran towards it. I managed to hitch a ride to Kabul, which was about two and a half hours away. I do not know what happened to my colleague. I have never seen him since that day.
LEAVING AFGHANISTAN I had no choice but to leave Afghanistan. I took a flight from Kabul to India, and from there I travelled to Indonesia, where I have been trapped for the last ten years. I left behind my elderly parents, who have always been my source of strength and inspiration. Their faces still haunt my dreams. I am desperately hoping for the day when I can hold them close again.
MY LOST DECADE IN INDONESIA Life as a refugee in Indonesia is difficult to endure. Since Indonesia is not a signatory of the UN Convention for Refugees, there is no pathway to citizenship. I am not allowed to earn an income, study at university, travel, drive or open a bank account. I receive only basic support – food and shelter – from the International Office for Migration. As there are 12,000 refugees in Indonesia, and I have been living here since 2014, it is most unlikely that the UNHCR will re-settle me. As I arrived after July 2014, I can never hope to be resettled in Australia. This life of inactivity and hopelessness causes many refugees to suffer mental and physical breakdown. But I am determined to remain proactive, and to work continuously towards my long-term goals. I have undertaken some short courses in cooking, writing and medical skills that have been offered to refugees.
I have also taught English, mathematics and chemistry to some of the other refugees here.
MY FUTURE I believe that these difficulties make us strong. I hope to resettle in Canada where I will be able to contribute to society. With my skills in road construction, English and also my culinary skills, I believe that I will have the opportunity to be a productive citizen in Canada.
I need to raise $AUS19,000 dollars, ($16,500 Canadian dollars). When I have raised this amount, I can apply to the Government of Canada for private sponsorship to Canada. The money will be held in a trust account in Canada until the application is approved. All the money that I have raised will then be made available to me for living expenses until I get established. A team of five sponsors who are Canadian citizens will mentor me for the first twelve months.
If you can make a donation, that would help me to achieve my goal of living a normal and productive life in Canada.
Geraldine Moore, Melbourne
Sandra Brunner, Toronto
Stephen Watt, Toronto
Bayside Refugee Advocacy and Support Association, Melbourne, Australia.
BRASA FundraiserDanceAuction
| ID | Name | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1244 | Listing Agent | [email protected] | |
| 1215 | Listing Agent | [email protected] |
