June - An Unlikely Friendship
Recently at CRIS, we have had the opportunity to serve people who have been granted asylum. Similar to refugees, asylum seekers are people fleeing persecution. However, they are already present in the United States when they request asylum and hope to be granted asylum through an appointment before a judge. Usually, single asylees are detained and held for weeks, months or even years until they can be seen before a judge. We have recently had the pleasure of working closely with two women who enrolled in CRIS’ Matching Grant Program (an employment program that offers case management, financial assistance, and employment services to refugees and asylees). These two women come from very different backgrounds, but their intense fight for survival landed them in each other's lives. The two women, who we will refer to as Fatima and Marie, met at a detention center in California. They shared a dormitory together and quickly became friends when they discovered they both speak French.
Fatima is a very quiet, mature 25 year old woman with a beautiful smile that lights up her entire face. She was born and raised in Guinea, but her life there was not easy. After Fatima’s mother passed away she was forced to undergo female circumcision, a painful procedure, also called female genital mutilation. Fatima’s uncle became her guardian and attempted to arrange a marriage for her with a 65 year old man. When she refused she was severely punished, so the only option she saw was to flee. This was the beginning of a scary, dangerous journey to a new life. She flew to Ecuador and got on a bus to Columbia. Next stop: Panama; which proved to be the most challenging. She had to trek through the jungle for two weeks with almost no food, but was then able to enter Costa Rica with a temporary visa. She continued on to Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and then to Mexico. She stayed in Tijuana for a month before presenting herself to US authorities in California to request asylum. This is where she met Marie.
Marie is determined and passionate about helping others. She was born and raised in the English speaking region of Cameroon, where she owned her own business and worked hard to support her two children and aging parents. One day her business was raided by the French speaking military; she was arrested and imprisoned for suspicion of being an armed English speaking protester. Unfortunately, this has been happening more as tensions rise between the French speaking government and English speaking minority. While in prison she was raped repeatedly before she was able to escape and flee to another region in Cameroon. Here she was informed her family home was burned to the ground and her father passed away as a result, but her mother and children were able to flee and were in hiding. Marie decided she had to start a new life elsewhere for herself and her family. She planned to make her way to Ecuador, become established, and pay for her children and mother join her. She flew to Rwanda, South Africa, and then to Brazil, where she made her way to Ecuador. Ecuador turned out to be far more difficult than she expected and the language barrier kept her from establishing a life. She was advised by a woman she met to continue her journey to the US, where she would be safe and have a better opportunity for a new life. Marie agreed and began the same journey Fatima had already taken from Ecuador to Mexico. The jungle in Panama turned out to be most difficult for her as well. When she made it to Mexico, she stayed for one month and 9 days before entering the US through Arizona. From there, she was taken to the same detention center as Fatima.
Fatima and Marie quickly bonded over their common experiences. Both women were eventually granted asylum and made their way to Columbus, Ohio. It’s been a privilege getting to know these women and we are grateful to have them enrolled in the Matching Grant Program.
This is where you have the opportunity to join Marie and Fatima’s stories. Asylees enter the US with almost no personal belongings and have spent most, if not all, of their funds on getting to the US. When they are released from detention they have to start from scratch. In order to serve asylees, the Matching Grant program needs to raise $1,500 in private funds for each asylee enrolled. These funds cover the cost of two months of rent, a furniture bank appointment, and basic household items to get them started in a new apartment. Currently, there are 7 asylees enrolled in the program from Guinea, Cameroon, Eritrea, and Venezuela. Please consider taking this opportunity to be part of serving these individuals and making a very significant difference in their lives. We are so grateful for the support of community members like you.
For more information about donating to this need please contact Erica Price at eprice@cris-ohio.org.