Rachael is a Nigerian asylum seeker who fled her home to escape death because she refused forced marriage. Rachael was raised by her grandparents and when her grandmother died her grandfather arranged her to be married to an 80-year old man. She was taken to be married, but she escaped. She was captured and was detained and tortured with her grandfather. Rachael managed to escape, and her grandfather pled with her to save herself. Rachael found refuge at a pastor’s home. The pastor and his wife helped Rachael flee to Mexico. Upon arriving at the US border, Rachael was detained and transferred to Mesa Verde, where she was held for over one-year. No one knew about Rachael, she was held in Mesa Verde for over 8-months with no single outside contact.
Thankfully Rachael won her asylum case and was released from Mesa Verde. After her release she lived with KWESI volunteers for several months, then moved to Texas to live with a friend. Six months there, Rachael returned to Bakersfield. Rachael moved to Los Angeles to work, and then pursued an RN degree in Texas.
