Help Queer Somali Ex-Muslim Escape From Kenya
Donation protected
Hi everyone this is Sara (not real name for safety reasons), I’m a 21 year old bisexual Somali girl. I realise these are hard times for everyone and I would from the bottom of my heart wish that it wouldn’t have come to this but I need your help to escape from my family who are planning to take me to Somalia. I am currently terrified for my life so please if you can spare any help or at least share it so that other people may do so you could literally be saving my life.
This is the break down of the expenses;
$600 for a new passport this price is unfortunately very high as I am completely undocumented (apart from my ID) as my papers are all with my family and I cannot retrieve them.
$1400 is more or less the price of a one way ticket from Nairobi to Melbourne.
$1000 is what I estimate the legal cost of the change of my student visa to a protection visa would be. The fee of the visa itself is $40, however I may require legal assistance in order to get it completed.
$2000 is roughly what I would need in order to get back on my feet once in Australia as I would need a home to stay, and money for groceries, transport and other essentials while I look for a job. This would cover roughly a month or two at which point I should have managed to get employment.
My Story:
Trigger Warning for Abuse, Trauma and Homophobia.
Forgive me for sounding sterile as I relate this. I'd love to be emotive and garner sympathy but I have decided it is best to address my feelings about this with professional help. For now I am focusing on escaping the hell that my life has become.
I am a Somali Kenyan ex-Muslim who studies at a university in Melbourne (won’t be mentioning for safety reasons). While I was there I got outed to my family and soon after I was tricked by my family into coming back. When I arrived in Nairobi as many could have guessed already, things took an unexpected bad turn. My family took my documents and electronics away and subjected me to months of exorcisms and conversion therapy. At first I thought I could endure it and get over with it so I could return to my life. I managed to power through it the first few months despite how increasingly traumatic it became. It was honestly one of the worst things I have experienced in my life. It was daily torture and I genuinely don’t even know how to process it. I constantly have nightmares about it. And even if it hadn’t affected me personally, there are so many others that are still there and unable to escape that it hurts to even think about it. For my sake and yours I won’t go into detail.
After all they made me go through, they were still not satisfied and soon after planned to take me to Somalia for a “more efficient treatment”. At that moment, I couldn’t do it any longer so I ran away from home to my uncle’s house. Unfortunately that did not last long due to the pressure he was getting from my parents and soon he kicked me out himself. I was left homeless and I had to reach out online for help and a place to stay. I am now living somewhere with someone who was kind enough to accomodate me, however my family still harasses my boyfriend and his family looking for me. I am genuinely terrified and I know they will not stop looking for me the only way I will be safe is by going back to Australia where I can be allowed a level of protection and will be able to live my life again. I know it is only a matter of time before my family finds me, they have the resources to and honestly won’t stop. I can’t even tell my own friends where I'm at at the moment without putting myself in further danger. I can barely sleep because I am constantly having nightmares of what would happen if they eventually caught up with me. I am resorting to this because I don’t know what else to do.
Please help me get out of here, I don’t know what will happen if I am discovered again. I fear for my life and honestly speaking, they’re capable of doing anything to “restore the family honour”.
I'm at a point where wishing for a normal life again is not even something I’m capable of, I just want to get away from here.
I know this is a lot of money and everybody is struggling right now but any cent counts. And if you have nothing to spare please share this everywhere.
This is the break down of the expenses;
$600 for a new passport this price is unfortunately very high as I am completely undocumented (apart from my ID) as my papers are all with my family and I cannot retrieve them.
$1400 is more or less the price of a one way ticket from Nairobi to Melbourne.
$1000 is what I estimate the legal cost of the change of my student visa to a protection visa would be. The fee of the visa itself is $40, however I may require legal assistance in order to get it completed.
$2000 is roughly what I would need in order to get back on my feet once in Australia as I would need a home to stay, and money for groceries, transport and other essentials while I look for a job. This would cover roughly a month or two at which point I should have managed to get employment.
My Story:
Trigger Warning for Abuse, Trauma and Homophobia.
Forgive me for sounding sterile as I relate this. I'd love to be emotive and garner sympathy but I have decided it is best to address my feelings about this with professional help. For now I am focusing on escaping the hell that my life has become.
I am a Somali Kenyan ex-Muslim who studies at a university in Melbourne (won’t be mentioning for safety reasons). While I was there I got outed to my family and soon after I was tricked by my family into coming back. When I arrived in Nairobi as many could have guessed already, things took an unexpected bad turn. My family took my documents and electronics away and subjected me to months of exorcisms and conversion therapy. At first I thought I could endure it and get over with it so I could return to my life. I managed to power through it the first few months despite how increasingly traumatic it became. It was honestly one of the worst things I have experienced in my life. It was daily torture and I genuinely don’t even know how to process it. I constantly have nightmares about it. And even if it hadn’t affected me personally, there are so many others that are still there and unable to escape that it hurts to even think about it. For my sake and yours I won’t go into detail.
After all they made me go through, they were still not satisfied and soon after planned to take me to Somalia for a “more efficient treatment”. At that moment, I couldn’t do it any longer so I ran away from home to my uncle’s house. Unfortunately that did not last long due to the pressure he was getting from my parents and soon he kicked me out himself. I was left homeless and I had to reach out online for help and a place to stay. I am now living somewhere with someone who was kind enough to accomodate me, however my family still harasses my boyfriend and his family looking for me. I am genuinely terrified and I know they will not stop looking for me the only way I will be safe is by going back to Australia where I can be allowed a level of protection and will be able to live my life again. I know it is only a matter of time before my family finds me, they have the resources to and honestly won’t stop. I can’t even tell my own friends where I'm at at the moment without putting myself in further danger. I can barely sleep because I am constantly having nightmares of what would happen if they eventually caught up with me. I am resorting to this because I don’t know what else to do.
Please help me get out of here, I don’t know what will happen if I am discovered again. I fear for my life and honestly speaking, they’re capable of doing anything to “restore the family honour”.
I'm at a point where wishing for a normal life again is not even something I’m capable of, I just want to get away from here.
I know this is a lot of money and everybody is struggling right now but any cent counts. And if you have nothing to spare please share this everywhere.
Organizer
Nehemia Tekleab
Organizer
Sugar Land, TX