Earlier this fall, a mother and father from Pakistan were able to reunite with their children, now living in Carman.

Jamal is the father of two sons and a daughter, who has a husband and two children. Jamal and his wife came to Carman 2 months later than the rest of the family, due to medical issues.

The refugee family was able to settle into the Town of Carman thanks to the Canadian Reformed Church of Carman, which sponsored the family through the Sponsorship Agreement Holders Program.

Jamal and his son, Akber, have shared their story in order to raise awareness of the challenges Christian people face in Pakistan.

While in Pakistan, Jamal had his own business as a building designer in the province of Punjab. He also worked as a pastor at two Christian churches and distributed Bibles for Gideon International.

He would also pray for sick people in the community who came to see him, regardless of their religious backgrounds. However, this resulted in a dangerous situation for Jamal and his family.

Jamal explained that in Pakistan, Christians are considered inferior, and could be killed just for drinking the same water as a non-Christian person.

In 2011, Jamal said his family was targeted by an extremist group. The group feared that Jamal's work as a pastor would convert others to Christianity.

Jamal said the group thought he was a "danger for all Islam."

"That is why they became against me and my family and they tried to harm us, to kill us, and tried to abduct my sons," said Jamal.

He recalls an incident where he was shot at, while retuning from a city where he went to get medicine.

"It was evening time, (the) road was misty and dusty. They saw me and they recognized (me), and called to his other companion," he said.

Jamal attributes his escape to his motorbike and the dusty roads. He felt very helpless, and explained that going to the police would not help the situation.

"In Pakistan, the network of the terrorists is so strong and their representatives, their members, are everywhere in the country, even in... all the government and the civil departments," he said.

"When they want to find someone they send their photos... to find that person. So nobody can hide in Pakistan from them if they want to catch someone or kill someone."

Christa Smith, who is with the Carman Reformed Church, added that police who help Christians put themselves at risk.

"The government is set against Christianity in Pakistan," said Smith, "There's several police stations, that if they did help Christians, that police station was bombed."

Jamal's son went online to find a solution, and saw a posting by the UN in Thailand. The family decided to flee to Thailand, where visas are easy to obtain.

In Dec. 2013, the family arrived in Thailand only to discover that the UN was not able to provide much assistance, at least not for several years. Akber went online again and applied to Emmanuel Free Reformed Church Sponsorship Agreement Holders City of Refuge program.

Once their Thailand visas expired, Jamal said he and his family lived in hiding.

"Life was very miserable there," he said, adding that his family lived in fear of being discovered, and only left their room to buy food.

Jamal said the family survived on money they had saved up, along with money sent by relatives and friends back in Pakistan.

He recalled the day the day his family was discovered by immigration officers.

"I was not at the room and they arrested my whole family and took them to the prison, and afterward sent them to the detention centre," he said.

Everyone was taken to the Thailand Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) except for Jamal, who remained undiscovered. His daughter was also released because she had such young children.

When describing the detention centre, Akber and Jamal noted how crowded and unsanitary it was. There were a few toilets for 200 people, and people had 1 square foot of room to sleep.

Jamal said skin diseases were common there, and his grandchildren had to recover from a skin disease after only being at the detention centre for a short period of time.

The only food available to the refugees and asylum seekers at the centre was rice and cucumber soup, so Jamal, who was still in hiding, would cook food and pay someone to bring it to his family. He explained that visitors were allowed at the IDC.

At this point Jamal was receiving financial aide from the Carman Reformed Church, who decided to sponsor the family after being told of their urgent need.

After about a year and a half in the Thailand Immigration Detention Centre, Jamal's family was able to leave and come to Canada through the sponsorship program. Jamal said he had to turn himself in and spend 9 days at the centre so he could leave with his family.

Currently, Jamal said his family is adjusting well to their new life in Carman, noting they are very grateful for the sponsorship.

"We feel the freedom here. We can walk here and there, we can talk (to) everyone," he said.

"We also feel that this openness feeling, for us is best," said Jamal, referring to Canada's prairie landscape. "We feel healthy ourselves, mentally and physically."

Jamal added that he sees a bright future for his family in Carman.

"We will work for work Carman, for Canada, and so we are thankful for the Government of Canada, for the church, and for the people," said Jamal.

Christa Smith noted there are two ways people can sponsor those seeking refuge, known as the Sponsorship Agreement Holders Program and Groups of Five/Community Sponsors.

For more information on the programs, visit the Government of Canada private sponsorship website.

Note: Names were changed to protect Jamal's family, as well as his relatives and friends in Pakistan.

The family now attends the Carman East Canadian Reformed Church. (Photo courtesy of Christa Smith)