Tirhas Ghebremichael sells the street paper in Bern, Switzerland, after fleeing her home country
After being persecuted for her religious beliefs, Tirhas Ghebremichael, 45, fled her home country of Eritrea for a new life in Switzerland nine years ago. She now sells the street paper, Surprise, in Bern where she has found freedom and happiness. But still, life is not always easy, she said. Finding full-time work to help support her daughter is Tirhas’ next challenge. Here is her story, in her own words:
On Oct. 20, 2006, that is nine years ago, I came to Switzerland via Basel and applied for asylum. I had left Eritrea, my home country, a few months before. I just couldn’t stand life there anymore.
My problems began when my family and I had started to read the Bible intensively and met with likeminded people in a Protestant church, instead of attending the Eritrean Orthodox church services as before. Our president did not approve of those gatherings. So our church was closed, and my mum was put into prison for a while. The government also tried to find me, but I managed to hide. But in the end, they captured me and brought me to Sawa, the biggest army training camp in the country. There I had to work in the National Service. The work – laundry, cleaning and cooking – wasn’t the problem; I couldn’t bear to live unfree. You can’t decide anything for yourself, everything is dictated, you are not allowed to resist or to even voice criticism.
But then one night, I had a chance to flee from the camp. As soon as I was out, I knew I had to leave the country, there was no way back. Together with two other women, I crossed the border to Sudan. Because you don’t really have a chance to make it there on your own as a woman, I continued toward Libya. Then I crossed the Mediterranean and reached Italy and Switzerland.
After a long and difficult time, here I have found some joy in my life again. I had met a man during my journey and became pregnant. My daughter, Lydia, was born 2007 in Bern. Her father and I are not together anymore, but he also lives in Switzerland.
Because I am a single mother, it has been difficult for me to find a full-time job. That’s why I’m still not fully recognized and don’t have a proper residence permit. I can only claim the “Identification Card B” when I have lived in Switzerland for one year without claiming any social benefits. But there is a problem: whenever I apply for a job – today, my daughter goes to school the whole day and I could work longer hours – they always say they only take people with a “B-card.” Apparently that is more safe and easy to administer for employers than hiring someone with the “Identification Card F” which I have.
Luckily, I found work for a few hours with a cleaning business. But the time it takes me to travel to work and back is often longer than the actual hours. So I hope to find more work in or near Bern.
My religion still gives me strength and hope. When I came to Switzerland, I used to attend Eritrean services, but for a few years now I attend a church in Zollikofen (a suburb in Bern) every Sunday. There I have met a lot of Swiss people. That feels good. I also love to meet people and talk to them, when I sell Surprise at the Co-op supermarket in Bahnhof Street in Ostermundingen (a town in the outskirts of Bern). Once a woman walked up to me and asked me where I was from. We talked for a while, and then she gave me a bag full of beautiful, new clothes and started to cry. I didn’t understand exactly why, but I started crying as well.”
Translated from German into English by Katrin Wolf. Courtesy of INSP News Service www.INSP.ngo / Surprise
