Support Mariam & Amir
Donation protected
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2016:
Dear Friends,
We felt it was necessary to give a further update on the situation of our Paksitani friends.
When we first created this page last year, we had big hopes asylum would be granted and we were already planning to get funds for their education so that they can get a better job once becoming legal aliens. However, things have not happened the way we hoped and here we are, over a year later, with an asylum request that has been rejected 3 times!! Each appeal was rejected.
The lawyer has now decided to appeal at the European Court, which is our last resort. The bad news is that it can take up to 4 years before the European Court of Justice will review the case, so in the meantime our dear friends will need to keep on living out of charity. Their life is very difficult and we want to collect donations to help them ease their situation.
If you wish to help further, a petition has been created online. If we collect enough signatures, the lawyer will be able to use the petition to strengthen the case in front of the European Court and the Dutch Government. So please sign it, as your signature can make a difference!
Here is the link: https://www.change.org/p/government-of-the-netherlands-grant-asylum-to-mariam-and-amir-a-persecuted-pakistani-christian-couple
-------------
UPDATE JULY 2016:
Dear Friends,
over a year had passed and things have not changed much. Our friends' asylum request was rejected again in December. Now they are still living illegally in the Netherlands and the lawyer said he is working on bringing their case to the European court but it is going to take maybe 2 years or more. In the mean time, they ll have to live illegally and with no income.
They currently live with two religious brothers so they dont have to pay for food and shelter, but they still need money to buy clothes, toiletries, take the train to go to some place etc.. If you would be generous enough to make a donation, big or small, to help them that would be great and I am sure they will be very grateful! Surely money wont solve most of their problems right now, but it can at least make their lives a bit more enjoyable! Like going out and eat ice cream, go to the movies. Buy new clothes or shoes if they need it.
Thank you very much in advance for your kind generosity!
Adeline & Paolo
--------------
Love is free! That’s what makes it so beautiful and special. It may have unintended consequences, however.
We are Paolo and Adeline, an Italian/French married couple since 2009, blessed by the birth of three wonderful boys. We live in the Netherlands, and are very active in our local English-Speaking Catholic community. It is through this community that we had the great opportunity to meet a young married couple from Pakistan, Mariam and Amir, both in their 20s [1]. Everything started because Mariam and Amir had the desire to attend Holy Mass in a language familiar to them, English. Thus, they contacted the church where we give our service. It is at that time that we could learn a wonderful story of true love, but full of unintended consequences.
Mariam was born to a Muslim family. At the age of 20, she was promised to a cousin more than twice her age. But Mariam had other plans, she wanted to marry a young man she fell in love with, Amir, whose family was Christian.
When Mariam was informed about her arranged marriage, she couldn’t accept it and claimed her right to freely choose her spouse. However many Pakistani families believe it is dishonorable for a woman to fall in love and choose her own husband. Women are expected to agree to arranged marriages and refusal can lead to an "honor killing". Indeed, when Mariam mentioned about her feelings for Amir, she was beaten strongly, so strongly that even three years later she still suffers from chronic pain. The mistreatments continued as none of the parties wanted to step back from their positions. It was time for Mariam to make a courageous decision, and she made it. One night she left home secretly, and moved to Amir’s house. She soon converted to Christianity and married him, in secret.
Unfortunately, Mariam's family took it extremely bad and started chasing them. One day, as Amir was in the street, he was aggressed and shot. Thankfully, the bullets did not hit any vital organ.
After Amir’s recovery (he still has some difficulties walking), the young couple hid in a convent several hundreds of kilometers away from their hometown. For almost a year, they could not get out from there. Very soon, also Amir’s family had to hide as well, as their life was in danger. Amir is now very worried about his family’s safety in Pakistan.
Fortunately, some fellow Christians arranged for Mariam and Amir to travel to the Netherlands. They had to leave everything without knowing whether they could ever see their family again, as it was not safe anymore for them to stay in Pakistan. At this time, Mariam and Amir are waiting for their asylum request's approval, while they live at some religious brothers’ house.
We want to help Mariam and Amir to have a normal life in the Netherlands and also support his family in Paksitan. We are moving to the USA at the end of the month. Once they will get asylum (if they get it..), they will receive a house and a small stipend from the Dutch government, but they will need some additional money to settle down (buy furniture for their apartment for instance). Amir would like to go to college so he can also get a good job to support his family.
Mariam and Amir are truly amazing! They pray so much and despite all their problems they still have a very strong faith. They now also occupy a very special place in our life, they have become like family! Our first son refers to Amir as his second dad. We hope in your generosity to help them. All together we can defend the right of Amir and Mariam to love each other, freely.
For updates, you can like the page we have created on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/supportmariamamir
[1] For safety reasons, we have preferred hiding the true names of these two persons.
More about Christians in Pakistan: click here .
Another story about a love marriage ending in drama in Pakistan: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/05/us-pakistan-woman-idUSKBN0EG1XM20140605
Dear Friends,
We felt it was necessary to give a further update on the situation of our Paksitani friends.
When we first created this page last year, we had big hopes asylum would be granted and we were already planning to get funds for their education so that they can get a better job once becoming legal aliens. However, things have not happened the way we hoped and here we are, over a year later, with an asylum request that has been rejected 3 times!! Each appeal was rejected.
The lawyer has now decided to appeal at the European Court, which is our last resort. The bad news is that it can take up to 4 years before the European Court of Justice will review the case, so in the meantime our dear friends will need to keep on living out of charity. Their life is very difficult and we want to collect donations to help them ease their situation.
If you wish to help further, a petition has been created online. If we collect enough signatures, the lawyer will be able to use the petition to strengthen the case in front of the European Court and the Dutch Government. So please sign it, as your signature can make a difference!
Here is the link: https://www.change.org/p/government-of-the-netherlands-grant-asylum-to-mariam-and-amir-a-persecuted-pakistani-christian-couple
-------------
UPDATE JULY 2016:
Dear Friends,
over a year had passed and things have not changed much. Our friends' asylum request was rejected again in December. Now they are still living illegally in the Netherlands and the lawyer said he is working on bringing their case to the European court but it is going to take maybe 2 years or more. In the mean time, they ll have to live illegally and with no income.
They currently live with two religious brothers so they dont have to pay for food and shelter, but they still need money to buy clothes, toiletries, take the train to go to some place etc.. If you would be generous enough to make a donation, big or small, to help them that would be great and I am sure they will be very grateful! Surely money wont solve most of their problems right now, but it can at least make their lives a bit more enjoyable! Like going out and eat ice cream, go to the movies. Buy new clothes or shoes if they need it.
Thank you very much in advance for your kind generosity!
Adeline & Paolo
--------------
Love is free! That’s what makes it so beautiful and special. It may have unintended consequences, however.
We are Paolo and Adeline, an Italian/French married couple since 2009, blessed by the birth of three wonderful boys. We live in the Netherlands, and are very active in our local English-Speaking Catholic community. It is through this community that we had the great opportunity to meet a young married couple from Pakistan, Mariam and Amir, both in their 20s [1]. Everything started because Mariam and Amir had the desire to attend Holy Mass in a language familiar to them, English. Thus, they contacted the church where we give our service. It is at that time that we could learn a wonderful story of true love, but full of unintended consequences.
Mariam was born to a Muslim family. At the age of 20, she was promised to a cousin more than twice her age. But Mariam had other plans, she wanted to marry a young man she fell in love with, Amir, whose family was Christian.
When Mariam was informed about her arranged marriage, she couldn’t accept it and claimed her right to freely choose her spouse. However many Pakistani families believe it is dishonorable for a woman to fall in love and choose her own husband. Women are expected to agree to arranged marriages and refusal can lead to an "honor killing". Indeed, when Mariam mentioned about her feelings for Amir, she was beaten strongly, so strongly that even three years later she still suffers from chronic pain. The mistreatments continued as none of the parties wanted to step back from their positions. It was time for Mariam to make a courageous decision, and she made it. One night she left home secretly, and moved to Amir’s house. She soon converted to Christianity and married him, in secret.
Unfortunately, Mariam's family took it extremely bad and started chasing them. One day, as Amir was in the street, he was aggressed and shot. Thankfully, the bullets did not hit any vital organ.
After Amir’s recovery (he still has some difficulties walking), the young couple hid in a convent several hundreds of kilometers away from their hometown. For almost a year, they could not get out from there. Very soon, also Amir’s family had to hide as well, as their life was in danger. Amir is now very worried about his family’s safety in Pakistan.
Fortunately, some fellow Christians arranged for Mariam and Amir to travel to the Netherlands. They had to leave everything without knowing whether they could ever see their family again, as it was not safe anymore for them to stay in Pakistan. At this time, Mariam and Amir are waiting for their asylum request's approval, while they live at some religious brothers’ house.
We want to help Mariam and Amir to have a normal life in the Netherlands and also support his family in Paksitan. We are moving to the USA at the end of the month. Once they will get asylum (if they get it..), they will receive a house and a small stipend from the Dutch government, but they will need some additional money to settle down (buy furniture for their apartment for instance). Amir would like to go to college so he can also get a good job to support his family.
Mariam and Amir are truly amazing! They pray so much and despite all their problems they still have a very strong faith. They now also occupy a very special place in our life, they have become like family! Our first son refers to Amir as his second dad. We hope in your generosity to help them. All together we can defend the right of Amir and Mariam to love each other, freely.
For updates, you can like the page we have created on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/supportmariamamir
[1] For safety reasons, we have preferred hiding the true names of these two persons.
More about Christians in Pakistan: click here .
Another story about a love marriage ending in drama in Pakistan: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/05/us-pakistan-woman-idUSKBN0EG1XM20140605
Organizer
Adeline Letizia
Organizer
Farragut, TN