I Need Help!

I never used to ask for it and I just endure any situation, but today it's urgent because I can't do it anymore. Im honestly tried for a whole year, but I can't do it on my own anymore. Please read the story of my escape and find a way to donate some money so I can survive in the US.

Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi

I will add more ways to support me later when I've the opportunity. I can't create GoFundMe, I don't have proper ID yet and couldn’t have it because of sanctions.

For now, I can only offer you to support me on Ko-fi or by sponsoring my comic on Patreon.

My husband and I fled our country, our homeland, because we were in danger of being persecuted by the Russian government, and I personally was threatened by the authorities because I opposed the government and spoke out openly against the war. Some may say that I didn't fight enough to stop it, but that would be wrong because they probably don't know me, and yes, maybe I never spoke openly about it, but only because the government was always monitoring those who tried to stop it, and also watching out for ordinary people because of their online activity. I did my part to expose their tools of control and spying. Sad that we didn't see the results sooner until it was too late. I can't reveal too much because there are people who are still fighting and careful not to make the mistakes I did. For example, when it hurt the most, I couldn't keep quiet on my social networks and wrote what I felt. They knew immediately who I was and acted quickly to silence me.

We successfully fled Russia a year ago on the second attempt because the first attempt failed and the plane was turned back to Moscow halfway to Turkey. That stressful experience of flying in circles for hours to burn fuel before landing and not knowing what was going to happen to us gave me a lot of gray hairs. I'm not trying to get sympathy here, that's just a fact.

The destination country was Turkey, because at that time not many countries were accepting people with Russian passports, and with the new sanctions it became even more impossible to settle there legally, apply for political asylum and end up in a refugee camp for many months (that was never my option). We tried to settle in Turkey, but the longer we were there, the more we learned that lgbtqia+ people are not welcome there, and later Erdogan announced that they would work to remove people like us from the country because there is no such thing as LGBT in the holy book. According to the government officials, we are a threat to the traditional family there.

We tried to travel to Israel to find out if I could repatriate because of distant Jewish roots but when we were there in December, I learned that there is no way for my husband to be with me because we are not legally married and he would never get citizenship in the future.

A few days before Christmas, Canada gave us a wonderful gift - it was a letter rejecting our visas that we had applied for 6 months ago. Yes, only wealthy Russians who became rich through corruption are allowed to travel freely there.

And what about the old Europe, loved by many people? No, there was no way to get a visa or exchange a Turkish visa for Portuguese digital nomads visa. Simply because they reject all applications from “Russian relocants” on the recommendation of the Euro Commission (I consider "relocants" a new slur the news use to describe those who flee to safety in order to dehumanize us), and according the new policies we had to apply from Russia, which is a big no-no. I' won't go back and risk our lives for even less chance of approval. I used to love Europe and traveled there a lot, but the recent laws and behavior towards refugees have really changed my mind about the Union. Europe is a cruel bitch that favors conservative voters for political points

We started researching what other LGBTQIA+ people were doing and where they were going. So we learned that a shelter in Tijuana was helping people find their safety in the U.S., but when we were finally ready, the shelter and charity help were cancelled because the U.S. government announced a new way to get across the border legally. It's an app called CBP One that allows you to make an appointment with CBP officers, but believe me, it's kind of like a lottery or a fast-track game to get an appointment every day at 8 a.m. CST, when they give out a few hundred slots that are usually being taken at 8:01 a.m. because of the competition with other 80K-100K refugees who are also trying to come to the U.S. through CBP One.

So we arrived in Mexico, and it was quite a challenge because we had to pretend that we were tourists and we were going to tour there. The first one that causes problems is the Turkish airline that won't let you board without a return ticket, and even if you pay for the refundable option (extra amount that worth the half tickets price on top), you only get a refund of a few hundred dollars. The non-refundable tickets cost about $5,000 for two passengers round trip. This is really overpriced, and they're abusing the situation because Istanbul has become a major transportation hub because of the war in Ukraine.

The second troublemaker is the Mexican border control at the airport, because they know why people with Russian passports arrive there. And if you can't prove that the trip is for tourist purposes, you can easily be deported back to Istanbul, or get only 5-10 days stay in the country to make it impossible to move between the distant cities, which means you can't get to the border by air, but by land you risk running into cartel members who would rob you or even kidnap and kill you.

We prepared well enough and passed all questions without any problems. Thanks to other refugees who came first and shared their experiences in the group chat. I don't know what to say about Mexico and CDMX... it's beautiful but not safe, and electric fences or barbed wire around condominium buildings or private properties in the middle of the city prove that even more. I'm sorry to my followers who are from Mexico, but I didn't feel safe there and the recent news about cartels kidnapping refugees or American citizens isn't something that could change my opinion about safety in that country. I believe there are many good people and you all have shown me that, but that isn't enough for me.

We have decided that our final destination to call home is the west coast of the United States.

My real expectations of the U.S. are to be free to be myself and to be protected from those who want to take that away from me.

I want to finally start finding my way in normal society and take the first steps to trust people again or at least see my good friends who are mostly in the States and hang out with my friends together if possible.

Back to making an appointment with CBP One. I got lucky and after a few days of training to take a photo selfie captcha super fast, I caught slots for hubby and I on the 5th day, I still can't believe I won that "lottery" to safety. After that we'll only wait 12 more days until our scheduled day with CBP officers for legal border crossing. I am writing this on the flight to Tijuana and still can't believe that in a couple days I will be safe. I hope CBP will not find reasons to detain me. There are still a risk for that. We have done everything for hubby to make detantion impossible and have translated all the medical documents that prove he' is asthmatic, which would grant him to be immediately patrolled after all the papers and documents are ready on the border.

I know the risks of entering the U.S., especially as an asylum seeker, and I know I'll be placed in deportation process while I wait for my court date to present evidences of my political asylum case. Before that happens, I ain't sure if I can make it without your help, because I’m allowed to work or study and won't get a work permit for earlier than in 150-180 days. I'm also saving money for a lawyer because it' is impossible to stand alone in the court because the system aims to deny me protection and find any reason to kick me out of the country. The average cost for a good immigration lawyer is $15,000 for two asylum seekers. Oh Gjee, I need to start print money and not drawing furry art to survive hahaha (just a silly joke)

Please help me get through the first half of the immigration year before I receive all the legal documents that will allow me to work and study.