Carolen on Nostr: Lucky Dutch people š āI was afraid for my lifeā: the transgender refugees ...
Lucky Dutch people š
āI was afraid for my lifeā: the transgender refugees fleeing Trumpās America
Fear, abuse and eroding rights for trans people have created a hostile environment in the US ā can they claim asylum in the Netherlands?
Ter Apel, a small, unassuming Dutch town near the German border, is a place tourists rarely have on their itinerary. There are no lovely old windmills, no cannabis-filled coffee shops and on a recent visit it was far too early for tulip season
When foreigners end up there, it is for one reason: to claim asylum at the Netherlandsā biggest refugee camp, home to 2,000 desperate people from all around the world.
Some, like the Eritreans and Somalis, are fleeing war; the Syrians insist it remains unsafe for them to return home after the fall of Assad. But in the last year they have been joined by a curious new cohort: a bunch of Americans, who say they have feared for their lives ever since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Many of the American refugees, like Jane-Michelle Arc, a 47-year-old software engineer from San Francisco, are transgender. In April last year she flew into Schiphol airport in Amsterdam and, sobbing, asked a customs officer how to claim asylum. āAnd they laughed because: whatās this big dumb American doing here asking about asylum? And then they realised I was serious.ā
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/19/i-was-afraid-for-my-life-the-transgender-refugees-fleeing-trumps-america 
Published at
2026-01-19 15:20:53 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "Lucky Dutch people š\n\nāI was afraid for my lifeā: the transgender refugees fleeing Trumpās America\n\nFear, abuse and eroding rights for trans people have created a hostile environment in the US ā can they claim asylum in the Netherlands?\n\nTer Apel, a small, unassuming Dutch town near the German border, is a place tourists rarely have on their itinerary. There are no lovely old windmills, no cannabis-filled coffee shops and on a recent visit it was far too early for tulip season\n\nWhen foreigners end up there, it is for one reason: to claim asylum at the Netherlandsā biggest refugee camp, home to 2,000 desperate people from all around the world.\n\nSome, like the Eritreans and Somalis, are fleeing war; the Syrians insist it remains unsafe for them to return home after the fall of Assad. But in the last year they have been joined by a curious new cohort: a bunch of Americans, who say they have feared for their lives ever since Donald Trump returned to the White House.\n\nMany of the American refugees, like Jane-Michelle Arc, a 47-year-old software engineer from San Francisco, are transgender. In April last year she flew into Schiphol airport in Amsterdam and, sobbing, asked a customs officer how to claim asylum. āAnd they laughed because: whatās this big dumb American doing here asking about asylum? And then they realised I was serious.ā\n\nhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/19/i-was-afraid-for-my-life-the-transgender-refugees-fleeing-trumps-america\nhttps://media.spinster.xyz/483b61cce81f5c1481f2ea711a0cf1f4ce729565f56999c27aafe3e6627d654f.png\n",
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