Cyprus: The difficult journey of migrants seeking asylum

At the Pournara reception centre near Nicosia, 343 migrants, including 72 unaccompanied minors, are waiting for decisions about their future. Mbah Damaris Menemah, a 24-year-old woman from Cameroon, says she fled her family’s rejection after they discovered her sexual orientation. After obtaining a student visa for northern Cyprus, she crossed the UN-controlled buffer zone with the help of smugglers and applied for asylum in the south of the island. She is still awaiting a response and hopes Cyprus or another European Union country will handle her case.