Zahra Batool

My name is Zahra Batool. I belong to the Shia Hazara ethnicity from Pakistan are constantly facing persecution, and genocide in Pakistan. Many of my family members were killed and were forced to leave our country and to takerefuge in another country.

I was a teacher back home, and as a single mother with two young kids I decided to leave Pakistan and start living a peaceful life and went to Indonesia in 2015. We were safe in Indonesia but faced many other challenges.Both Adults and Kids were not allowed to work or go to school. I lived 7 years in Indonesia, during which I started volunteeringand was elected as a Refugee representative in UNHCR. It was an unpaid position.While living in Indonesia I was concerned about the future of my daughter’s education.
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Kalsoom Jaffari

My name is Kalsoom Jaffari. I am from Quetta, a city in Pakistan. I have been living in Indonesia as a refugee since 2012.

In my home country, I worked with different national and international humanitarian organizations. All of these Humanitarian Organizations focused on human rights and women health issues and were associated with UNHCR in Pakistan.

The security situation was very bad in Pakistan, especially for the Hazara community. I am part of this ethnic community and I noticed that year after year the situation was getting worse. I am identifiable as a Hazara because of my skin color, facial features, the language I speak, the culture I carry, and my religious beliefs as a Shia Muslim. Read More

Mohamed Issam Dawoud

My name is Mohamed Issam Dawoud.  I am from Syria.  My sister Dima, my brother in law Tarik along with their two children and I were sponsored by GIFT Organization.

Some time we go through tough circumstances that make us think we are going to have bad days for a long time and it let us to think we are not going to achieve our perfect plan that we worked hard to reach it, in that moment we might have doubts about what is going to happen in the future, however we don’t have to give up and lose trust in our God. After I finished my dentistry school back home I had a tough time since my country was in war for a long time and situation there was so bad I had no chance to practice my career normally. I had to go for military service after few months of graduation Read More

Arif Hussain Razayi

My name is Arif Hussain Razayi. I was born in Quetta, Pakistan, but I am originally from Afghanistan. I belong to Hazara community who has faced persecution, genocide, massacre and violence for more than a century.

While I was growing up, I witnessed and experienced tremendous persecution, violence, denial of basic human rights, massacre, genocide and statelessness at every stage of my life in Pakistan. For instance, I escaped a shooting on my religious procession in 2004 and survived a suicide car bombing in 2011 and 2013. In addition, a terrorist group attacked my workplace in 2016, in which my employer was shot dead. Luckily, I was not present at the time of attack. These all factors led me to leave Pakistan for Indonesia for good. Read More