Benafsha Efaf (38) survived the Taliban terror: from persecution to refugee aid in Switzerland

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Benafsha Efaf (38) has almost made it when the Taliban secret service shows up at the accommodation. It would not be far to the border with neighboring Tajikistan, the gateway to freedom. But in the city of Kunduz, in northeastern Afghanistan, the motto is: control! Efaf is on the run with a group. She knows what threatens her. Her name has been on the death list since the Taliban came to power.

The Afghan woman hears the men’s conversation. She quickly puts on her best dress and jewelry. Efaf pretends that her group is on its way to a wedding. The ruse has been caught, the Taliban believe it. So she is part of an evacuation flight and lands in Switzerland.

The Taliban are depriving her of all her rights

That was two years ago. “It still feels like a dream,” says Efaf. She came to our country as a refugee, as a woman who was deprived of all rights in Afghanistan and who was no longer allowed to go out on the streets without a male companion..

Now Efaf will soon help refugees themselves to relieve their psychological stress. The pilot project is called “Compaxion” and is new in Switzerland. The first investments of 1.2 million francs come from the federal government and the cantons of Aargau and Zug.

Experience shows that 50 to 60 percent of asylum seekers suffer from psychological problems. Less than 10 percent of those affected receive treatment. On average, waiting lists for refugees vary from twelve months to a year and a half.

Psychiatrist can’t help

Some get help faster, like Efaf. After just two months she was able to see a psychiatrist. She told him about her experiences. He always replied: Unbelievable, that sounds crazy! “That gave me the feeling: this person does not understand me,” says the Afghan woman. That’s why she stopped therapy. “I realized I needed a good conversation with someone who could understand my story.”

In Afghanistan, Efaf was an influential woman. She had more than 1,000 employees under her control. Her NGO ‘Women for Afghan Women’ managed 33 women’s shelters. Every month, 350 new women sought her protection. Because they were forced into marriage, beaten or raped. As a lawyer, Efaf fought in court to ensure that her tormentors, especially her own husbands, went to prison.

In Switzerland, at the federal asylum center in Zurich, she lived in a room with families. “I was most bothered by the lack of privacy,” says Efaf. And: “I felt like I had lost my identity.” Suddenly she was considered a ‘refugee’.

‘Switzerland does not look at the migrants’

As a human rights activist and from personal experience, Efaf knows what happens to women in Afghanistan. She understands her compatriots who had to flee and speaks their language. That is what the ‘Compaxion’ pilot project is all about. Refugees should help refugees because they can build relationships more easily – because they talk to them on an equal level.

People with psychological problems should get help before they become seriously ill. The approach has been scientifically researched and is already being applied in many countries, including Germany, Iraq and Ukraine.

Although Switzerland is now starting the project, it is too late for experts. “Switzerland has not wanted to look at migrants for a long time,” says Esther Oester (61). As director of “Paxion” she is responsible for the project. “Only if the refugees are chronically or seriously ill are they sent to a psychiatrist.” The asylum system is very restrictive to deter migrants. “A lot of money could be saved if recognized refugees received psychological advice earlier,” she says.

A support for those who suffer

The aim of the pilot is to prevent migrants from being unable to work, receiving social assistance and seeing a psychiatrist. But it is unclear how much money this can save. It is now important to gain the necessary experience in this country.

Together with sixteen other refugees, Afghan Efaf has been undergoing training in Aarau since the beginning of September. They all have a previous professional qualification and speak good German. After the training, you will work as a ‘consultant’ until 2027 and advise asylum seekers.

What happens next is unclear. The pilot project needs sufficient orders and donations to survive. But Efaf firmly believes in success. She has found her role again: as support for those who suffer.

Source:Blick