Help reunite Haike with her family
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Haike and Malé have been fighting for 2 years to reunite their family. That fight has left them emotionally and financially exhausted. Love - and the support of family and friends - helped them perservere. We, their friends and family, are taking this opportunity to ask you to help this dedicated couple overcome one last hurdle.
Haike left Mali in 2012 after a military coup, having lived there with Malé and his children for six years. The decision for her to go to Europe, to lay the groundwork for a later family relocation, was a difficult one, but it felt like the only one. The children, Moctar (age 20), Hamsétou (16), Moustaphe (13), and LaLaïcha (10) deserve a life that promises freedom, security and a good education - a life that many take for granted, but that most people in Mali only dream of.
Haike left Mali in 2012 after a military coup, having lived there with Malé and his children for six years. The decision for her to go to Europe, to lay the groundwork for a later family relocation, was a difficult one, but it felt like the only one. The children, Moctar (age 20), Hamsétou (16), Moustaphe (13), and LaLaïcha (10) deserve a life that promises freedom, security and a good education - a life that many take for granted, but that most people in Mali only dream of.
Malé and the kids, it was thought, would be entitled to immigrate and join Haike in Europe once she found a job and an apartment there. In September, Malé submitted visa applications to the German embassy in Bamako.. According to their German lawyer, Haike and Malé met all the requirements. However, after six months came a devastating decision - visa application denied. Somebody had decided that Haike and Malé’s Malian marriage was not valid.
Malé had to apply for a new visa, and Haike had to submit a petition in Germany to obtain permission to get married to Malé in Berlin. A Malian lawyer was retained and more documents, notarized statements, legalized translations, official copies, letters & photos were prepared, stamped and submitted. Six months later Haike and Malé were married in Berlin.
By now Haike had found a job, but in Switzerland, not Germany. Yet more documents were prepared with the help of a Swiss lawyer and Malé submitted a visa application for himself and the kids to the Swiss Embassy. By that time, Haike and Malé had endured one and a half years apart.
Finally, though, a couple of weeks ago, the moment everybody had been waiting for finally came: the visas were granted! In about a month, this special family will at last be reunited, almost two years to the day that Haike left Mali. Please help if you can with the cost of airfare and Swiss residency permits - almost $3400 (€2500). Any amount – large or small – will be greatly appreciated. Your donation can be anonymous, or you can choose to leave your name and a message on this page. Or pass this link on to somebody who can make a donation. We thank you!
Malé had to apply for a new visa, and Haike had to submit a petition in Germany to obtain permission to get married to Malé in Berlin. A Malian lawyer was retained and more documents, notarized statements, legalized translations, official copies, letters & photos were prepared, stamped and submitted. Six months later Haike and Malé were married in Berlin.
By now Haike had found a job, but in Switzerland, not Germany. Yet more documents were prepared with the help of a Swiss lawyer and Malé submitted a visa application for himself and the kids to the Swiss Embassy. By that time, Haike and Malé had endured one and a half years apart.
Finally, though, a couple of weeks ago, the moment everybody had been waiting for finally came: the visas were granted! In about a month, this special family will at last be reunited, almost two years to the day that Haike left Mali. Please help if you can with the cost of airfare and Swiss residency permits - almost $3400 (€2500). Any amount – large or small – will be greatly appreciated. Your donation can be anonymous, or you can choose to leave your name and a message on this page. Or pass this link on to somebody who can make a donation. We thank you!
Organizer
Karen Spiller
Organizer
Houston, TX
