She accompanies queer refugees in Switzerland.

The mentors at Focus Refugees accompany and support queer refugees in Switzerland, sometimes also with the asylum process. Anne Bütikofer currently mentors three couples and one individual – and finds it personally very enriching.

Text: Ralf Kaminski

At first glance, looking after seven refugees sounds like a lot of work, but Anne Bütikofer shakes her head with a smile. "Because three of them are couples and I have co-mentors supporting me in two cases, the workload is manageable," explains the 50-year-old from Zurich. "I can easily handle it. Besides, one couple from Ukraine has just received visas for Canada, so they'll be traveling on soon." The other two couples are from Colombia, and the single person is from Turkey.

Anne has been active with Queeramnesty since mid-2022. The trigger was Russia's attack on Ukraine. "I speak Russian and have many Russian-speaking friends. Before the war, no one made a distinction whether someone originally came from Russia, Belarus, or Ukraine; you could communicate with everyone equally. It's truly tragic what's happening right now."

The war sparked her desire to get involved. And when she saw that Queeramnesty was looking for people with different language skills, she applied. "I immediately started translating during an initial interview with a refugee from Uzbekistan and that's how I got involved with Focus Refugees."

The wonderful feeling of making a difference

It helped that Anne had already been doing something similar for several years. She was living with her partner in New York when the first wave of refugees began in 2013 due to new, repressive laws against queer people in Russia. "Back then, I was in a kind of American-Russian friendship association, which then became increasingly political and began actively supporting queer refugees. My involvement here is essentially a continuation of that."

She finds it particularly satisfying when she can help someone in a very concrete way. "For example, I once managed to help a couple find their own apartment through discussions with the local council and a property management company, much sooner than is usually possible." Even just organizing a bicycle for someone and making their life easier is a very good feeling. "And often it's a small effort for people like me who know their way around here and know how to talk to people. But for the refugees, it's an enormous help."

Introduction and support provided by Focus Refugees

How many refugees you mentor is entirely up to you. Mentoring can also be done jointly with someone. "It's best to start with one person to get a feel for the time commitment," says Anne. This commitment fluctuates and comes in waves. "Usually, it's no more than a few hours per week. However, there are sometimes periods when refugees need more support, especially when we can prepare them for their hearing at the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM)." New mentors receive comprehensive training from Focus Refugees. There are also regular group meetings for sharing experiences. "And you can always ask for support if things get difficult," Anne emphasizes.

The requests from queer refugees are reviewed by the coordination team, which then matches them with mentors based on language skills and region of residence. An initial consultation clarifies their needs and manages their expectations. "Many have high hopes, simply because of our name and connection to Amnesty International," says Anne.

“We first have to make it clear to them that we all work on a voluntary basis and have no influence on Swiss asylum procedures; we can only provide social support and networking opportunities.” However, the name Queeramnesty does have an impact on social workers and staff at asylum accommodations. “People are more likely to take us seriously, and we can sometimes achieve improvements for refugees.”

2023 saw more inquiries than ever before

Of the refugees Anne has supported so far, only one has received asylum in Switzerland. The others are all still in the application process. "It's certainly tough when you've supported people for so long and then they receive a negative decision. But I haven't experienced that yet." And overall, she finds her work personally very enriching.

However, it's also clear that Focus Refugees won't be running out of work anytime soon. "In 2023, we had more requests than ever before," says Anne. "And given how the geopolitical situation is developing, there will probably be even more." That's also why the Queeramnesty subgroup is always looking for more mentors, especially outside the major cities.

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Mentors wanted for Focus Refugees

Queeramnesty is urgently seeking new mentors – people willing to provide social support to LGBTQI* asylum seekers in Switzerland on a voluntary basis. We are particularly looking for volunteers in the cities/regions of Bern, Biel/Bienne, Fribourg, Giffers, Basel (city), Aarau, Lucerne, Schwyz, Lugano, Chiasso, St. Gallen, and Chur. Are you interested or would you like more information? Then please contact us at: refugees@queeramnesty.ch

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It is all the more valuable, therefore, when former refugees who were supported by Queeramnesty and have received asylum in Switzerland then become involved with Focus Refugees themselves. "There are now a few who are doing so," explains Anne. "They are not only a valuable help as mentors, but also enrich the organization because they can say from their own experience what kind of support was particularly helpful to them."

To convey as much everyday life and normality as possible

Of course, Anne sometimes hears difficult and distressing stories during her assignments. "Many refugees have experienced terrible things and are traumatized. This can surface very suddenly – it's important not to take it personally." Many also experience discrimination in Switzerland, for example from fellow countrymen in asylum accommodations, and they are stuck in endless bureaucratic procedures, unable to do anything but sit around.

“But our task is precisely to offer them a semblance of everyday life and normalcy. To connect them with other queer people and refugees, to help them find ways to spend their free time.” The distressing stories, therefore, didn't play such a large role in her work as a mentor. “But I'm quite good at maintaining boundaries anyway and don't let it get to me too much. Often, just listening to them, simply being there for them, is enough.”