West African Refugees in N. Africa
Donation protected
Satta, Fatima and Audrey escaped violence and persecution in Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Ghana. They travel by foot and hitchhiking across the Sahara desert through Niger, Malawia and Algeria narrowly escaping civil wars and Muslim militias. They hiked across the mountain into Morocco, where they are now. I have send them small amounts of money- about $950 of my own money and 175 from folks' kind donations. That got them to where they are now. But they still need help. I am a street performer and a carpenter, but work has been slow and I'm down to my last dime. I got them an airbnb on the outskirts of casablanca. Check out is in a couple of days! They need money to rent a small apartment for a few months while they wait for refugees approval to Europe- about $400 per month, plus food, 150 per month, cloths (there are no charity services for non Muslims in North Africa) and costs of paper work and transportation, another 500. After that they will need one way tickets to Europe or US. I will be coming to North Africa in January to help other families as an extension of the project. There are estimated to be over a million West Africans Fleeing Boko Haram and other militant islamists. One of the scariest dangers they face is kidnapping. Those that become homeless or lost often become victims of kidnapping rings that snuggle them to Libya where they are sold in cruel slave markets. Here's an article. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/10/libya-public-slave-auctions-un-migration /// Satta, the leader of this group, was a child refugee from the Liberian wars. At age 12 she snuck in a ship as a stowaway, eventually arriving in Ghana. When I met her she was cleaning floors a church and gave me a tour of the Liberian refugee camp. She learned the art of beading and began making a living that way. She started to be harassed by a couple of guys who were scammers and fund raisers for islamists militants. She made it out of Ghana and since I was the only American she knew she contacted me. She befriended Fatima, Audrey and the kids along the journey. Now they are a team, a family. They will also need sponsors for housing and work, and a church community. If you or someone you know can host and or sponsor them please contact me, any and all form of assistance are greatly appreciated.
Organizer
Paul Blair
Organizer
Dallas, OR