Image courtesy: Anna Remarchuk



Anonymous asked:

Hello, this is a 26 year old woman from Saudi Arabia. I renounced religion in 2015 and I have been living in fear since then. I spoke out and shared some of what I think with my family. I lived in isolation since then in the fear I might get in trouble again. I travelled abroad for my studies for two years and came back when I couldn’t get a financial support. Now I am back to the same kind of “life” and isolation. I can’t even secure a job. I need your advice.

Reply (from @rayhana):

Greetings from the UK. Thank you for your message. I am very sorry to hear that you are going through such a hardship in an unsafe environment as you described. I hope you find strength in these difficult times. You are not alone. We are with you.



Let’s break down your situation into two core problems, for simplicity:

Problem 1: You have renounced your faith in 2015. You are effectively an Ex-Musilm in a country where leaving Islam is punishable by death. You have shared some of your views with your family which means this may have or will cause you trouble - potentially, putting your life in danger.

Problem 2: You are unable to secure a job that can guarantee you with enough money to afford your own safe accommodation in a community you can trust. Without a job, you probably don’t have a steady flow of income for future savings which can help you leave a country where you are at risk of being killed.

Problem 1, the fact that you are an Ex-Muslim and have expressed some of your views about leaving the faith with your family, puts your life in danger anyway whether or not you have a job. And if you are under male guardianship prevented from leaving the house and getting help, it doesn’t matter whether or not you get a job.

So let’s tackle Problem 1 in this reply.

Action Plan to tackle #1: Getting you to safety



How long might it take? You know it better. Perhaps a minimum 6 months from contacting organisations who can help you to finally moving to a safe country, let’s say Denmark? So if you start on your plan today (24th December 2020), then, when you re-read this reply again in July 2020, you might be in Denmark, rebuilding a new life. Let’s see how we can get you there.

Step 1: What do you need? Ideally, research a route to seek asylum in a country under the Geneva Convention that protects your human rights, particularly, freedom from religion. (Get it done by: 3 weeks max, mid-Jan)

I can’t recommend which country you should get a direct flight to (Yes, direct flight. NO TRANSIT IN NON-EU COUNTRIES BECAUSE SAUDI GOVT/PARENTS USE LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO KIDNAP THEIR DAUGHTERS). But I can, based on reports, say which countries to avoid. By all means, avoid Turkey, Philippines, India, any country in the Middle East, Bangladesh, Pakistan. Actually, following is a map of the countries you should avoid. Avoid all the countries whose maps are black or dark pink. This map is a good proxy because whether you are an Ex-Muslim, a liberal Muslim or an LGBT+ person, the risks you face is the same.

Be aware of human trafficking gangs when you leave the country: You should also avoid these countries because, since you are a young woman, you are a target of international sex trafficking gangs who look for women like you and promise you with a “job” and “new life” and end up taking your passport and selling you to prostitution.

Be aware of kidnapping gangs when you leave the country: You should also be selective about who you tell and stay in touch with when you leave Saudi Arabia and travel to your destination country. This is because, Saudi Arabia and much of the Middle East is heavily guarded by Islamist spies and moneymaker who will help your ‘kidnappers’ to find you by leaking your address, contact number, social media profiles in exchange of good sum of money. Once your Saudi guardians know where you are escaping to, they may contact your airline flight or the destination government to arrest you. This is why you need to avoid these following countries with black map:

Step 2: Is asylum the right decision for you? If Yes, START PREPARING. (Get it done by: 4-8 weeks, 29 Feb 2020)



Head over to the website of UNHCR’s Refugee Agency: https://help.unhcr.org/#_ga=2.36710247.670686335.1577196824-2037898764.1577196824 Allocate 1-2 days max to familiarise with the UNHCR’s guides on seeking asylum. Make a list of the agencies who can help. Allocate 2-4 days to familiarise with these organisations who help Muslim and Ex-Muslim dissents.

Humanists UK

Pen English

Pen International

Centre for Inquiry

Human Rights Watch

Red Cross

Once you are confident about their remit, send an email to them asking if they have any advice or a social worker who can help you.

Step 3: Get a trusted journalist to bring light to your story. (Get it done by: 4-6 weeks max, mid-Feb)

We suggest you contact the CPJ or the ICIJ and ask to speak to a journalist. A journalist is a safer contact than people without professional capacity who may introduce themselves to you as a “secular Muslim” or an “Ex-Muslim”. This is because journalists act within their professional capacity (there is an audit trail) so they will not cheat you or leak your information to your kidnappers. And in the event that you are kidnapped, or killed, your journalist can spread the word across to help and rescue you.

Step 4: Gather evidence - ALL OF IT. (Get it done by: past evidence, 2 weeks max, mid-Jan, new evidence: as it happens)

If you have received new threatening messages, it means your life may be in immediate danger. In that case, since the Saudi police might be counterproductive because you are an Ex-Muslim, try contacting this and this and ask for help. We can’t guarantee they will save you but they are probably your best bet. Go back to your old Facebook, email account, WhatsApp messages etc. dating back to 2014 or 2015. If you have received death threats or threats of violence or abusive messages from your family or anyone within Saudi Arabia for leaving Islam, save their screenshot. And save their backup copies in a cloud server, such as Google Drive.

Step 5: Get a lawyer (get it done by: 8-12 weeks, by early April 2020)

You need a trusted lawyer to support your asylum application once you decide where to rebuild your new life. We cannot recommend any lawyer without a safety check. Perhaps start with Lawyers Without Borders? Also, perhaps CPJ and ICIJ can help you find a good lawyer.

Step 6: Write your statement (Get it done by: 4 weeks, by April 2020 - update as you gather new evidence on events etc.)

It is worth starting from now, to draft your full situation in a document, to build a full picture of what is going on with your life, why your life is in danger and explain the evidence to support it. Make sure you have a chronological detailed list of events, and match it with evidence. Sadly, this is an anti-refugee, populist and polarised era. Without evidence, you will not get any help from the West because many westerners are afraid of Islamists and don’t want to help Ex-Muslims because they think it is “Islamophobic” to leave Islam. So make sure you hold on to your evidence.

Step 7: Do you have the money to buy plane tickets? Buy food? Rent a safe house in a completely new country? GET YOUR FINANCES IN ORDER. (Get it done by: start NOW, track progress mid April 2020)

Hold onto your savings in your bank, as well your assets. Make sure no one except you have access to them. If you don’t have the funds to afford asylum or travel to a safe country, consider crowdfunding. Make sure you have some cash with you as an emergency fund in case you lose access to your online bank.

Step 8: Have the fund, journalist, and legal support you need? Get ready for asylum. (Start by May/June - start early because bureaucracy will slow you down).

This is the main and most difficult bit. Discuss with your legal representative, UNHRC, journalist on what is the best option for you to leave the country. Can you obtain a visitor visa to an EU country? Set the date of your travel. Don’t tell anyone you are seeking asylum except for an accredited journalist, trusted lawyer as mentioned earlier. If you are escaping to Denmark, tell your friends and family you are going to Australia.



Pack up the essentials:

Your passport

Your medical and academic certificates

Your valuable assets: gold (protect them from thieves - you can later convert them to cash if you run out of money)

Get a new phone and a new laptop. Leave your old IT equipment in Saudi Arabia so that you cannot be traced by Saudi police. A fresh start means a fresh start.



5. Plan your travel. And be viligant when you do so.

Get a direct flight. For example, direct flight from Riyadh to Copenhagen. No transit, No changes.

Before you arrive at your destination airport, either ask a representative from your lawyer, or your journalist to arrange to collect you from the airport. Before your plane lands, you should know the name and face of who you are meeting first, the taxi (number) where you will be traveling to, the address where you are going and potentially that country’s police and emergency number, e.g, 911, 999 or 111. Also, make a note of that country’s counter extremism hotline. In the worst case, call them.

Once you have landed in your new country, make sure you are meeting the people you verified earlier through your legal, journalist reps. Waste no time before going straight through the asylum process and meanwhile make sure you have a safe accommodation.

If you want to change how your life is today, it will not be an easy task. But you are not alone. Help is out there. You are looking at 6 to 12 months of struggle, if you want to change your life starting from today. Next year on this day you might be living a new life, breathing fresh air in Denmark, or Switzerland or Canada; or still stuck in Saudi Arabia in a life that feels like a prison cell. Or 30 years from now on this day when you are 56, you are still living the same life in Saudi Arabia, regretting that today as you read this, you did not gather some extra courage to change your life. I hope you find that extra courage. I know, from your letter, that you are already full of courage. When is the right time to turn that courage into action? You decide that. The world is ready when you are ready.

And if you do choose to put your courage to action starting from today, I hope I hear from you again - perhaps in January when you have progressed with gathering evidence, finding some trusted journalists and lawyers to help you?

I can’t wait to see you happier, and braver.

Look forward to hearing from you again.

Lots of love. Merry Christmas and have an excellent start of the year.

Rayhana

Committee to Protect Muslims and Ex-Muslims