Debt Relief for an Uyghur Female Survivor

Dear Friend,

We are fundraising for a dear Uyghur friend of mine who miraculously survived persecution and is currently residing in the US under very difficult circumstances. She is a young woman in her 20s, who is on the neurodivergent spectrum, unfortunately untreated. She is struggling with serious mental health difficulties that have sabotaged her pre-medicine university degree.

BACK STORY:

My name is Salma Hossam. I am a PhD candidate at Durham University, UK, a writer and documentary photographer. For the sake of privacy, we are not sharing any names or photos of the young lady. I can vouch that I have known this young woman for 5 years now. She was a vocal participant in solidarity and human rights activities. Like many Uyghurs, she has dear family members, whom she doesn't know if they're alive or dead. For the few years I have known her, she was full of potential to succeed despite her financial difficulties and family disappearances. Unfortunately, her case is a reminder that for refugees and war survivors, war and persecution never end. Their displacement may have physically saved their bodies, but not their minds and souls.

After a period of not checking on her, I came to find out that this promising young lady became a shell of herself. She masterfully concealed her deep struggles with neurodivergence and survival guilt until it started to debilitate her basic livelihood. She has been silently battling trauma and severe depression to the point of failing her final year. As a student with no income, and as a sibling that had to support a family member, she has been forced to borrow money to survive. Over the past two years, these debts have accumulated, creating a heavy burden that she cannot overcome alone.

MISSION:

We ask you to please help us pay back her debt to remove this financial burden from her so that she can successfully continue her medical studies abroad and stand on her own feet. We also hope to cover her neurodivergent tests and treatment costs to provide her with better mental healthcare.

She is a reminder that most survivors do not have happy endings, and it is incumbent on us to lift them up. It is through them that we lift ourselves too.

MILESTONES:

First Milestone: 07/06/2024

Raise 3k to pay back the first lender.

Second Milestone: 12/06/2024

Raise 2k to pay back to the second lender.

Third Milestone: 17/06/2024

Raise the rest 2k to pay back the debt.

Last Milestone: 22/06/2024

When all the debt is paid back if we can get around 1k, this will be paid towards covering the tests.

Updates will be shared with you.

P.S.

For any questions, feel free to reach me on FB: Salma Hossam