“It is important that we do not allow ourselves to be demotivated.”

Livia Amacker and Annett Uehlinger coordinate Focus Refugees, a Queeramnesty subgroup that supports queer asylum seekers in Switzerland. A conversation about the team's current reorganization, challenges for refugees and mentors, and dealing with the political backlash.

Since when and why have you been involved with Queeramnesty?

Livia: I joined Focus Refugees (FR) as a mentor in May 2022 because I want to get involved and contribute to greater social justice. In particular, I want to support people who have no voice for several reasons – they are queer, foreign, and seeking asylum. I've been following Amnesty International's work for a while, and when I stumbled across Queeramnesty on Instagram, I got involved. It's also a commitment that gives me a lot of meaning.

Annett: I lived in Berlin for a long time and worked there in a shelter for queer asylum seekers. When I returned to Bern, I missed it. A friend introduced me to Queeramnesty in the spring of 2023.

And that's why you're involved with FR?

Annett: Exactly. There are hardly any other places in Switzerland where queer asylum seekers are cared for so directly. However, volunteer support has its limits: The refugees actually need much more support than we can give them.

Livia: Yes, we learn here every day how to achieve the most with limited resources. I'm with FR because I enjoy working with people and really value the contact with the refugees and the volunteers who support them. But it was also a leap into the deep end, and I was a little overwhelmed at first. Since then, I've learned a lot and also undergone some development myself.

What motivated you to take on the role of team coordinator?

Livia: It came about because our predecessors stepped down practically at the same time at the end of 2022. They asked me, and I found our work in this area so important that I accepted – all the more so since I had just passed my bar exam and therefore had the capacity.

Annett: Livia asked me directly for the role right from the start. And because I have a lot of experience in this field, I accepted. In addition to an emotionally demanding job, it can sometimes be stressful and challenging. But for me, a lot of heart and soul goes into Queeramnesty's work.

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Focus Refugees (FR) is a subgroup of Queeramnesty that accompanies, emotionally supports, and socially connects queer refugees in Switzerland – in cooperation with Transgender Network Switzerland (TGNS). FR does not provide legal advice, but can connect them with other organizations. Currently, the group, with around 60 volunteers, cares for 130 refugees from numerous countries, particularly from Africa and the Middle East. Thanks to donations, FR can, for example, pay for train tickets for refugees to participate in queer events.

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FR is now undergoing a restructuring. How exactly, and what changes will this mean for you, the mentors, and the refugees?

Annett: I always found the previous organization a bit too hierarchical. Not everyone who was willing to take on more responsibility could do so within the existing structure. Everyone came to us with their questions, especially to Livia.

Livia: With the reorganization, we want to break up the responsibility concentrated in coordination and distribute it more evenly. This is also necessary because we have grown enormously in recent years. FR began as a small group in Zurich – everyone knew each other well and worked closely together. We want to go back to that, because that has been lost somewhat. From now on, four or five local small groups will be more self-organized: about three in Zurich, one each in Basel and Bern, and maybe even one in Eastern Switzerland. The individual members will then be more closely connected with each other and take on a relatively large amount of responsibility that previously lay with us in coordination. This reduction in workload gives us more time for administration, for introducing new active members, and for more complex individual cases. Not much will probably change for the refugees. Ideally, the quality of support will improve because everything else works better, so that everyone is treated equally as much as possible. The fact that this is not the case from time to time has occasionally led to tensions.

Annett: While a certain degree of individuality will naturally remain in the support, everyone does it a little differently, and not all refugees have the same needs. For the mentors, there should be more personal interaction and mutual support. This might even allow them to do something together with the refugees. Volunteering has to be fun for the people, otherwise they'll quickly leave. However, I find the motivation is usually high.

"Our commitment is now known even at the highest levels of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). As a result, we have gained significant importance as an organization and are being asked more frequently."

Do you see any further need for change at FR?

Livia: We're constantly striving to develop further; but considering that everyone here works on a voluntary basis, things are going really well. And the asylum authorities are now more aware than before and listen to us more, which is having a positive effect. However, that doesn't mean that all of our demands are being implemented and the special needs of queer asylum seekers are always understood.

Annett: Yes, we're reaping the rewards of the long work of our numerous predecessors. Our commitment is now known even at the highest level of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). As a result, we've gained significant importance as an organization, and we're being asked more frequently.

Livia: Often, the authorities would even be open to our concerns, but then point to a lack of resources and political will to take concrete measures. When it comes to separate accommodations for queer refugees, for example, we continue to meet with resistance. Nevertheless, we keep demanding it. And if there are no improvements, hopefully our insistence will at least ensure that things don't get worse. Because the asylum system is currently in a rough patch.

Why are separate accommodations so important?

Livia: Because queer asylum seekers are often forced to live in close quarters with people who think like those they fled from. Many therefore have to remain in hiding for their own protection. If they don't, or are unable to, they risk social ostracism, bullying, or even physical violence. This leads to isolation and loneliness. The authorities often only react after violent attacks have occurred. In our view, separate accommodations would be the only realistically feasible option to ensure the safety and protection of queer asylum seekers.

Annett: It's about the basic protection of asylum seekers, to which Switzerland is committed. This is not guaranteed in the mixed accommodations.

Annett Uehlinger (53) ist Sozialarbeiterin und lebt in Bern, Livia Amacker (29) ist Rechtsanwältin und lebt in Langenthal BE.

What other challenges are there for our work?

Annett: We receive more requests than we can handle—from refugees, but also from professionals in the asylum field. Often, we can't help, for example, when refugees ask for lawyers or reimbursement of costs. Or when they write from abroad and ask for assistance with their escape.

Livia: We are affiliated with Amnesty International, and that often creates excessive expectations. We usually have much less power than the people making the requests hope for. Actually, almost all queer asylum seekers need psychotherapeutic support because they have experienced so much trauma. But we can't offer that. Within the asylum system, there is usually not enough psychiatric and psychological support, partly due to language barriers. Furthermore, we are not happy with the current legal situation.

What does that mean?

Livia: In my experience, in the asylum field, far more political than legal decisions are made. I don't experience this to this extent in any other area of law. From the outset, it's clear: Depending on which desk an asylum application lands on, it will be rejected anyway – regardless of what reasons the person may have put forward.

Annett: The endless waiting, combined with feelings of powerlessness and fear, is also extremely stressful for them. Not knowing what will happen next is extremely difficult to bear.

Livia: The mentors feel this too, which makes our work emotionally challenging.

Annett: Working with traumatized people is very delicate, so we have to prepare new mentors carefully. They are often the first people the refugees trust.

Are fewer asylum seekers contacting us than in recent years?

Livia: No, Europe's efforts to seal off asylum seekers aren't having a significant impact yet. There are still more than we can handle: An average of eight contact us per week via email or our contact form on the website – five to six with concerns that we try to help with. But not all of them are interested in mentoring on our terms, perhaps because they had hoped for more.

"These people are not just 'refugees,' they also bring with them many skills and resources. Those who muster the courage to flee and make it to us are often incredibly strong and resilient."

How do you generally experience working with refugees?

Livia: It's incredibly beautiful and enriching, but also challenging and stressful. To a certain extent, you inevitably suffer with them. I've learned a lot and had to confront my own attitudes. What's important to me to emphasize: These people aren't just "refugees"; they also bring with them many skills and resources. Those who muster the courage to flee and make it to us are often incredibly strong and resilient. Many are also well educated. They are fascinating people who have a lot to offer and from whom we can learn a lot. This is often forgotten in public discourse. And at Queeramnesty, many refugees experience for the first time that someone takes them seriously and understands their queer identity.

How do you deal with frustrated people who experience so much negativity?

Livia: It's important to empathize, but not to suffer. This requires inner emotional stability; only then can you support others. It's also crucial to be aware of the exceptional emotional situation these people are in – and not to take it personally when you feel their frustration. Despite all of this, we still try to be there for them and offer them a certain amount of support. A legal representative once told me that, in his experience, asylum seekers accompanied by Queeramnesty are more psychologically stable during the interview than the others. That's a nice confirmation of our work. But we must be aware that we can't be saviors, only empathetic listeners.

Annett: I think it's very important to highlight the positive: What do they bring to the table? What brings them joy? Perhaps we can facilitate that here as well and bring a little variety and lightness into their lives. It's also crucial to empower them and connect them with other queer refugees so they realize they're not alone in their experiences. Sometimes we also refer them to professionals who are responsible for their needs.

Eine Rede von Queeramnesty an der Bern-Pride Anfang August.

How good are the chances for queer people to receive asylum in Switzerland?

Livia: No better or worse than for anyone else. Like everyone else, they have to prove persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or their political views. Queer people belong to a social group. Proving one's queer identity is no longer as big a hurdle as it used to be. The greater challenge for everyone is proving persecution. Those who, like most people, cannot produce documents such as arrest warrants or evidence of torture often find it difficult to make their story credible.

Annett: The process is a huge strain for everyone, especially the hearing. And for queer people, it is an additional challenge to speak about the most intimate and personal details in front of strangers, all the more so since they have avoided doing exactly that their entire lives.

Is there a prospect that queers from certain countries could be subjected to the status of collective persecution – that they would automatically receive protection as queer people because they face the death penalty at home, for example?

Livia: A collective reason for fleeing would mean that asylum seekers from Iran or Uganda, for example, would only have to prove their queer identity, but not individual persecution. That is one of our political demands. At the moment, however, this is not in sight at all and is a very hot topic for the authorities. In Switzerland, this status was granted for the first time ever to refugees from Ukraine.

Annett: And of course, Swiss politicians and authorities know that such countries exist, that no country is truly safe for trans people, and that things are currently getting worse everywhere.

Livia: The real goal of international cooperation should be to improve the situation in the countries of origin. Most people don't want to flee. They want to be accepted at home. For many, there is hardly a greater pain than being disowned by one's own family.

"Political leaders, especially on the right, have discovered that this issue is a great way to stir up emotions. It's about stirring up sentiment and winning votes."

The situation for queer people seems to be worsening even in countries where there has been progress in recent decades. Why?

Annett: Queer people are more visible today in the fight for their rights, which generates resistance and a countermovement. It's always been this way throughout history.

Livia: And political leaders, especially on the right, have discovered that the issue is a good way to stir up emotions. It's about stirring up sentiment and winning votes. And as absurd as some of it is, it seems to work and is being widely copied. Since the US government has also joined in, it seems to have gotten even worse.

Annett: It's also a convenient distraction from the real problems, of which there are certainly plenty. But stirring up sentiment against queer people can lure more voters.

Apparently, there are now even inquiries from trans people in the US?

Livia: Yes, occasionally. That started with Donald Trump's return to the presidency. But in my opinion, the chances of being granted asylum in Switzerland are currently very slim.

Asylum law is becoming increasingly stricter across Europe at ever shorter intervals. Could the right to asylum even be fundamentally called into question?

Livia: Honestly, I fear that politicians will take this discussion seriously. We'll have to deal with it.

Annett: I see it that way too. Some countries have already almost closed their borders.

What does this mean for our work?

Annett: We must continually mobilize dissenting voices and hope that many organizations and politicians take a clear stance. Livia: Everyone who wants to prevent this development must come together and speak out. Human rights and the right to asylum must be preserved!

Are there any developments that give you hope?

Livia: The many wonderful people who are committed to equality, who believe in a different, better, fairer world. It's very important that we don't give up, that we don't allow ourselves to be discouraged.

Annett: A great example of this was the actually banned Pride in Budapest at the end of June. More people came together than ever before. And these images are also circulating around the world, giving me strength and hope.