A Call for Aid for Pakistani Refugees

Longtime readers of the NOR will be familiar with the story of Michael D’Souza and his family, faithful Pakistani Catholics forced to leave their home in Karachi because of violent persecution by militant Muslims. I met the D’Souzas almost a decade ago at a Catholic parish in Bangkok, Thailand. Michael is a man of deep piety and virtue. He and his wife performed various odd jobs to provide for their three children while their case for refugee status was adjudicated with the United Nations (their application was ultimately denied, as was their appeal).

Twice during their time in Bangkok, Michael and his family were imprisoned in the (now infamous) Bangkok Immigration Detention Center, a filthy, corrupt facility run by Thai authorities. Throughout this ordeal, the D’Souzas’ faith never wavered. Eventually, they asked for financial help to get out, even if that meant returning to Pakistan. My wife, Claire, and I, and other members of our parish, raised the necessary funds to free the D’Souzas from the IDC and fly them to Karachi, with a little cash to start over.

Sadly, that second chance in Karachi did not last long. The same Muslim extremists who had terrorized them years before recognized Michael, beat him almost to death, and destroyed the motorized rickshaw that was his sole source of employment. During (and after) Michael’s recovery, his family lived under self-imposed house arrest to avoid the attention of the Muslim thugs. Twice they attempted to flee, once through Russia to Poland, later to Sri Lanka. Both times they were returned to Pakistan. In 2022, by God’s grace, they found temporary asylum in Azerbaijan, and their refugee application reopened with the UN. Things do not look promising, however, as local immigration authorities told Michael that their case will soon be closed if a sponsor for admittance is not identified, meaning yet another return to Pakistan.

Much has changed since the last time I saw Michael and his family more than six years ago. His eldest daughter, old enough to be graduating college, works with her mother earning $10 a day in an Indian restaurant in Baku. They are active in their local Catholic parish.

Yet there is still hope. Recently, my mother-in-law, who has been intimately invested in the D’Souzas since my family lived in Bangkok, contacted the Office for Refugees in Toronto. ORAT sponsors 700-800 refugees per year with the Canadian government, which accepts even those applicants who have not been designated as refugees by the UN. But the cost to open an application is $50,000.

That is the reason for my appeal to you, NOR readers, many of whom have already helped the Pakistani Catholics I have described in these pages and in my 2021 book, The Persecuted: True Stories of Courageous Christians Living Their Faith in Muslim Lands. Claire and I, and Claire’s parents, will, of course, be donating to this cause. But we will need the help of many friends to secure enough money. We have created a GoFundMe page (gofundme.com/help-dsouza-family-escape-persecution) for anyone interested and willing to support the D’Souzas’ cause in Canada.

I have often felt hopeless in the face of the many obstacles — and defeats — the D’Souzas have faced over the past decade. But I am hopeful that we might very well be approaching success for this devout Catholic family. I urge you, NOR readers, to prayerfully consider contributing to this cause. For any questions about this campaign, please reach out to my mother-in-law, Christine Caveness, at caveness2007@bellsouth.net.

God bless you!

Casey Chalk

Ed. Note: For more background about the D’Souza family, refer to our online dossier Pakistani Refugees, found here: newoxfordreview.org/topics/pakistani-refugees.