Written by Earlier we reported on a young woman known as Water Spirit. She is one of many atheists that SUN provides assistance to. Water Spirit left her home country several years ago, fleeing from her family who was putting pressure on her to quit her job and marry a husband they selected for her. Water Spirit kept her atheism a secret from her religious family fearing retribution. She knew the man they would choose for her to marry would also be religious. She faced a future of living in fear that if ever her husband or family found out she did not believe in Islam, they would harm her.
Since she left her home, Water Spirit has struggled to survive. She faces great difficulty in finding a job because of the language barrier and Covid-related restrictions in her country. While facing these hardships, her roommate died from Covid. Water Spirit did not get the disease but was emotionally devastated at losing a friend. Her new home is more tolerant of secularism but still very conservative. It gives her more freedom but with many challenges.
A Group of 5 Canadians and supporters of SUN applied to sponsor her. The application was filed with the government last September. There are delays in processing these applications as the government deals with numerous Afghan refugees coming into the country and another wave of COVID.
In the meantime, Water Spirit carries on learning local languages and applying for jobs. She writes:
“An unstable and poor life is better in this country because of the freedom, dignity and autonomy it offers. The few friends who accept me for who I am are better than the family where I had to hide in the shadows.”
I was used to looking forward to heaven when I was religious but now I realize that this life is all we have. We need to invest in systems that can make this world heaven for us and people won’t need to find imaginary heaven. I am very thankful to the atheist and humanist community at SUN for making my life beautiful and easier. Thank you so much to all the donors and well-wishers.”
Water Spirit and her Group of five sponsors remain hopeful that they will hear from the Canadian Government soon. SUN provides financial assistance to Water Spirit so she can survive until she arrives in Canada. Please help us so that we can continue to help people like Water Spirit.
Please donate to SUN
If you would like more information on how you can form a Group of 5 sponsorship in Canada, please contact Gail Miller.
