Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Portrait of a Survivor: Jean-Pierre Kamwa
experiences to help others.
In Cameroon, West Africa, Jean-Pierre Kamwa was arrested eight times and tortured for protesting against an oppressive government and advocating for democracy.
After escaping from prison, Jean-Pierre arrived at New York’s JFK International Airport, where he was handcuffed and transported by immigration officials to a detention center.
He lived like a prisoner, in a windowless cell, while in detention for five months. With the help of a pro bono attorney and volunteer clinicians from the Human Rights Clinic (HRC) at Doctors of the World-USA (DOW), Jean-Pierre was eventually granted asylum.
Given the chance to start a new life in the United States, Jean-Pierre did the unexpected—he returned to the detention center. He went back to reach out to his fellow survivors, who are often isolated and in despair as they wait to learn if they will be forced to return to the place where they were persecuted. Every week since his release, Jean-Pierre visits detainees and he has even opened his apartment as a place for newly released asylum seekers to stay.
In both his personal and professional life he continues to actively help others who have survived torture and are trying to rebuild their lives. After earning his Masters in Social Work from CUNY Hunter College of Social Work in January, 2007, Jean-Pierre has recently founded the organization Espoir, to provide support and services to current and former asylum seekers. Jean-Pierre continues to work with DOW, where he trains health professionals to assist torture survivors, sharing his traumatic experience and practical knowledge.
Millions of people each year are forced to flee their homes out of fear for their lives. Like Jean-Pierre, they have been tortured, beaten imprisoned, raped, abused, or threatened. They leave their countries because they have no choice.
Upon arriving in the United States, asylum seekers often find themselves without family, community, or a place to live. Unable to understand the language and confused by the complicated legal system they must quickly navigate, they often rely on services like those offered by DOW and our partner organizations.
DOW recruits and trains volunteer health professionals to assist survivors of torture and abuse, while working to raise public awareness about this all-too-invisible community. There has never been a more important moment to support the needs of asylum seekers and especially torture survivors, sending a clear message that human rights abuses are never right or just.
Since DOW began the Human Rights Clinic in 1993, more than 2,000 individuals have been assisted by this critical program. Thanks to the work of volunteer lawyers and medical professionals who provide survivors with the evidence necessary to present their cases, over 80% of the HRC’s clients are granted asylum, compared with a national average of less than 25%.
Together, we can make a real and lasting difference in the lives of torture survivors. With your support we will ensure that every individual, like Jean-Pierre, who seeks our help will have access to the support and care they need.
To be able to respond to this and other challenges, Doctors of the World-USA relies on the generosity of individuals like you who believe that the world can be a better place if we all look out for one another. One individual, one family, one community at a time, Doctors of the World-USA is healing the wounds caused by disease and injustice.
Please consider a donation to support the Human Rights Clinic and our many other important health and human rights projects across the globe, by clicking here. Join with us, and let Jean-Pierre and all of our clients and the communities we serve here in the United States and around the world know that you care.
*Photo courtesy of Carl Glassman, Tribeca Trib