BACKGROUND
I have known A since 2016 when I was doing voluntary work for refugees in his school once a week. He was (is!) a very bright, polite and shy kid. He belongs to the minority group Hazara constituting around 9% of the total population in Afghanistan. (From what I understand there are around 15 different minority groups but they are the only one's who are Shia, the vast majority is Sunni). Also, the Hazara are believed to be of Mongolian descent meaning that they look different than the rest of the Afghanistan people, hence are easy to spot and persecute.
We became friends on facebook and I could see from his posts that he was unwell. Living with a constant threat of being deported back to the country you have gone through such inexplicable hardships to get away from, of course does that to you, One post he made this last spring, made me worry for his life and I contacted him and we met that same day, it turned out he had just received his third and final dismissal from the Migrations Court because they a) only accept specific threats to a person and not threats to a minority group as such, which was his case, and b) since he fled and at that time his family was still in Afghanistan that meant he should have somebody to return to (how that is supposed to work in practice is of no concern to them). Also, worth to mention is that his own group of fundamentally religious shia muslims, could be dangerous to him; since he has lived and been 'indoctrinated' by a secular way of living for over two years now.
When we met that awful day I thought he was going to commit suicide, he also told me that his legal guardian had quit, because she couldn't handle that he was so acutely depressed. So, in front of me stood a child - his young age is not the issue to fight over, the Migration court has acknowledged it - so lonely, with no grown up looking out for him, totally alone with his despair.
A few weeks later I was appointed his legal guardian. That means, amongst other things, that I attend parent-teacher meetings, sort out his economy, meet with the social welfare office and book appointments with healthcare, check if he has wellingtons when autumn comes and first and foremost pursue his case against the migration department. But being his guardian has also had the effect that me and my family have spent a lot of time with him, become close to him, and we deeply care for him.
OPTIONS OF ACTION
We are trying to find proof of his parents whereabouts, he hasn't been in touch with them for over 1,5 years, he only had a landline number which no longer works. If we can somehow show they have fled to Iran, we have a chance to plea that he doesn't have a "Safe Reception" which the Swedish migration law requires in order to deport children, and that would mean that he at least would be allowed to finish school here in Sweden. (He would then have the possibility of acquiring permanent residency if he within 6 months could find i job. If it eventually comes to that, we will find him a job). But how do you find an illiterate persecuted Hazari family with no identity paper's who have crossed a boarder illegally and most probably live in a shelter made of mud, you can't exactly google them, and I would say the lack of Wi-fi is in all likelihood the least of their troubles....
The second option, which is where YOU enter the picture, is to go through his life's story with a certified psychiatrist with experience of children with traumas from war and living under persecution and as refugees, and I have found the perfect one: Brita Hännestrand, About her (in Swedish): http://www.befris.se/cv?lang=sv and an article she wrote on the danger of only giving people with trauma's temporary residence permits (also in Swedish): http://www.farr.se/sv/aktuellt-a-press/debattinlag...
WHAT I ASK
So, this is pledge for A to get 3 sessions with this psychiatrist and a translator that speaks his mother tongue, Dari, that will give him a certificate that can help our request to stop his deportation.
The cost for it is 16500 SEK / 1645 EURO and I would need the money by the end of September.
WHY
He is just a young kid, afraid for his life. He can't sleep at night because nightmares torture him of what he has been through and what a future going back would mean. When his anxiety get's too hard to cope with he runs out to the woods and cuts lines and square patterns in his arms - that pain is easier to handle. He has admitted to standing in wait for a train to jump in front of, but has so far always hesitated when somebody else has entered the platform, because - crack goes my heart - he doesn't want to be a burden to others. He loves it here. His Swedish is really good. He works hard in school. He loves football and volleyball and is learning how to swim. My children simply adore him because he is gentle, generous with the little he has, and kind. He claims he no longer has a religion because: what good has it ever done him? - only harm. He wishes he could have told his mother what equality and freedom really means, that women take place and voice their opinions here, and he is allowed to say his. He shakes his head in disbelief; she wouldn't have believed him! I can never understand what he has been through. The horror he has witnessed, and the abuse he has endured. But there is also a difference on a more basic level I have a hard time getting around; he has never played any sort of game with his siblings, they had to work as soon as they could coordinate their hand movements. And, he had never ever been hugged before he came to Sweden. (It's still awkward to him when I try).
In Sweden the term for an appointed guardian is God Man, that literally translates in to "good person". I want to do good by him, when so much bad is his backstory. I want to keep him safe.
Help me help him.
Lots of love from Emma
CREDITS: Thank you Björn Dixgård for the song "Ochrasy" & Lovisa Inserra for the music video, and Yannis Behrakis for the powerful image of the boys on the boat hitting the shores of Greece. Used with kind permission from Yannis Behrakis and Thomson Reuters (the slight destruction of it by putting words on it though, is all on me). For more of Yannis Behrakis outstanding work check out: https://widerimage.reuters.com/photographer/yannis...
