When Suzanne was just a girl, armed militias displaced her family from their home in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As a teenager, she witnessed her father’s murder and was forcibly married to a Mai Mai rebel. This was the beginning of a life of instability, and Suzanne worked hard to protect and provide for her two fatherless children. In Dar es Salaam, where she eventually sought refuge, life was relatively safe. But without refugee status or a legal permit, Suzanne’s choices remained limited. She could still be arrested as an ‘illegal migrant’, detained or even deported.
At Asylum Access, Suzanne received information about her options and assistance to obtain a work permit, an alternative means to secure protection from detention. Today, she runs a restaurant in Dar es Salaam and attends livelihood workshops organized by Asylum Access. Our assistance helped Suzanne feed her family and plan a future for herself as a successful businesswoman.