Hi Friends and Family!

UPDATE: I can’t believe that in less than 24 hours we have gone well above the intended target. Thank you so much, I grateful to have such amazing friends and family willing to show their support. I’m going to end this in 2 hours and give him a call to let him know. THANK YOU  

I’m hoping you can help me raise enough money to cover one month's accommodation for my new friend Solomon, who I met by chance in a park in Mexico City last week.

Hearing his incredibly sad story and seeing the clear and very present pain he is in really moved me, and I’d love to be able to show him that there is a wider community of people also willing to offer support. As much as a little financial help would be huge for him, I think just him feeling some love would help restore his faith in humanity.

So here is the story.

Solomon initially asked me for directions to an organization he had heard might be able to help his current situation. As I checked on my phone for what he was looking for, he sat down and we started talking. He seemed relieved I spoke English.

Solomon arrived in Mexico City 3 days earlier, like I did, but whereas I was there on vacation, free to leave and enjoy the incredible city, he arrived seeking asylum and uncertain about his future.

Initially, he was quite hesitant to talk about himself, saying he felt ashamed, and was more interested in my life or talking about shared interests in football (apparently, he is a great center back if anyone needs a defender). He certainly wasn’t looking for sympathy or help.

Regardless, I shared with him what food and water I had, and he immediately began to cry (I’ve never seen a man be as sad or cry as much as Solomon over the next few days that we got to know each other). It was clearly difficult for him to share what he has been through, but he did eventually open up, and the more I heard, the more I could see he appreciated the company.

Solomon is from Liberia. Before he felt forced to leave due to a very violent situation, he worked as a cleaner in a manufacturing plant. He spoke about how happy he was there; he owned a house and provided for his family, with both his mom and dad living nearby helping.

In the last two years, everything changed. Solomon’s wife and younger brother and sister were murdered, and his daughter is currently being cared for by his elderly mother back in Liberia as he leaves to try and find them a safer life.

In the same conflict that killed the majority of his family, Solomon was left severely injured in the street and spent several months in the hospital recovering. He showed me where he was missing several front teeth, which he later told me was due to being hit in the face with an AK-47, was shot 3 times in the back, and showed me a large scar on his upper arm where he tried to defend himself.

He said he was embarrassed to tell me these things but continued to do so, constantly wiping tears from his face (I told you there was a lot of crying). We spoke for a long time about his situation. He told me he was scared and lonely, and although he didn’t want to admit it, I could tell he had nowhere to stay that night.

He didn’t ask for the help, but when I left, I gave him whatever cash I had on me, and we swapped numbers. We hugged several times during this conversation, and he continued to cry throughout. Well, it was at this stage even I started to well up—not sure anything prepares you for just going out for al pastor tacos, to end up with a man hugging you and sobbing, clearly in a lot of emotional pain and turmoil.

He later sent me a picture of a room in a hotel he had paid for with the money I gave him. It was far from luxury, in a bad area, but it was only $20 a night.

A few days later, we met again for lunch near his guest house (chicken quesadilla, orange juice, and black coffees each this time), and he painfully told me more about his life and the journey that brought him here.

Solomon sold everything he had to pay for a boat from Liberia to Venezuela and eventually made his way north to Mexico City. He doesn’t speak Spanish, doesn’t know anyone in Mexico, and in his own words, ‘no one here looks like me, I think it’s going to be difficult, but I’ll try and make it work.’

It was clear Solomon did not leave his home because he wanted to start a new life somewhere else. He speaks as a very proud, passionate, and now very sad and frustrated Liberian. He only left because he felt the situation made it impossible for him to stay safely, and his family is now dependent on him finding a better life for them elsewhere.

Unfortunately, his story is not unique, but like anyone, he simply wants stability and a future where his family can feel safe.

His long-term hope is to eventually reach Canada, where he hopes to reunite with his mother and daughter by bringing them with him.

In the meantime, he has been busy and secured work washing dishes for $20 a day, but this will just cover rent and not enable him to save for his future flights to Canada, let alone food or healthcare.

I have helped him by covering a week of accommodation so he has somewhere safe to stay for now. Although not remotely true, he repeatedly claimed ‘I saved his life’ as he again broke down crying. Now, this of course isn’t true at all, but it does show just how much any type of support he receives can make a difference to his physical and emotional well-being.

So here is the goal. Solomon never asked me for help; I think just offering him water and showing an interest in his life was enough for him to have a little faith in humanity again, but I’d love to show him that there is a whole wider community of people that also care.

I’d like to speak to him in a week and provide him with a further month’s worth of accommodation so he can have the best possible platform to become sustainable on his own.

A month’s worth of accommodation is $600, and all donations will be paid directly to his hotel where he is currently staying, or a better one as currently the one he is in has reviews of bed bugs and cockroaches.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any support you’re able to give. A little really would go a long way.

Thanks all,

Sam