A brief presentation of Emantes
The Social Cooperative Enterprise Emantes was founded in July 2018 by active members of the “Lgbtqia+ Refugees Welcome” collective in collaboration with migration and refugee experts. The collective was created in September 2016 by refugees and solidary persons. Most members had personal experience with refugee-migration issues and/or were involved in queer, lgbt+ and feminist activist groups, and came together to focus their attention on one of the most unseen facets of the refugee “crisis”: that of the lgbt+ community.
Following a year of action, the members of the collective concluded that the lack of legal form limited its potential. That is, the collective could not access hot spots, camps, detention centres, asylum services, public services or other agencies. Furthermore, funding resources were limited, thus making the coverage of the refugees’ basic needs (food, housing, education etc.) difficult or even impossible.
It was necessary to create something new. Emantes aims to overcome these barriers. Its main objectives are to further support the lgbt+ community and to raise awareness of their struggles. The creation of this legal entity will facilitate fundraising, visibility, and collaboration efforts.
Emantes’ activity is inextricably linked to its values, which justify its purposes and therefore are of vital importance. Such core values can be summarized as:
Emantes understands
Emantes has a positive attitude
Emantes listens
Emantes respects
Emantes believes in solidarity
Our mission
The mission of Emantes is to provide psychosocial support to lgbt+ refugees/migrants.
More specifically, Emantes aims to:
Provide housing/shelter and food.
Facilitate access to educational programs for lgbt+ refugees/migrants.
Provide information on lgbt+ refugees’/migrants’ rights.
Provide legal support and access to health services.
Raise awareness of the lgbt+ refugees’/migrants’ as well as of the lgbt+ community’s struggles and demands and put pressure on authorities.
Emantes aims to cover these needs either by providing the services itself or by referring to other providers.
Lastly, Emantes is willing to employ lgbt+ refugees/migrants based on their skills. This part of our mission is Emantes’ response to the discrimination that lgbt+ refugees/migrants face in the labor market.