Mais & Miriam Seek Asylum in Canada

Product Description

Canada

Hi, thank you so much for reading about my Campaign. My name is Richan and I live in Northern BC, Canada on the beautiful and unceeded Witsusit’en territory. I care a lot about helping those that I can and I feel so grateful and privileged to have the safety and belonging I do here.

I want to share that sense of peace with my friend Mais and their girlfriend Miriam, who are not safe where they are and are skeeking Asylum in Canada. I’ve known Mais since 2020 when online community suddenly became so important. We’ve remained friends since then and stayed in touch. This is their story:

“I am writing to you today to share our story, a long and painful journey filled with challenges and threats, and we hope that you will find our words deserving of your attention and support.

Miriam and I have lived together for 3.5 years now. We share a bond that nothing can break, and despite the hardships we’ve endured, we’ve remained together, facing life with all its difficulties. We care for 5 cats, ensuring they receive the attention they need. They love us as much as we love them, and we work hard to provide them with a life full of care and affection.

However, living in Syria has never been easy. We’ve lived surrounded by constant harassment from society. Despite all our efforts to secure stable housing, the challenges never ceased. We moved between various jobs, working long hours just to cover the daily costs of living. Despite the constant fear of being arrested due to our non-compliance with the (anti-LGBTQ) law, which could lead to prison sentences for years, we stood by each other and never let go, no matter what.

But for the past three months, we’ve been facing increasing harassment on the streets, more than ever before. We’ve limited our outings to only the most essential needs. Fear of violence has overshadowed our lives, especially with what has been happening in our regions. We fear we may be killed just like so many others from the Alawaite community who were recently killed in the Syrian Coastal areas; not for any crime we committed, but simply because our sectarian and gender identity, which does not align with the extremists’ views. Even though we consider ourselves non-religious, this doesn’t matter to the extremists who violently target us.

We narrowly escaped death when we fled from Banias to Latakia, but our escape was not easy. On the road, we were stopped by armed individuals who questioned us about our sectarian and gender identity, a clear sign that we didn’t fit into their narrow societal norms. In those moments, we feared for our lives.

Now, we find ourselves in a situation that is no longer bearable. We no longer have hope in continuing our education, returning to work, or even leading a normal life. Each day is lived under constant threat, and fear fills our hearts, preventing us from thinking about the future. We are in dire need of safety and protection. We only wish to live together in a safe place, away from the nightmare that threatens our very existence.

We hope you can offer us the support and assistance needed to secure our relocation to a safe country, to Canada, where we can build a new life- where we can work, study, and live in peace without fear. We are in desperate need of a second chance at life.

Thank you for your attention and for standing by us in this difficult time.

With sincere gratitude,

Mais & Miriam”

$3,500 to get Mais to Lebanon

$3,500 to get Miriam to Lebanon

$10,000 for Mais to apply for asylum in Canada from Lebanon

$10,000 for Miriam to apply for asylum in Canada from Lebanon

Mais says: “We know that’s too much to ask for, but we won’t survive without it”

Est. Delivery Date: Photos will be sent out each week on Tuesdays (catsdays) for a mid-week hit of dopamine