Hakim* and Family
Funding Progress
($34,000 AUD)
About Hakim and His Family
Like many Afghan refugees, Hakim’s journey has been marked by profound loss.
His father and one of his brothers were killed by the Taliban, while another brother was forced into disappearance and has never been found. Despite these tragedies, Hakim has persevered. He is now married and a father of four children.
Hakim met Jesus whilst imprisoned by the Taliban. Throughout his journey, he has experienced persecution, displacement, and situations that places his life at serious risk. Yet he has remained steadfast in his faith, and is committed to building a safer future for his family.
Recently, Hakim’s humanitarian visa application to Australia was rejected, closing what had been one of the few viable pathways to long-term safety. At the same time, the situation for Afghan refugees and Christian converts in Turkey has become very hostile. With limited legal protection, families like Hakim’s are often left with no secure future and very few options for resettlement.
As the avenues for protection continue to narrow, we are actively exploring alternative resettlement opportunities. However, pursuing these requires significant financial resources. Without substantial support, it will be nearly impossible to secure a pathway that offers safety, stability, and a future for them.
We have been privileged to walk alongside Hakim during this challenging season, supporting him through complex Australian humanitarian processes while providing practical assistance, encouragement, and pastoral care.
We invite you to read Hakim’s story below, to pray for him and his family, and to consider partnering with us as we continue to stand alongside vulnerable believers and refugees facing persecution and displacement. Your support can make a life-changing difference for families like Hakim’s who are seeking safety and hope for the future.
Please be warned this story contains distressing themes.
August 2026
Hakim’s Story
“My name is Hakim. I am with my wife and four children. I am from Afghanistan. The first time the Taliban took over, my father and brother were killed, and my other brother escaped and is missing to this day. My mother knew if we stayed that we were be taken next, so she took me and smuggled us into Iran. I was 19.
There, my mother died of stomach cancer. I continued to work in chicken farming.
Where my Troubles Began
While I was in Iran, I was vocal about Afghan immigrants in Iran not participating in the Syrian civil war. There was an IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Group Corp) spy among these people I spoke to.
A few days later, the spy arrested me where I was interrogated and accused of being a spy. They proceeded to torture me so aggressively that I cannot speak about it. I was in and out of consciousness. For 15 days I was tortured in solitary confinement.
I was not allowed to defend myself in court. They had concluded that I was conspiring against them, even though I was not. I went to prison for 6 months where I underwent a massive investigation, but as they could not find anything, I was released in 2011.
Taken by the Taliban
After this, I was taken to a deportation camp and forced back to Afghanistan.
I turned to my father’s government friends for help, to speak about the abuses of Afghan immigrants in Iran. Clearly the more I spoke on it, the angrier they got – and they turned me into the Taliban, claiming I was conspiring against the Taliban.
I was then tortured by the Taliban for 9 months. Because I was a Hazara (ethnic minority), they believed I was trying to avenge my father’s death, so treated me worse than the others they had captured.
Every Friday, they would kill someone. I thought, if I died here, how would my daughter know what happened to me?
A Person in White
I began to think about my daughter, and my boss whom I worked for when she was just born. It was in that thinking that I remembered this man told me that Jesus Christ was the true God.
I thought, I have been asking Allah to help me, and he has not. So I decided to ask Jesus. It was in the middle of the night, I just said:
Jesus, no one has helped me. Someone told me that you are the true God. Save me from being killed. This is my last request.
After I said this, my whole body underwent transformation. It was as if my heart has now been renewed.
When Friday night came, the Taliban came to take me to kill me. But when they grabbed me, I passed out. I don’t remember anything other than I was unconscious.
As I was passed out, I saw a person in a white dress come and put his hand on my shoulder. He said, “My son, you will be free. Don’t worry.”
When I woke up, it was dark. My friend told me that they didn’t kill me because a dead person who was not properly awake was not sufficient to kill.
Escaping the Taliban
The next day, we were on the move. They put us in vehicles.
After a while, I heard the sound of a gunshot hitting the car. In a panic, the Taliban turned a sharp corner to escape, but not before I threw myself out of the car door while they were distracted.
I remained on the ground, as my hands and feet were tied. I found some water and grass to hide in. There was hours of fighting, and then silence. I heard people talking, and when I was confident that they weren’t the Taliban, I came out to them. They pulled me out of the water and took me to a clinic – they were the Afghan police.
I believed in Jesus Christ that day.
Displaced Once Again
After I recovered in hospital, the Taliban printed a photo of me and distributed it across Afghanistan, calling for my arrest and life.
At that stage, I knew it was not possible for me to stay in the country. My wife and children were in Iran, where we escaped and now we live in Turkey as refugees.
Waiting an Answer
It has now been 6 years that we have been in Turkey. We all attend a church and spread the Gospel and were baptised. But mentally we are struggling. Our situation here is dangerous, and I am constantly under surveillance and targeted by Afghans here for my faith in Christ.
The best and most beautiful thing that has happened in our lives is coming to faith. But it has meant that we absolutely cannot return to Afghanistan. Not only are the Taliban in pursuit of us for our father’s work, but now there is another target of our faith and my escape from them.”