Queer Asylum Accompaniment (www.qaateam.org) is Sonoma County grassroots. We assist LGBTQI+ folks facing persecution in their homelands start new lives in the North Bay. We have never encountered a case as extreme as Mukim’s. He had a good job and was quite successful. Four years ago, during a cover police sting, Mukim was lured into a meeting with a man on a gay date site and thus began his nightmare. The police in his hometown, in an oppressive Muslim country, beat him, jailed him, and began 4 years of extortion. To protect his family, he paid the corrupt police weekly payments. He was forced to sell his car and empty his savings account. The police brought him in to the station monthly urging him to tell him the names of other gay men. Mukim bravely refused. They beat him and tortured him regularly in the most horrific ways. Humiliating him while in their grip wasn’t enough. The police sergeant came to Mukim’s place of work and outed him to his boss. He was soon after fired. Unable to find a new job and desperate to earn enough to pay the extortion monies, Mukim re-located to a neighboring country. He could only find work as a cashier, despite his two degrees.  M. was able acquire to a traveler’s visa to Mexico and once there was able to schedule an appointment with U.S. Immigration. ICE determined his case is a strong one, backed up by documentation, photos, and testimonials. Mukim has just been released and is allowed to stay in the U.S. while he pursues his asylum case and his dream of becoming a Forest Ranger. Please help Mukim with a donation.

Here’s the link: https://gofund.me/2e095337