I have been
hoping to be able to write a post with this title for over a year.
Several
times, as things were dragging on, I started, trying to write a comprehensive
and understandable report of what was and had been happening, and failed. And
things weren’t finished yet… This all sounds mysterious, and I still don’t know
whether I will be able to put this into coherent writing. But it was an
imminent part of my (terrible) past year, and I feel the need to get it out of
my system. In fact, it was the beginning of the series of catastrophes that
made last year so awful, and as we have now reached a point where it looks like
things may be on the mend, I will give it another try.
Over the
years I have repeatedly written about my work helping refugees, and one
Senegalese refugee in particular, trying to find ways to get them a visa,
residence, work permit, job, whatever. A means to get on with their life which
they had uprooted by leaving their country, either fleeing from a civil war
(Syrians), catastrophic political conditions after years of foreign
interference (Afghanistan), economic hardship (African countries).
One of my
posts was even titled ‘Victory’, because I had thought we had ‘won’. Little did
I know…
In mid-February
(last year, 2024) things shattered. A small mistake was made when my Senegalese
protégé changed jobs – the HR person for the new employer did not notify the
authorities of the fact that he was now working for this new firm. We had told
her twice that it was necessary, but she ‘thought it wasn’t’. Of course, she
didn’t have to pay the price… I did notify the authorities, but not within the
two-week period prescribed, and it would have had to be a form filled out by
the employer. The result was that my friend’s work permit was revoked, they
wanted to deport him. Long negations with the immigration office followed –
partly through my husband, who has a very good way of dealing with authorities,
and without him it wouldn’t have been possible. My friend had to find a new
job, fast. He was extremely fortunate in finding a small family-run business
with a strong record of really caring for their people, and the owner has been
fighting alongside me like a lioness, because she wanted to secure a qualified
and reliable worker for her firm. Thank you, Julia, for employing L. and thank
you for joining in the fight!
There
followed several setbacks when oral agreements weren’t kept by the authorities,
they kept pressuring my friend to get a date to apply for a working visa from
Senegal - he would have had to leave the country and re-enter in a new status.
This is a favorite scheme of Bavarian authorities, who are adamant that former
asylum seekers should not (easily, if at all) get a work permit and qualify for
residency from within the country. Once an asylum seeker, always an asylum
seeker, it seems. There were several weird instances which I won’t go into
detail about, but which stressed me beyond all possible limits - and all of
this happening as my father was ailing, finally passed away, my job problems,
my husband’s decision to change to a different congregation, my son leaving for
university, my mother’s accident and broken hip, my mother-in-law slowly fading
and then, too, dieing – until, in January of this year, we finally found a
lawyer who agreed to take L.’s case.
Her entry
on the stage has made life easier again. She found out some more atrocities
that we didn’t even know about – for example, the embassy in Senegal had at
least twice asked the Immigration authority to please just make it possible
that he receive his visa from within the country (which is a
possibility, called a “discretionary decision”) because they don’t know their
head from their toes due to the number of visa applications from within
Senegal. The authorities’ last demand that he leave the country to apply for a
visa from Senegal, which finally caused us to decide to get a lawyer, was
issued a couple of days after they had received the second suggestion
from the embassy in Senegal to just give him a visa and let him stay.
It's a long
story, and certainly my attempt to describe all the shit that was happening can’t
give full credit to just how shitty it all was. It’s a tale of bureaucracy and hostility
towards foreigners, turning against employers who are desperately searching for
well-trained workers – which he is, and the Bavarian state paid for his
education. What’s the point of doing that and then shipping him back, or making
life difficult for him?
As somebody
who has been banging her head against the walls of immigration office doors
trying to achieve some positive results based on human intelligence, pragmatic
dealing with situations and just basically smart moves I have come to an
understanding of asylum seekers who radicalize themselves, pick up a weapon and
just go and shoot or stab some people. I don’t approve, but I understand.
In any case
– the current situation is that L. has received a temporary work- and residence
permit, then had to go to Paris and get his passport renewed (including a bribe
of €550 to get an quickly enough appointment before the other one expired) and has
been able to officially change his address and thus his immigration office. Perhaps
that helps? He now needs yet another application for a longer-term work and
residence permit, which would allow him to participate in schooling and
training the employer wants to send him to. And to travel and visit his sister,
who has had her share of personal tragedies alongside all of this. It’s been a
very hard year for him, too.
The African
proverb of the title clearly fits L’s situation. I have been fighting for him
for almost eight years – and I couldn’t have done it alone. My family helped a
lot with their patience, and by taking him into their hearts and including him
in many family activities, my husband with the recent negotiations, my son by
calling him a ‘big brother’. Mr. G., former mechanical engineer, spent many
hours helping L. with his studies for the mechanical school he went to. Friends
helped find him a job, other friends let him live in their basement apartment
when he was finally allowed to move out of refugee dormitory. Friends gave him
a temporary job while looking for a job as mechanical worker. And now his new
employer, who has taken over for accompanying him to immigration office
appointments which I can’t do any more after my move north. Thank you all for
your help, you have been a wonderful village team, I could not have done it
with out you.
My eagerness
to help immigrants that was once abundant (and brought me many many interesting
and wonderful experiences and friendships) has evaporated to just close over
zero. I will make sure the L. gets settled, and I will always be there for any
of his needs in that realm. But the Bavarian state has managed to break my
momentum in this area. I know we need immigration, I think we could have
achieved what Angela Merkel meant when she said “We can do this!”
But too many
people did not agree, and …
I won’t
write about my involvement with refugees again, I think. It’s too frustrating.
