Sameena is a Pakistani Christian asylum seeker lady who came to Bangkok 6 years ago along with her husband Ashfan and 5 children. The family had to flee from Pakistan due to the religious persecution they faced for being Christians in an Islamic nation which is drastically radicalizing itself against people of any faith other than Islam.
They were afraid to return to Pakistan due to the threats they could face to their lives. Sameena and her family are not an exception when it comes to the biased behavior from the government of Pakistan which never reacts on the crimes against minorities and never protects them by introducing the necessary laws. That is what makes Pakistan one of the most dangerous places on earth to live as a Christian. The family applied for protection to the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) in Bangkok and they were granted the refugee status.
Like many other Christian asylum seekers in Bangkok Sameena´s family was also not provided any financial support by the UNHCR. It was a daily battle for the parents to feed properly their children (Alia 11, Maryam 13, Hania 17, Saqib 18). But situation became worst when 3 Years ago Ashfan got caught by the police and thrown into the immigration detention center for an indefinite period.
It was very difficult for Sameena to fulfill the needs of her children alone and meet the ends at the end of the month. She kept insisting the UNHCR to resettle them to a safe third nation at the earliest so they can get rid of the life of illegal immigrants in Thailand and above all Ashfan could be liberated from the detention. Finally, after 6 Years they heard the good news that they are going to be resettled to the United States of America.
The UNHCR arranged their visas for USA and provided them the air tickets but the family had to pay a heavy fine to the Thai immigration for being overstay and violating the Thai law. The need was almost 3000 euros which is a huge amount for a family which is not allowed to work and lives in Bangkok as illegal immigrants. Our Foundation received their request for paying the immigration overstay fine and we decided to help them as we wanted to end their 6 years´ long suffering. Through our team of volunteers in Bangkok we immediately provided them the necessary funds so they could arrange their traveling from Thailand to USA.
On April 14th 2025 by the grace of God the family could fly from Bangkok to New York And Ashfan could be reunited with his family after spending 3 long years in detention. The family was happy and very thankful for the help they received when they were in desperate need. Now they have reached USA and started a new life together as a family without fear of being arrested. They hold the work permission, can work legally and their children can study in order to build a better future.
