Help A Queer Couple Rebuild Their Lives in Safety

UPDATE!

A big thank you to everyone who helped this couple kickstart their new lives! They've safely left Ethiopia and are busy getting settled in a city in Europe. They're incredibly grateful for all the donations, the stories that were shared on their behalf, and the support they received. It means the world to them!

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Q & S are a Lesbian couple from the Horn of Africa. For their own safety and the safety of the community trying to support them, we are unable to share their names, faces or their country of origin. They have already experienced violence and the risk increases if their identities were to be discovered. Their families recently discovered the couple's relationship and reacted violently. They faced physical and psychological abuse and their life was in imminent danger. While queerness is not explicitly illegal in their conservative country, in practice it is socially condemned and highly risky. They fled to Ethiopia seeking support from a number of embassies, ultimately ending up in a safe house. The safe house provided safe accommodation for the couple even with the risk due to the criminalization of homosexuality in Ethiopia. As a result the couple has remained confined to the safe house for more than 18 months, having a severe negative impact on their mental health. This combined with their desire to live a full and productive life has pushed the couple to consider options and next steps beyond the safe house. When they leave the space within Ethiopia, they face imminent risk to their lives as the country is itself intolerant of LGBTQIA people. As they explore options for seeking asylum, costs continue to rise. They were ostracized from their family and reside in isolation without a chance to build community or an opportunity to provide for themselves; leaving them with no other options.

The couple is in critical need of support to help them seek asylum safely outside of Ethiopia and begin the process of rebuilding their lives with security and dignity.

Funds will contribute to essential materials for the couple as they continue their journey towards safety.