This is the story of Faith Harper (Alias for protection) , a creative soul and a loving friend. I met Faith before COVID, we met working together at an event 8 years ago she quickly became a source of laughter, companionship and someone to confide in when times got tough. We both come from similar cultural backgrounds and have shared many aspects of our cultural connection. Many nights spent together full of laughter, tears and shared connection. Faith is quite fond of daily walks, their favorite dish is Bruschetta and their favorite artists are Girl in Red and Chapelle roan. I wish I could put into words how amazing faith is, how their laughter and humor can brighten up the darkest of days but for safety reasons I can’t share any more personal details as their partner is monitoring their internet usage and phone calls and has continued to be emotionally aggressive about his beliefs and psychologically abusive disparaging her mental health with several family members telling Faith she just needs God to cure her mental illness

Faith is unfortunately a victim of domestic abuse, her partner has taken a total of $10,000 from her. She moved to America after they’d been dating online for a few years, however he had lied about his financial situation citing he’d use her money to get them an apartment and the money mysteriously disappeared, forcing them to move into their partner’s parents house. It was also later revealed that they had been cheating on Faith for the entirety of the relationship. From emotional manipulation, to guilting her every time she didn’t spend time with him, to threatening to kick them out if she did divorce them. Faith identifies as a queer individual wanting to explore their gender identity however in their current state where LGBTQ+ individuals are losing their rights, and with homophobic and transphobic comments being made by the partner and family this is simply not a place for safety let alone to call home.

She is on a k-1 visa as her partner has refused to sign a declaration of marital status (EOS Form) or Employment authorization document (EAD), this means she is unable to get any form of income or income support or qualify for medical aid.

It was quite harrowing to initially hear from Faith, what started off as a light hearted interaction from a dear friend who had recently departed Australia to start a new life in America, quickly unfolded as a horror story as she revealed details of not having control of her finances, the tiptoeing and walking on eggshells when it came to marital problems and express how scared she was, when someone contacts you asking if they can talk at 4am it unfortunately is never for a light hearted chat and my gut instinct proved me right, that my friend was in danger and far away I felt hopeless, I felt scared what if this was the last time we spoke kept racing through my head, spending that night anxious thinking about what if she ends up in the news, I knew i had to do something I had to act and thats why I started planning a fundraiser, because the last thing you want to hear from someone close to you is that they are in an abusive situation, what if that was you, what if that was your cousin, your sister, your daughter?

This is quite urgent and time sensitive. I am initially aiming for a goal of the end of November to avoid peak periods of flight costs. She needs your help to get back to Australia to start her life again.

Breakdown of costs

($1434-2045 AUD)

Additional goals for Faith's peace of mind

($5865.45 AUD)

Alongside fundraising on gofundme I am collaborating with Creature Bar Brunswick in Melbourne to run a fundraiser event on November the 15th so please keep an eye on socials for the event if you are Melbourne based.

Cover photo used with permission from artist

Instagram: @bald.fruit

Artist: Soobin Anh

Medium: Acrylic

Date: November 26 2017

Bank Statements and progress will be updated regularly on gofundme or on my instagram: Nami.Gotika