The woman had travelled that morning from a distant town where she lived, and she had not told anyone she was coming. She had heard there was an American lawyer who helped women refugees. The one who told her this warned her: “Be careful because if your brother finds out you went to see her, he might kill you.” She arrived in the afternoon. With her timid step she followed me into a private office, lifted the black niqab that covered her face, and before I could speak she said:

“I heard you help women in danger. I’ve come to ask you to help me go to America.”