Hi, my name is Pierre Van Cutsem (see https://www.ualberta.ca/en/wirth-institute/people/doctoral-research-fellows/2023-2024/pierre-van-cutsem.html) and my friend David Kartas, who has a wonderful YouTube channel about weird fiction, needs our help (see below). Since he is in a very difficult situation, I am the one managing the fundraiser for him. Please do not hesitate to contact me in case you would have any questions. Thank you in advance for your help. Every donation counts. This is David's story in his own words :

---

I would need your help, I am in a terrible living situation and am trying to escape to get a job and a new life in Germany/Austria, as my abusive family has left me with no safe place to live, using me and ostracizing me from others, leaving me with no support and no way to escape them on my own, especially after recent events.

To explain further, for over twenty years I have been isolated, physically and emotionally abused and used by my parents. They forced me to max out credit cards, sign my name up for utilities they never paid, spent decades gaslighting me into thinking I am stupid and borderline crazy (my father

especially loved to dwell on how I simply have to let myself get committed to an asylum for life, with the usual big smile he had when he was denigrating me), that I would never have anything, never achieve anything, that no one could ever love me and I that I was actually worthless.

I have been told that I should never have been born so many times I lost count. The abuse was systematic and designed to make me nothing more than their permanent unpaid live in servant and living stress relief toy, especially for my father, who loved to try and make me feel pathetic and stupid to boost his own ego and feel better in comparison, despite being a broke alcoholic who last

had money in 1997, which he loves to brag about to this day as if it can impress anyone.

Do I need to mention him stealing my things and selling them against my will under the guise of him saying „I paid for these with my money before giving them to you, so they remain my property forever“, that he tried to force me to work for an adult site in my 20s by telling me I simply have no

choice, or that he has fantasized to my face countless times about either brutally killing me (beating me to death is a favourite method of his) or about seeing me serially sexually assaulted in either prison or the insane asylum ? Or that he made me do work for his company without pay for years, and called me receiving any money for my work as theft on my part ?

I did not make practically any friends in real life due to being extremely poor (in large part due to being unpaid by my father), self-conscious due to all the above, as well as afraid would be driven away by my parents.

Both violent, self-centered, aggressive alcoholics, who would destroy my property, steal from me, throw things like pots and knives at me, threaten to kill me and kick me out of the house on a regular basis, usually several times a week, while continually demanding unpaid labour for being allowed to stay with them and have my life put in danger.

I was also attacked by one of their friends in my own room. They did nothing to stop it, my father actually ran away without saying a word, and they continued to meet with my assailant and even continued to invite him over, mocking me when I requested them not to for my own safety, apparently getting free drinks off of this person was more important than my mental well-being.

Then I met my wife online. We started talking and were long distance over a year. She said she cared about me and wanted to come be with her in Australia, she said she cared for me, loved me and wanted to save me from the abusive hellhole I had lived in for ages.

I flew to Australia to marry her, and then six weeks later, after a disagreement, she kicked me out of the house. During the five months I had been back „home“ with my parents after this happened, I received at least 40 death threats from my father alone, was told I would be set on fire for not

cleaning my room and was chased around the apartment with a kitchen knife, a screwdriver, a hammer and part of a metal bird cage. I was also told by my father in casual conversation that he is sad he doesn't have a baseball bat anymore, so he could beat to death with it. He did not understand why I did not like hearing this or did want to talk to him afterwards.

During these whole five months I worked harder than I ever had before, because I promised I would prove to my wife I never intended to use her like she thought I did, so over the course of these five months I did everything possible to get together just over 10 000 AUS $ to help pay her back, and I did so.

But nothing came of it and now, I am seeking help to allow me to move to Germany/Austria, as I can speak German fairly well, among several other languages. All of my life reserves have been wiped out in the attempt to fix my marriage. My one hope now is to at least not have to return to my

country, with which I have always had just one terrible experience after another, and especially to my parents, who keep constantly messaging me to this day with threats and demands for money.

If anyone could help me get away so I never have to see them again.

I won't be happy, as I will be alone, but....at least I could be safe.