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...from our counselling work |
| Many migrant women endure domestic violence because they are afraid of being deported … |
| Vera,
a 38-year old Ukrainian doctor, meets a German man through an advertisement
for a marriage partner on the Internet. They decide to get married,
and Vera moves to Hamburg. Initially, Vera is very happy. However, after their marriage her husband begins to control her movements 24 hours a day. He forbids her from leaving their house without him and won't even let her go to the bathroom by herself. He will not allow her to visit a German course to learn the language, nor is she allowed to look for a job. Whenever she attempts to stand up to him, he becomes violent, both psychologically and physically. He calls her a lazy whore and tells her she should prostitute herself to pay back her debts to him. He also threatens to replace her with a "hard-working and obedient" woman from Indonesia and to send Vera back to the Ukraine. Because Vera is afraid of being deported, she doesn't dare go to the police. However, she manages to visit Amnesty for Women without her husband finding out and to receive counselling. We tell her that after two years of marriage to a German man, she is entitled to a residence permit in her own right. She receives counselling from a psychologist in her native language, and attends a German course. We also help her to look for work. In this way, she manages to gradually develop her own, independent life in Hamburg, and to free herself from her husband's control. |
| Your donation will help our work! |
| My cousin forced me into prostitution… |
| Malai
grows up in the north-east of one of Thailand's poorest regions. She
has eight brothers and sisters, and, in order to help her parents
work on the rice fields, she must give up school after only two years. At 14, Malai is working in a nearby town on a building site. There, she meets her future husband. By the time she is 20, she has already had four children. Then her husband is killed in an accident at work, and she returns to her home village. Her cousin, who is married to a German man, tells her about a small restaurant she knows in Germany where Malai could work as a waitress. Her cousin would lend her the money for the flight. But the restaurant turns out to be a strip club belonging to Malai's cousin's husband. The German forces her to sleep with his customers in order to pay back the costs of her flight to Germany. If she doesn't cooperate, he warns, her parents in Thailand will have trouble. Later, Malai learns about other women from her village who have suffered the same way. With the help of one of her customers, Malai leaves the brothel. She later marries this man, and reports her cousin and cousin's husband to the police. However, they are never found guilty, due to a lack of evidence and witnesses. Malai goes to Amnesty for Women to get counselling, and to do a German course. |
| Your donation will help our work! |
| A child needs both parents – even before it's born… |
| When
Zosia finishes university in Poland, where she has been studying German,
she finally marries her long-term boyfriend, an Iranian living in
Germany. However, the German authorities refuse her application for a residence permit, because the company that her husband has been working for has gone bankrupt, and he is now unemployed. When Zosia comes to Amnesty for Women for advice, she can't imagine that she and her husband have a future. She is now pregnant, and is only allowed to visit her child's father on a tourist visa. Both physically and psychologically, she is suffering under the stress of her situation, and her unborn child is endangered. Our counsellors tell her that, according to the new German Citizenship law, her child has a right to German citizenship if one of its parents has been living legally in Germany for at least eight years and has had a residence permit for at least three years. A lawyer with whom we work closely takes on Zosia's case, and appeals against the decision of the Aliens Office. The decision is reversed. Zosia gets a residence permit and a work permit. Her psychological condition is stabilised. Our support enables her to assert her basic rights in Germany and to create the conditions for a stable family life. Today, Zosia has a job as a multi-lingual secretary. Her husband is working freelance as a translator, and stays at home to look after the house and take care of their daughter. |
| Your donation will help our work! |
| My husband abused my son … |
| Maribel,
a 21-year-old woman, lived with her half-paralysed mother, her younger
sister and her small son in a small tourist village in the Dominican
Republic. She had a job in a small restaurant with which she supported
the whole family. One day, she met Ulli, a German tourist, and went
out with him a few times. A year later, Ulli came to the Dominican
Republic again to visit her, and they began to see each other regularly. Maribel realised that Ulli was seriously interested in her. He made her many promises, and she began to hope that marrying him would save herself and her family from their poverty. In addition, Ulli promised to have her mother admitted to a German rehabilitation clinic. Although she found Ulli's sexual practices very unusual, Maribel trusted him. He insisted that these small "cultural differences" were of no importance compared to the love between them. He pleaded with her to marry him. Maribel was initially hesitant, but when he offered to adopt her son and possibly even her sister, she finally agreed. After her marriage and her move to Germany, however, Maribel noticed that her four-year-old son had begun to act strangely. He was often aggressive. Ulli said that the child's behaviour was normal, that it was even more difficult for a child to adjust to all the changes than it was for adults. And he said it was Maribel's fault: she was over-reacting and not giving the child enough space, so he was becoming oversensitive. Ulli suggested that Maribel should invite her sister to stay so that she could look after the child. Maribel agreed, and looked forward to seeing her sister again. But during her stay, Maribel's sister told her that Ulli had tried to rape her. The two sisters didn't know what to do, and finally went to the police. A psychological counselling session revealed that Ulli had been sexually abusing Maribel's son. Ulli then tried everything in his power to get rid of Maribel. Maribel's situation was desperate. She had not had enough time to learn German, and didn't know anything about her rights. In addition, her son was in serious need of therapy, which she would never be able to pay for in her home country. Amnesty for Women helped Maribel in this crisis by informing her about her legal status in Germany. A flat was found for her, as well as a kindergarten place and therapy for her son. An interpreter was provided for her discussions with the police, and criminal proceedings were initiated against her husband. Maribel also attended German classes given by Amnesty for Women, improving her language skills. Your donation will help our work! |
| Your donation will help our work! |
