My family and I are Hazara – an ethnic group from Central Afghanistan. Over the past few months, many of you have been following the news about Afghanistan and its tragic collapse to the Taliban. In the ’90s when the Taliban gained power, they targeted and massacred Hazaras, resulting in thousands of lost lives.

My family fled Afghanistan to Quetta, Pakistan.

Even though Pakistan is considered a powerful and safe country in the region, for Hazaras it is a different story. In the past two decades, the Pakistani Taliban and other terrorist organizations such as Lashkar-e-Jangvi have killed thousands of Hazaras. The leader of LeJ promised to turn Pakistan into a ‘Hazara graveyard’ and has carried out so many bomb attacks against us. Walls and military check-posts are built around this small community to ‘protect’ the Hazaras from Taliban terror groups, but this has blocked the Hazaras’ access to the outside world. In these ghettos, the Hazara people live with pain and ongoing grief, unable to escape the inevitability of death and targeted killings. I fear for my family’s safety every day.

Growing up I saw all my older siblings escape one by one in different ways to try and find a safe place. In 2013, after the Taliban bombed my school, I fled to Indonesia, and after three years living there as a refugee, I eventually resettled in the United States. Now my siblings are scattered all over the world, in Europe, Australia, and myself in the United States. My mother, her husband, and my sister-in-law with her two children are the only ones left in Quetta, Pakistan. We have been waiting since 2012 for my brother in Australia to get his residency permit so he can sponsor his wife and 2 daughters, but unfortunately, the Australian government policy says that anyone who arrived there by boat can never get permanent residency or bring their family members. We have waited for 3 elections in the hope the government and the policy will change, but now we can’t wait anymore.

My eldest niece is 12 years old. In the coming year or two, she will be seen as a young woman rather than a child and the risks to her will be more than escaping bombings. My mother was married at 12 years old and never got an education. My brother and I are determined not to let the same fate happen to his daughters. We have to break the cycle. Our mother is our family’s pillar and has always said she will only leave Pakistan once we are all safe somewhere else. She always prioritized our lives over hers. The situation in Afghanistan is affecting the situation in Quetta. The terror groups are bolder now the Taliban has taken power and are targeting Hazaras for evictions and violence.

With the situation rapidly escalating for Hazaras especially. I fear for my family’s safety now more than ever.

My mother grew up in war, I was born in war, my family was displaced because of war, and the war continues. I want it to end. I want to finally have all my family in a safe place. Your support will help them get to Canada to start a new life. A life in which they don’t have to feel constant fear. A life where my young nieces can go to school without fear of getting attacked for their race or gender. A life full of hope, possibilities, happiness, and safety.

Your Support is needed

One of the requirements of the Sponsorship Agreement Holder is to raise $60,000. Once the money is raised it will be held in a Canadian Trust account and used to pay for my family’s living expenses during their first year in Canada. 100% of the money raised will go to my family. There are no fees charged by the Canadian Government.

Please help me in my quest to finally end this refugee life. I’ll be grateful and appreciate any amount you donate.

Please note that donations to this fund are not eligible for tax receipts.