By Frauke R-H The AWC of Hamburg’s first Forum, held on September 10, 2003, was a great success. Almost 50 ladies attended this new type of major club meeting, of which 3 to 4 are planned per year. The president, Irmingard Z, extended a warm welcome to all new members and guests and encouraged all members to feel at home in the AWCH and take advantage of the many activities the club offers. Irmingard introduced the new brochure Activities Groups 2003/2004, which lists the various groups with individual activities, summarized goals and contact addresses. Every member of the club also has the opportunity to start another group with a topic not covered so far. If you have an idea, contact Activities Coordinator Pat R. Besides general AWCH topics, the Forum was dedicated to FAWCO subjects. Frauke R-H, the FAWCO representative, announced activities such as raffles, silent auctions and book sales to raise money and cover the club’s FAWCO cost; getting ready for voting in the general election in 2004; the FAWCO Friendship Quilt participation and the next FAWCO conference in March 2004. Susan L announced the start of the FAWCO conference raffle with the goal of sending an AWCH member to The Hague in March. The FAWCO message from Stockholm and the moving speech by Dr. Elisabeth Rehn (click here for the text of the speech) led the AWCH to invite Mrs. Julietta Manzi and Mrs. Pat Mix from Amnesty for Women Hamburg e.V. to present their work, goals and team and open some doors for the AWCH to support their never-ending need for help. Amnesty for Women e.V. Hamburg has nothing to do with Amnesty International. Amnesty for Women was founded in 1986 and began by counseling mail-order brides from Southeast Asia. Now working with women from South America, almost everywhere in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, the prime objective is to help displaced women integrate quickly into Germany. Most women Amnesty for Women works with arrive in Germany with no language skills, support group or family. Some mail-order brides have been abandoned by their husbands before acquiring any legal status in Germany. When these women have legal problems they may get deported to their home country with no chance to return due to the “Schengener Rules”, work permits are almost impossible to get, and without at least a basic knowledge of the German language even blue collar work is limited. So most women wind up in prostitution even though they came with plans to work in restaurants, households or offices. Their families back home often rely on financial support from these women and too often they are left helpless – on the street. In Hamburg there is one
location these women can turn to for help: Amnesty for Women aims to change the structure that makes women dependent upon and open to exploitation. Toward this effort they work on two fronts; the first of which is the local and direct support of these women coming in for help. AfW accompanies them to the doctor, helps them with bureaucratic formalities, provides legal aid, gives language classes in German and English, organizes sewing and cooking classes, and offers skills-oriented workshops. Often Amnesty for Women provides counseling on social and legal issues in the mother tongue of the client (Thai, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, English). In 2002, Amnesty for Women had 608 direct clients who received consultation in the AfW office or on the phone. The services are all anonymous and free of charge, except the language classes for which a fee of 50 Euros is required. The other front is encompassed in three key projects, which include: TAMPEP (since 1993) is the Transnational AIDS/STD Prevention Among Migrant Prostitutes in Europe. A large number of prostitutes in Germany are migrants. Many carry and transmit AIDS; many are victims of trafficking. TAMPEP was set up to contact women in the street, provide health education and counseling, and train “peer educators” also on the street. In addition to providing information material adapted to the sex workers’ background, another goal is to strengthen sex workers’ self respect and self confidence. FEMMIGRATION (since 2000) is the Legal Agenda for Migrant Prostitutes and Trafficked Women on the Internet. www.femmigration.net is an Internet information platform which provides up to date and precise information about the real situation and legal status of trafficked women and migrate sex workers in EU countries. Amnesty for Women coordinates the project covering 12 countries. PSYFEM (since 2002): Psychological and Psychiatric Care for Migrated Women in Europe is set up to examine the psychological and psychiatric care provisions for migrant women, creates awareness about the means of this care for migrant women, and aims to build an international cooperation information network. The funds provided by the EU Commission for these three projects flow exceptionally into the projects and only when they are running, not continuously. AfW receives only a little share of each project budget for phone, rental and energy expenses which represent about five percent of the monthly overall costs of the organization. Almost everyone who works for Amnesty for Women and its projects is a volunteer. Very few are specialists in the field of health, law, counseling, or training. All are passionate about what they do and provide remarkable service for women who really need it – right at their doorstep. As one FAWCO rep stated on an earlier occasion, “It’s made for FAWCO.” How can the members of the AWCH help?
Julieta Manzi and Pat Mix will inform the AWCH about events and activities where the members can help. Check for information in Currents and on the email loop. For more information please
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