Hello!
My name is Cody, I’m from Oregon in the United States. I’m currently at the asylum camp north of Zurich and I wanted to reach out to see if I could make connections while I’m awaiting a decision on my case.
I know that a lot of people look down on refugees and will probably scoff at the idea of someone from the United States seeking asylum, but I assure you my situation is that dire unfortunately. I’m very lucky to be alive and I am not out of trouble yet.
(For context I was probably targeted as part of the “Green Scare” which is a little known policy program that targets environmental activists using extremely draconian counterterrorism techniques. I can explain more but if you’re interested, it’s worth looking into the Green Scare and fusion centers to get a grasp of how militarized state political repression programs already have been for a while now in the United States. People don’t really hear about it for a reason…)
I’m still waiting for a final decision from the court, but I wanted to introduce myself to try and network and to try to make some community in the case that my request is accepted.
I ran my own small music repair and restoration business in the States, a skill I gained as a traveling musician over the years, and I also had small income streams from an invention and from ragtime-country-blues music performance. (My old band St. Cinder has music online, although I’m not too fond of it, and I won’t name drop too much but my old friend Sierra from my busking days in New Orleans just won four Grammy awards. I’m extremely proud of her. I’m not just an annoying wishful thinker in other words, I definitely put in the work to make a living and I’m frankly devastated without my work, but anyway…)
I’m not sure what else to add. I don’t know what I’ll do if I’m allowed to stay, but I would like to pivot into a more serious field like psychoanalysis if I can find a program that will accept me. I’m more interested in the intersection of psychology, anthropology, and ecology than I am in music, but that’s what paid the bills back home so to speak. (Ironically.)
I’m still hoping that I might recover some books and tools from my shop, and if I can then I would love to work in repair again, or even get more serious and study under a luthier to build violins (as was my plan back home) but I feel that I probably should focus on an academic field if I want to make sense of my life, as it may help build international connections and a more professional foundation outside of American folk music traditions (which are nonetheless vital to the world and part of my heart and soul of course).
That is all for now, I would welcome any suggestions or insights on what opportunities for refugees might look like in the case that I am (hopefully) allowed to remain. I understand the perception that I will probably be viewed as a social burden, by the way. I think that’s fair and reasonable considering how the US has treated refugees and the world at large, but I certainly didn’t get into this situation by agreeing with their policies. I’m a believer in universal human rights and indigenous sovereignty first and foremost. I just came from the US. That’s my home and I miss it with every atom in me every second. I don’t know what I’m going to do.
Anyway, I hope you’re all well, and I wanted to reach out to introduce myself. I do have a few questions to start out:
Where do creative people hang out? I don’t have the money to socialize but if there’s a district where I would feel safe and find opportunities to socialize outside then that would be comforting.
Are there any day labor programs or odd jobs sites where I could find work opportunities? I would be playing music on the street for daily expenses and for networking but I don’t have an instrument, and I’m not sure I’m allowed to own one while I’m in the camp (or if Swiss society allows street performers for that matter). Nonetheless, if anyone has a cheapish Western guitar (steel strings), a banjo, or a violin that they could loan me or I could work off to own, I might be able to share music online and make a little money (surprisingly) or get back into performing for tips somewhere.
That is it for now, just wanted to introduce myself while I have a moment on my phone this evening. Happy to meet you all! Blessings.