Client Stories and Photographs

Clients pictured are not those whose stories are being told.

"Ester"

 Ester (names changed) from Cameroon, met Eric shortly after she came to the United States on a work  visa. Eric helped Ester adjust to life in the U.S. They started a relationship, and after six months, they were  married. At first, Ester and Eric were happy, but within 6 months, Ester began to notice changes in Eric. He  became jealous and aggressive. If he caught Ester talking to neighbors or friends, he’d curse at her and call  her names. During one argument, Eric threw a glass bowl at Ester in the kitchen, shattering it.

 Around this same time, Ester found out that Eric was cheating. They separated for a time. While they were  separated, Eric called Ester constantly and stalked her at work, telling her that he was going to have her  deported if she didn’t get back together with him. Ester was scared and confused. Ultimately, at the urging  of her church pastor, Ester decided to give Eric one more chance. They reconciled and had a daughter  together the following year.

  After their reconciliation, Eric’ abusive behavior escalated, but Ester was scared to leave because of Eric’ repeated threats to have her deported. Ester finally reached out for help. She called PAPA and found out that PAPA could file an immigration petition based on the abuse she suffered. Because of the services PAPA provided, Ester was able to obtain her permanent residency less than a year after leaving Eric for good. She now lives in her own apartment and has a steady job.

"Jerry"

Jerry, not his real name, came to the US from Eritrea as a student. His student visa was about to run out and he was terrified about missing the deadline for filing an asylum application. He feared for his life if returned, as he had been detained and tortured by the Eritrean government on multiple occasions. He had participated in student protests while performing forced hard labor in a military camp, and was rounded up by Eritrean government for false charges of draft dodging.

 He was detained with hundreds of others when the wall of their camp collapsed from the pressure of overcrowding. People were shot at while trying to escape. Jerry managed to flee to Sudan where he joined an Eritrean opposition party. Eritrea does not allow any party other than the ruling party to exist and has a horrendous human rights record of arrest and torture of anyone even suspected of opposing the government.

 PAPA helped Jerry put together his asylum declaration, researched country background issues and found documentation that specifically confirmed Jerry’s story. We filed the application with 200+ pages of supporting documents a couple of days before the one year deadline and arranged for an attorney in Houston to go with Jerry to interview at the Asylum Office. Ten days later Jerry was thrilled to have his asylum approval and work permit.

 The documentation prepared in Jerry’s case has been helpful in other Eritrean cases, notably an Immigration Court case that was granted January 5, 2007, as well as a similar case of a young man in the Eritrean navy who came to PAPA in September 2006.  PAPA will be filing this case affirmatively with the Asylum Office later this month.

 Jerry has become part of a committed member of the Eritrean community in San Antonio/Austin area that is very committed to helping each other.

"Rosa"

Rosa is a 30-year-old mother of three from Mexico who suffered sexual harassment and assault by her former boss, Jose.  At first Rosa and Jose got along well. Rosa eventually gained enough trust in her new manager to share her marital problems with him. 

 It was this familiarity with Rosa’s intimate problems that Jose exploited when he first sexually assaulted her. Terrified of losing her job, and thus her economic security, Rosa did not report this abuse, holding her suffering inside.  Jose began to yell at and humiliate Rosa in front of her co-workers and customers. 

 After more than a year of abuse, Rosa quit her job.  She sought help from a counselor, who advised her of her rights and helped assuage her fears.  Despite her fear of deportation and retaliation by Jose, Rosa found the courage to report this abuse to the authorities in the hopes that the same thing would not continue to happen to future employees.

 Her case is currently under investigation by the local police department, and Rosa continues to cooperate with them.  PAPA filed an application for U Visa Interim Relief on behalf of Rosa and her children.  The approval of this application granted her the ability to work legally in the United States and no longer depend on her abusive spouse for financial security.