Bring A Pakistani Christian Family to Safety
Donation protected
Name: The Dean Family
Place of Origin: Pakistan
Current location: Malaysia
Risk: Arrest and deportation from Malaysia. Imprisonment and possible death sentence if family returns to Pakistan.
Needed: $32300 to fulfill monetary requirements for Private Sponsorship to Canada by the Canadian Government.
NOTE: Hania, the mom, has stage three breast cancer. PLEASE HELP US HELP THEM.
Meet Suleman, who lives with his wife and three beautiful children (9, 14 and 15) in Malaysia. They are Christians, forced to flee their home country of Pakistan in 2013. This is the story of how they survived – and their hope of starting a new life in a safer place.
Will they survive the next refugee crackdown in Malaysia?
The family’s story
In 2013, Suleman (not his actual name), his wife, and three young children had a comfortable life in Pakistan. Suleman was a banker and his wife taught in a missionary school. Their three children excelled in their studies and Suleman hired a contractor to build his family a home. This is a decision that would change the course of their lives forever.
Suleman was a Christian living in a Muslim-majority country. As is the case in many places around the world, religious minorities can suffer persecution, and due to their religious differences, this contractor brought misery and fear into Suleman’s life.
It began after Suleman had paid in full for his home, even though the contractor had not yet completed the work and refused to do so. The contractor demanded he pay thousands of dollars more, threatening to harm him and his family if he did not. Fearing for their safety, the family fled to a different location.
It did not take long for the contractor to find them. He and two strongmen arrived with a pistol, beat Suleman, damaged his car, threatened to kidnap his children, and issued a death threat if he did not pay the money.
Fortunately, Suleman’s friends came to see what was going on, and the contractor fled the scene. But the trouble continued. The contractor and his thugs continued to harass Suleman with several phone calls and eventually filed a criminal case against Suleman under Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law.
What does it mean to be charged with blasphemy in Pakistan?
This law carries a potential death sentence for anyone who insults Islam. You can read about the ordeal Asia Bibi and her family went through before finally being acquitted and finding safety in Canada in this Guardian aticle.
Suleman and his family are devout Christians, and this puts him in a vulnerable position to defend against the charge. And as Suleman discovered first hand, the law is often used to settle personal scores.
After talking to Suleman his friends, family, and lawyers, Suleman came to understand that for his family, life as they had known it known it was over.
Of this time he says:
“My family went into shock, my wife resigned from her teaching position, and we had to keep the kids from school. We were terrified they might be kidnapped by the contractor. We decided to leave the country.”
Leaving home
Suleman and his family arrived in Malaysia in September 2014. Soon after, they submitted their asylum application to UNHCR – and have been waiting ever since.
Life in Malaysia for asylum seekers is difficult. Since it’s illegal for them to work, they must find under-the-table jobs, which are few and far in between – especially for foreigners.
Suleman has worked in hotels, warehouses, stores, a car wash and for a transport company as an accountant. His wife cannot contribute as she is struggling with stage 3 cancer.
Hungry and afraid
They share a small flat with another family and all of them live hand to mouth. They receive a little food assistance from the church but Suleman is barely able to keep up with rent and education costs for his kids. Knowing that his kids’ education is the key to giving them an eventually stable life, he is most concerned with keeping them in school.
He also struggles to pay for medication for his diabetes and high blood pressure. His worst fear is that he will become too sick to provide even this much for his family.
They are active members of their church community, which provides some food assistance. Their daily meals look like this:
Morning: Breakfast of rice and flatbread
Morning snack: none
Lunch: none
3:30 pm: Biscuits or noodles
6:30 pm: Dinner of rice and flatbread
Sometimes the church gives them chicken curry, and that is the only time they get protein. The kids rarely get milk.
The kids are determined to do well in school and they have dreams that keep them going. Suleman’s daughter wants to be a doctor, and last year she came in at the top of her class. His oldest son wants to be an engineer and has a passion for music. His youngest son wants to be a pastor.
They attend church services and Sunday school, and they all sing in the choir. The Church gives them all meaning, purpose, and community. Also, some protection from immigration crackdowns, when they must go into hiding in the church.
Living through immigration crackdowns
At the end of 2018, the Malaysian government aimed to deport all illegal foreigners and continue to do so with impunity. Suleman and his wife are terrified to leave the house for fear of being arrested.
Suleman’s pastor explains it like this:
“The government is planning a crackdown on illegal foreigners. The crackdown will begin soon and continue as the government plans to rid the nation of illegal undocumented workers. It will be good for them if they can go to Canada where they can be free from the constant harassment by the authorities.”
What we can do to help
Because the family does not yet have full refugee status with the UNHCR (something that is nearly impossible to get in Malaysia), they are looking for a group of caring sponsors to come to Canada – with the backing of a Sponsorship Agreement Holder, International Christian Voice
Under the rules of the private sponsorship program , fundraising will be needed to collect $32,300 and placed in a secure bank account to cover their living expenses for one year. This money will never leave Canada and be for the exclusive purpose fulfilling the Private Sponsorship requirements as laid out by the Canadian Government.
All these steps – finding sponsors and finding the money are big challenges. But nothing is impossible! It’s amazing what can happen when a group of caring people come together to change the world for one family.
Place of Origin: Pakistan
Current location: Malaysia
Risk: Arrest and deportation from Malaysia. Imprisonment and possible death sentence if family returns to Pakistan.
Needed: $32300 to fulfill monetary requirements for Private Sponsorship to Canada by the Canadian Government.
NOTE: Hania, the mom, has stage three breast cancer. PLEASE HELP US HELP THEM.
Meet Suleman, who lives with his wife and three beautiful children (9, 14 and 15) in Malaysia. They are Christians, forced to flee their home country of Pakistan in 2013. This is the story of how they survived – and their hope of starting a new life in a safer place.
Will they survive the next refugee crackdown in Malaysia?
The family’s story
In 2013, Suleman (not his actual name), his wife, and three young children had a comfortable life in Pakistan. Suleman was a banker and his wife taught in a missionary school. Their three children excelled in their studies and Suleman hired a contractor to build his family a home. This is a decision that would change the course of their lives forever.
Suleman was a Christian living in a Muslim-majority country. As is the case in many places around the world, religious minorities can suffer persecution, and due to their religious differences, this contractor brought misery and fear into Suleman’s life.
It began after Suleman had paid in full for his home, even though the contractor had not yet completed the work and refused to do so. The contractor demanded he pay thousands of dollars more, threatening to harm him and his family if he did not. Fearing for their safety, the family fled to a different location.
It did not take long for the contractor to find them. He and two strongmen arrived with a pistol, beat Suleman, damaged his car, threatened to kidnap his children, and issued a death threat if he did not pay the money.
Fortunately, Suleman’s friends came to see what was going on, and the contractor fled the scene. But the trouble continued. The contractor and his thugs continued to harass Suleman with several phone calls and eventually filed a criminal case against Suleman under Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law.
What does it mean to be charged with blasphemy in Pakistan?
This law carries a potential death sentence for anyone who insults Islam. You can read about the ordeal Asia Bibi and her family went through before finally being acquitted and finding safety in Canada in this Guardian aticle.
Suleman and his family are devout Christians, and this puts him in a vulnerable position to defend against the charge. And as Suleman discovered first hand, the law is often used to settle personal scores.
After talking to Suleman his friends, family, and lawyers, Suleman came to understand that for his family, life as they had known it known it was over.
Of this time he says:
“My family went into shock, my wife resigned from her teaching position, and we had to keep the kids from school. We were terrified they might be kidnapped by the contractor. We decided to leave the country.”
Leaving home
Suleman and his family arrived in Malaysia in September 2014. Soon after, they submitted their asylum application to UNHCR – and have been waiting ever since.
Life in Malaysia for asylum seekers is difficult. Since it’s illegal for them to work, they must find under-the-table jobs, which are few and far in between – especially for foreigners.
Suleman has worked in hotels, warehouses, stores, a car wash and for a transport company as an accountant. His wife cannot contribute as she is struggling with stage 3 cancer.
Hungry and afraid
They share a small flat with another family and all of them live hand to mouth. They receive a little food assistance from the church but Suleman is barely able to keep up with rent and education costs for his kids. Knowing that his kids’ education is the key to giving them an eventually stable life, he is most concerned with keeping them in school.
He also struggles to pay for medication for his diabetes and high blood pressure. His worst fear is that he will become too sick to provide even this much for his family.
They are active members of their church community, which provides some food assistance. Their daily meals look like this:
Morning: Breakfast of rice and flatbread
Morning snack: none
Lunch: none
3:30 pm: Biscuits or noodles
6:30 pm: Dinner of rice and flatbread
Sometimes the church gives them chicken curry, and that is the only time they get protein. The kids rarely get milk.
The kids are determined to do well in school and they have dreams that keep them going. Suleman’s daughter wants to be a doctor, and last year she came in at the top of her class. His oldest son wants to be an engineer and has a passion for music. His youngest son wants to be a pastor.
They attend church services and Sunday school, and they all sing in the choir. The Church gives them all meaning, purpose, and community. Also, some protection from immigration crackdowns, when they must go into hiding in the church.
Living through immigration crackdowns
At the end of 2018, the Malaysian government aimed to deport all illegal foreigners and continue to do so with impunity. Suleman and his wife are terrified to leave the house for fear of being arrested.
Suleman’s pastor explains it like this:
“The government is planning a crackdown on illegal foreigners. The crackdown will begin soon and continue as the government plans to rid the nation of illegal undocumented workers. It will be good for them if they can go to Canada where they can be free from the constant harassment by the authorities.”
What we can do to help
Because the family does not yet have full refugee status with the UNHCR (something that is nearly impossible to get in Malaysia), they are looking for a group of caring sponsors to come to Canada – with the backing of a Sponsorship Agreement Holder, International Christian Voice
Under the rules of the private sponsorship program , fundraising will be needed to collect $32,300 and placed in a secure bank account to cover their living expenses for one year. This money will never leave Canada and be for the exclusive purpose fulfilling the Private Sponsorship requirements as laid out by the Canadian Government.
All these steps – finding sponsors and finding the money are big challenges. But nothing is impossible! It’s amazing what can happen when a group of caring people come together to change the world for one family.
Organizer
Wendy Noury Long
Organizer
Niagara Falls, ON