Asylum Legal Costs for Nkengasong from Cameroon
Donativo protegido
**This picture is not her but looks quite like her. She asked me not to post any pictures or identifying information online to protect her from being located by the government. **
Nkengasong is a lovely, educated, resilient 25 year-old Cameroonian refugee living in Lanham, MD. She fears for her life if she must return.
I was introduced to Nkengasong shortly after she moved to Maryland by my friend Hugh. He had met her in LA in December 2019. He sent me $50 to treat her to lunch and I was glad to welcome her to our country and my state.
Nkengasong is from the Southwest of Cameroon, where the Francophone Government and Anglophone Separatists are clashing, resulting in terrorism and murder of citizens caught in the middle. Nkengasong was studying Human Resource Management but had to stop because of the political crisis.
She was marching in a peaceful demonstration for Southern Cameroon Independence when military forces attacked with live bullets. She was beaten and taken into custody, clothes ripped off, in only underwear. She was tortured every morning and evening. She would be arrested twice more on unfounded antigovernmental accusations, each time suffering the same dehumanizing conditions, torture, and the third time sexual assault . Psalm 23 was her strength. Upon release, the commissioner warned her to find a way to leave the country or else be killed.
Her sister was tortured by military members at her home and told she would be arrested if Nkengasong was not found and brought to the police. She was able to pay a bribe to the commissioner to arrange for Nkengasong's transport to Nigeria, then Equador.
Once in Mexico, her sister called to tell her that she had fled to the forest after her house was broken into and everything destroyed. The government soldiers then went to her mother's house and not finding anyone there, killed her pigs and goats and set it on fire. Her mother and three siblings are hiding in the forest. Nkengasong has no way of communicating with them.
We have found an excellent local immigration attorney. She is well positioned to give Nkengasong the best shot at being granted asylum on appeal. There are two decisions she must win. The first is a ruling that her case be sent back to the lower court to be reconsidered. The second is receiving asylum status once a more thorough case with previously omitted evidence can be made.
Each step is a separate retainer. The first is $4000 due asap. The second will be at least another $4000-$5000 due sometime in 2021. There is also the possibility of travel expenses for the lawyer to represent Nkengasong in person, should the California Courts resume in person hearings. **UPDATE: Through donations here and a grant from Still Kickin', we are now fundraising for the second phase, arguing her case on Appeal.**
Won't you join me to "welcome the stranger in a strange land" with your donation to such a beautiful, young woman of Christian faith and resilient spirit? No donation is too small. She will be so grateful for the gesture of welcome and care it provides.
Thank you and Pass it on!
Nkengasong is a lovely, educated, resilient 25 year-old Cameroonian refugee living in Lanham, MD. She fears for her life if she must return.
I was introduced to Nkengasong shortly after she moved to Maryland by my friend Hugh. He had met her in LA in December 2019. He sent me $50 to treat her to lunch and I was glad to welcome her to our country and my state.
Nkengasong is from the Southwest of Cameroon, where the Francophone Government and Anglophone Separatists are clashing, resulting in terrorism and murder of citizens caught in the middle. Nkengasong was studying Human Resource Management but had to stop because of the political crisis.
She was marching in a peaceful demonstration for Southern Cameroon Independence when military forces attacked with live bullets. She was beaten and taken into custody, clothes ripped off, in only underwear. She was tortured every morning and evening. She would be arrested twice more on unfounded antigovernmental accusations, each time suffering the same dehumanizing conditions, torture, and the third time sexual assault . Psalm 23 was her strength. Upon release, the commissioner warned her to find a way to leave the country or else be killed.
Her sister was tortured by military members at her home and told she would be arrested if Nkengasong was not found and brought to the police. She was able to pay a bribe to the commissioner to arrange for Nkengasong's transport to Nigeria, then Equador.
Once in Mexico, her sister called to tell her that she had fled to the forest after her house was broken into and everything destroyed. The government soldiers then went to her mother's house and not finding anyone there, killed her pigs and goats and set it on fire. Her mother and three siblings are hiding in the forest. Nkengasong has no way of communicating with them.
We have found an excellent local immigration attorney. She is well positioned to give Nkengasong the best shot at being granted asylum on appeal. There are two decisions she must win. The first is a ruling that her case be sent back to the lower court to be reconsidered. The second is receiving asylum status once a more thorough case with previously omitted evidence can be made.
Each step is a separate retainer. The first is $4000 due asap. The second will be at least another $4000-$5000 due sometime in 2021. There is also the possibility of travel expenses for the lawyer to represent Nkengasong in person, should the California Courts resume in person hearings. **UPDATE: Through donations here and a grant from Still Kickin', we are now fundraising for the second phase, arguing her case on Appeal.**
Won't you join me to "welcome the stranger in a strange land" with your donation to such a beautiful, young woman of Christian faith and resilient spirit? No donation is too small. She will be so grateful for the gesture of welcome and care it provides.
Thank you and Pass it on!
Organizador
Ruth Berkowitz
Organizador
Ellicott City, MD