A happy ending to a long, harrowing journey

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home : news : news	September 03, 2010

5/9/2006 8:48:00 AM

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Dorcas, 6, happily watches as a photographer takes pictures after the April 23 wedding of her parents, Togolese refugees Matthieu D. and Christianah.

Scott Nichols/East Side Review

The wedding party: Judie St. Cyr, wife of Faith Alliance Church�s Rev. George St. Cyr; Christianah and Matthieu and their children Jean-Luc, left, and Dorcas; and Matthieu�s friend Mike Broderick.

Scott Nichols/East Side Review

A happy ending to a long, harrowing journey
Fleeing torture and possibly death, Togo native fretted about his family left behind

Scott Nichols
news editor

Matthieu D.'s April 23 wedding at Howard Street's Faith Alliance Church was a time of great and joyous celebration.
But it was also a chance to put the past behind him, to forget the many dark days full of doubt when only his faith in God kept him from rethinking his decision - an agonizing decision no one should have to make.
But Matthieu had to.
It was down to this: either flee his home country of Togo, or risk further torture or even death.
If he left, that meant he would leave behind his beloved wife Christianah and their two bright, beautiful children. But if he stayed, a violent death was pretty much assured.
Even so, it took much cajoling and pleading from Matthieu's family before he chose the unbearable, to leave behind his family and hope for the best.
He's now sure the best is finally here, after years of hard work, loving friends, and lots of prayer.
Matthieu did it: he found his way to St. Paul and life for himself as a tailor, and was finally able to bring over Christianah, daughter Dorcas, 6, and son Jean-Luc, 8.

Not money, but politics
While one might think it was money keeping him separated from his family, it wasn't. With the eager support of the entire congregation of Matthieu's church, Faith Alliance Church on Howard Street, financial hurdles could have been overcome easily.
What couldn't be vanquished was U.S. government red tape.
The U.S. granted Matthieu political asylum in 2004 after his torture at the hands of the Togo government of President Gnassingbe Eyadema. But while our government at first approved the asylum petitions for his wife and two children, it reversed course on Christianah. She and Matthieu had no Togolese government proof of their wedding.
So with heavy heart, Matthieu in February 2005 had the task of flying home to gather up his children. Christianah had to wait.

Without proof, it took faith
It took lots of advocacy from the church congregation, some Franciscan Brothers and the Office of Sen. Norm Coleman to sustainedly petition the U.S. State Department for Christianah's asylum status for it to eventually be granted.
Matthieu - who spoke to the East Side Review on the condition that his last name not be revealed, as he still has family in his birth country and his wife's position in the U.S. is not yet 100-percent assured - faced harm because he was a long-time, well-known member of the United Forces for Change opposition party that calls for the return of the ousted president and democratic rule.
He did not want to revisit those dark days at all after his wedding, but according to the Catholic Spirit, the first publication to interview him in St. Paul, he was repeatedly beaten by jail guards until his ears bled, denied food and water, shocked with electric prongs and locked in a cell with flesh-eating ants.
Holly Ziemer, communications director for Minnesota's Center for Victims of Torture, where Matthieu received treatment, said she couldn't talk about Matthieu's case because of privacy concerns, but noted that clients from 67 countries from around the world - including Togo - have received medical and psychological help since the center first opened its doors in 1985.
Mattieu's fear of flashbacks is par for the course. According to Ziemer, most of the center's clients are diagnosed with varying levels of post-traumatic stress disorder or major bouts of depression.
While the physical body can heal itself sometimes remarkably fast, "it's the mental health needs that take the longest to get over," said Ziemer.
Matthieu credits the men he calls "the Catholic brothers" as his saviors, giving him free room and board during his initial stay in St. Paul while his asylum petition worked itself out and he received treatment at the Center for the Victims of Torture.
Brother Paul O'Donnell said that his Franciscan Brothers of Peace usually house as many as seven center clients at once out of the old convent at 1289 Lafond Ave., adding that Matthieu's case was "particularly hard" to conquer given the ironic predicament he was in.
"There was a glitch by our government that didn't recognize Matthieu's wedding, but the government wedding would have been done by the very people that tortured him," O'Donnell said.
O'Donnell and others petitioned U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman's office for help, and eventually they were able to convince the U.S. State Department to allow a one-year VISA for Christianah.
The good news, says O'Donnell, is that once you're in this country, "we feel it's a matter of paperwork. The difficult thing was getting her out of Africa."
A second wedding, for safety's sake

Just to make sure she doesn't get sent back, Matthieu's attorney suggested a quick fix that delighted the Rev. George St. Cyr of Faith Alliance Church: a legal marriage ceremony and certificate here in the U.S.
So, on a bright and sunny April 23 after regular Sunday services, Matthieu and Christianah donned their best suits, put Dorcas and Jean-Luc in bright, matching snappy clothes and exchanged their vows.
The Rev. St. Cyr quoted proverbs to trust in the Lord with all one's heart, and from the Bible's Genesis 2:23, referring to a man leaving behind his mother and father to be with his wife, a call to all to remember that Matthieu still has a mother and brothers back home.
Then it came time for their vows, for a second time.
"For the Bible says what God has brought together, let no man put asunder," said Rev. St. Cyr.
The happy couple swore in front of Rev. St. Cyr, the entire smiling congregation of Faith Alliance and God himself that they are, indeed, inseparable, with Christianah - who doesn't speak English - repeating the English words carefully after countless hours in memorization.
"It's a blessing of God to have my wife here in the United States," said Matthieu when all was said and done, beaming and full of joy.