What else should he do to make people believe him, asks Abdulai B.? That he was tortured in his old homeland, people threatened him with death, and stones were thrown at him – because he’s gay. In 2016, Abdulai B. could no longer stand it in Sierra Leone, the physical and psychological violence against the now 24-year-old in Freetown left him no other choice. Without a plan, he escaped through several West African countries, finally stranded in Libya and made it to Italy by boat. On December 28, 2016, Abdulai B. arrived in Munich. He had hoped to live a life here without fear. Abdulai B. wanted to be a nurse. But so far he is not even allowed to do an apprenticeship.
When the young man talks, he sometimes falters. His gaze is serious and fixed, now and then he stutters slightly. It’s difficult for him to talk about all the past years. Not just about the time of martyrdom when he “had to hide his identity” in Sierra Leone. Sexuality between men is a punishable offense in the West African country. Abdulai B., who does not want to give his full name for fear of further persecution, fled to Germany because he had hoped “that I can be the way I am here – but I can’t”.
The 24-year-old lives in Munich in accommodation cramped with many other refugee men who do not want to accept his homosexuality and harass him. In 2017 he finally found help in the Sub gay center on Müllerstrasse. There he can speak openly about his problems and needs.
In the talks with the immigration authorities, he was told that they didn’t believe he was homosexual – and that that’s why he couldn’t get asylum in Germany. “Unfortunately, the courts in Bavaria are currently not willing to recognize the suffering of these people on the subject of asylum for homosexuals in Sierra Leone,” says Abdulai B’s lawyer Ronja Corell.
With a passport there is a risk of deportation – but without a passport there is no work permit
Nevertheless, he quickly learned German and went to school. Abdulai B. has long since graduated from high school and would like to start training as a nurse. He even had an apprenticeship, but he couldn’t take it because – like many refugees from the West African country – he doesn’t have a passport. A vicious circle: If Abdulai B. had an ID card, he would probably have been deported from Germany long ago, his lawyer Ronja Corell fears. Although he cannot be expelled from the country without a passport, he does not get a work permit. According to Corell, the immigration authorities have some discretion.
In October of last year, Abdulai B. – like many other people from Sierra Leone – was summoned to Munich to clarify his identity. An embassy delegation from Sierra Leone came specially for this purpose, and the interviews took place in a building belonging to the government of Upper Bavaria on Hofmannstrasse. “It was a novelty,” says the lawyer. Otherwise, such identity checks would take place in the offices of the relevant embassies. She is now demanding that Abdulai B. obtain a work permit once he has submitted to the procedure. But for months he and many other refugees from Sierra Leone have been waiting for a decision on whether they are allowed to stay and work or not.
That’s why dozens of people have been demonstrating in a protest camp against deportation and for a work permit in Germany since the fall. At times, Abdulai B. was also among the protesters who held out day and night in front of the government’s so-called arrival center on Hofmannstrasse. They finally moved on to Odeonsplatz and finally to Königsplatz. There, Caritas employees helped them with an information bus, in which the people could also warm up. In the meantime, they no longer have to sleep on the street, but can stay in the city’s overnight shelter and receive food for free during the day, for example in St. Bonifaz.
Abdulai B. has meanwhile completed another internship in nursing. By autumn, when the new training year starts, he hopes to get permission for it after all. And if he can only work as a nursing assistant until then. “I’ve been waiting for something to happen for five years,” says the 24-year-old. “I really want to take care of the elderly, but they won’t let me. It’s frustrating.” His help is urgently needed in a nursing or retirement home.