Afghan family deported to Afghanistan

I am fundraising for a Hazara friend I met in Indonesia. His family had escaped Afganistan some time ago and had been living as refugees in Iran where they were relatively safe, although living without basic rights or protections. Like many Afghans, they have recently been deported back to Afghanistan. My friend is very fearful for his elderly mother, two younger sisters and younger brother. Harazas are an ethinic minority who are persecuted by the Taliban. What can my friend do? As a refugee in Indonesia for the past 13 years, he has no right to earn money to help his family.

He writes:

My name is Azizullah A.

I am originally from Qarabagh District, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, and belong to the Hazara ethnic group.

In 2013, I fled to Indonesia and registered with the UNHCR, hoping to find safety and a chance at a better future. It has now been 12 years that I’ve lived in Indonesia as a refugee, without the right to work, study, or move freely—stripped of even the most basic human rights.

In 2015, due to life-threatening insecurity, my family was forced to leave Afghanistan and seek refuge in Iran. For the past 10 years, they lived there undocumented—without legal rights, without access to education, and without protection.

Despite the hardship, I found comfort knowing they were at least safe.

But that fragile safety was recently taken away. The Iranian government began deporting Afghan refugees. My family, who had no legal documents, was among those forcibly returned to Afghanistan.

To make matters worse, the landlord kept the full housing deposit they had paid in Iran.

Now, my family is homeless and in urgent need of support. We are trying to raise AUD $4,500, which will be used as a deposit to rent a small house in Kabul city, Afghanistan—a safe shelter where my mother and younger siblings can live in dignity.

They have no guardian and no source of income. My elderly mother, whose hair has turned white and back is bent under the weight of hardship, now cares for my two young sisters and a younger brother, all alone.

As for me, I’ve been a refugee in Indonesia for 13 years, unable to work legally. Despite all my efforts, I am unable to support them.

I am devastated.

Watching my family suffer while I am powerless to help is a daily torment.

I humbly ask for your compassion and support.

Please help my family secure a safe place to live.

Your contribution—no matter how small—will make a life-changing difference.

Thank you for your kindness, your support, and for standing with us in our time of need.