Help a queer Iranian immigrant to pay their debts

Hey everyone,

For those who don’t know me, my name is Somi; I’m a queer trans non-binary Iranian living in Berlin. It's been a few months now that I have been experiencing a mental breakdown (to the point of being constantly suicidal) and so it's the first time that I've been compelled to turn to community for support. When the cistem fails us, we have no other choice but to turn to community.

I moved to Germany four years ago to do my second masters degree in Architecture and was working in a German architecture company until the end of last year when they brutally fired me. Even though my work was high quality, they said I was too “exotic” to be part of the team, that I didn’t “fit in” and fired me on these racist grounds, exposing me to a terrible situation, both financially and mentally.

I took a few months to try and recover mentally from the toxic, racist and queerphobic environment that I had been working in. Since February of this year, I have been applying to so many job openings in architecture; I've done numerous interviews, but constantly face rejection even though I have two master’s degrees, 10+ years’ experience and am fluent in German and English. The market is dominated by white German cis-males, making it extremely difficult for a queer person of colour to have a competitive edge.

I have been relying on financial support from close friends, but they cannot continue supporting me. I no longer have the financial means to survive (including rent, food, interest rates to the bank, health insurance etc.) and now owe a lot of debt to the bank (8k EUR), and the overdraft has reached its limit. This, on top of the constant job rejections, may have implications for my visa, which is sending me into panic mode. This stress is affecting my ability to concentrate on job applications and my overall mental health.

I would be infinitely grateful to you if you are able to contribute even just a little bit or if you can share this fundraiser with your friends/networks/any organisations that might be able to help me reach my goal. Every penny counts in my current situation. I have no words to thank you in advance!

Sending you warm hugs and best wishes,

Somi (they/them)