In his home country of Colombia, Guillermo Andres Mosquera Miranda worked tirelessly to help others. Now he is seeking political asylum in Australia after becoming a target for assassins.
A school principal, trade union leader and co-founder of the Peasant Association of Workers of Argelia, Mosquera has been on the receiving end of multiple death threats.
Colombia is one of the most dangerous countries to be a trade unionist: between 2018 and 2023 alone, 3323 trade unionists were murdered.
Mosquera and his wife, members of the Colombian Federation of Education Workers in the conflict-ridden El Cauca region, know about this danger.
Mosquera has been the subject of two assassination attempts — one of which was recorded on camera.
The footage shows him, miraculously, surviving being shot in the head at close range, due to the perpetrator’s gun jamming.
Mosquera is now seeking asylum here. He needs to raise funds to pay for relocation costs, translating fees and legal expenses.
Members of the Latin American community have launched a GoFundMe campaign for him and his family.
“Being a small community farmer, environmentalist, unionist, teacher and principal in el Cauca is supremely dangerous, and many are either murdered or internally displaced by paramilitaries or guerrillas,” the campaign page states.
There is, however, no guarantee Mosquera and his family will be given asylum.
He has obtained pro bono legal representation. However, the biggest challenge is the high cost of translating the volumes of legal documents needed to support his case.
This comes in addition to the cost of establishing a new home for his family. That is why the GoFundMe campaign organisers have initiated this campaign.
As they say: “Every donation, no matter the size, will help secure some security, safety and space for healing for Guillermo and his family.”
[Click here to donate to the GoFundMe for Guillermo Andres Mosquera Miranda.]