Rebecca offered another possibility: apply for a student visa and leave the country that way.
She gave Alice a list of American universities that had a good track record of accepting students from Uganda. One of the schools was Lincoln University in Oakland, California. Alice sent in her application and kept working two jobs. Three months later she received an acceptance letter along with a student visa. But just when things should have gotten easier, they got harder.
“I was walking back home after work. It was getting dark when I was attacked by two guys and one lady. They kept screaming at me, things like ‘We want to kill you. We want to get rid of you.’”“I think they were jealous. They knew that if I left the country I’d be safe. Uganda is not friendly to LGBTQ. They hate us. You live in hiding because people might kill you. I left home because of my dad and his rejection of me. He threatened to kill me. He threatened to call the police.
Alice moved quickly after the attack, securing an airline ticket and tucking a photo of her one-year-old daughter inside her wallet. Her goal was to start school, apply for asylum, and then return for her child. Alice boarded a twelve-hour flight from Kampala, arrived at JFK, and changed planes before landing in Oakland. After spending a few initial days at a hotel, Alice retrieved the paper with the name and address of the organization Rebecca had said could help and called a taxi.
“When my status changed, I felt hopeful. In Uganda, I had my own money but I didn’t have happiness. Now, I’m here and I can have money and happiness. I am studying to become a nurse and can concentrate on what I want to become in the future more than ever before.”Global LGBTQ Refugee Settlement Programs and Statisticsand as many as 13 countries can impose the death penalty if convicted.
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