Hi, I’m Fons: a passionate musician, audio engineer, and proud member of the furry community. I’ve spent the last couple of years making music for the fandom, performing at furry conventions with my band and concerts outside of the fandom, and building something I genuinely love. Right now, I’m going through one of the hardest periods of my life, and I need a little help getting through it.

A little about me:

Five years ago, at 19 years old, I left El Salvador and moved to Germany to follow my dream of becoming a professional musician, completely alone, with no money, no family or friends, no safety net, and no guarantees. I built everything I have here from scratch, my career, my friendships, my place in this community, through sheer stubbornness and hard work. I’m not someone who gives up easily and someone who usually doesn’t like to ask for help like this. Which is exactly why what happened recently hit so hard.

What happened:

In the Q3 of 2025, I was employed at a company in the Essen area in Germany as a Digital Safety & Trust Consultant. From the very first month, they failed to pay me my full contracted salary. Every single month, I noticed the shortfall and raised it, I kept fighting, kept asking, kept following up. Every time, they sent me in circles. HR redirected me to payroll, payroll redirected me back, nobody gave me a straight answer, and nobody fixed it.

I was scared. I knew I had rights, but I also knew that pushing too hard could cost me my job, and in Germany, losing your job means losing your income overnight. So I kept trying to resolve it internally, month after month, while falling further and further behind financially. Eventually I reached a point where I simply couldn’t afford to stay silent anymore. I pushed harder to get what I was owed, and they fired me for it. The firing happened at the start of February 2026.

Without valid reason. Without following proper legal procedure.

The law is on my side. My case is now in the hands of an employment law specialist, and a formal lawsuit has been filed in the Labor Court of Essen (Arbeitsgericht Essen) contesting both the wrongful dismissal and the unpaid wages, which total over €3,500 (that’s only unpaid wages, no unfair dismissal damages) . I am confident I will win, but German court proceedings take lots of time.

Where I am right now:

While waiting for justice, I have no income. In Germany, when you lose your job, you are entitled to Arbeitslosengeld, a state unemployment benefit you pay into throughout your entire working life. To receive it, one of the things that has to happen is that your former employer must send an official document called an “Arbeitsbescheinigung” confirming your employment details. My former employer has been deliberately slow in sending this document, which has directly delayed the processing of my unemployment benefit, leaving me with absolutely nothing coming in (this has also been added to the lawsuit)

My savings were already drained during the months they underpaid me, and now I I am struggling a lot to cover basic living expenses, rent, food, utilities.

I’m not in this situation because of bad decisions. I’m here because I trusted the system, tried to do everything right, and got punished for it. I’ve survived harder things than this, but right now, I genuinely need a paw.

I’ve been trying to find a fitting job ever since I knew I was getting fired, but so far I haven’t had any luck. I’m trying my hardest every day.

What I’m asking for:

Just a bridge, enough to stay afloat for the next 2–3 months while the legal process moves forward. Every euro helps me keep a roof over my head and keep making music for this fandom that means so much to me.

I’m lucky to be part of one of the most warm-hearted and supportive communities out there. If you’ve ever heard my music, seen me perform, chatted with me at a con, enjoy my chaotic existence in this world, or just believe that workers deserve to be treated fairly, please consider supporting me. Even €5 genuinely means the world right now (and if you can’t, just sharing means a lot already :D)

I’ll keep everyone updated on how things progress. This is not a dead end, it’s a delay. And if I could build a life from nothing at 20 in a country where I knew nobody, I can get through this too.

with all my love and appreciation,

Fons