Alex Husdal draws a rectangle on a piece of paper. She carefully divides it into sections and begins to shade them.
“This is my apartment building. I live on the second floor,” she says. Her apartment has only two windows, with trees growing in front of both of them, she continues. Even in the daytime, she has to turn on the lights to be able to see. And yet she still spends the majority of her time there.
Husdal’s husband is an international student, obtaining his doctorate in Geography Information Systems at the U. As his wife, her visa status does not permit her to hold a paying job. Her financial situation does not allow her to attend classes. Consequently, she finds herself stranded in her small, poorly lit apartment day after day.
“I wake up, stay at home, there’s nothing good to say,” she said. “It’s very depressing to live like this.”
Spouses of international students often face such problems. In a foreign country where they may or may not speak the language and cannot work, the spouses often retreat to their homes.
“Everything [for these spouses] has to be dependent on your husband. You are really helpless. You become non existent in this kind of system,” Husdal said. With her F2 visa, she is not given a social security number; she cannot even open a bank account that yields interest. She can attend up to 12 hours of school, but she cannot afford the international tuition.
Husdal has a degree in architectural engineering and has studied in both Norway and Illinois. Her inactivity here has been hard on her.
“If you don’t use your mind to think, it becomes duller,” she said.
She has considered campaigning the Immigration and Naturalization Services to let spouses of international students work a maximum of five hours a week. Even these few hours would help, not only with finances but with mental health and self-esteem. “If [the spouse] wants to buy skin-care products, they can do that with the money,” she said. She also feels the U should allow spouses to audit classes or to attend at a reduced rate.
Currently, her only option is volunteer work. But even that is limited by the cost of transportation. Riding the bus becomes too expensive. “I’d have to pay $2.50. That’s $60 per month,” she said.
She gets by with activities close to home, in her work as an anti-torture activist, both online and around campus.
“The main aim [of the campaign] is to inform people that these things still go on,” said Husdal, whose activism is rooted deep in personal experience. Not only has she seen torture happen in her native country (which she asked not be named), but she also has a friend who spent two years enduring water torture and solitary confinement at the hands of his government. He remains under scrutiny to this day.
About 150 countries around the world are known to practice torture. “The torturers know they can do this because of the silence of the victims and the families. If more people know, they have no place to hide,” she said.
As a part of her campaign, last year, Husdal manned a table in the Union Building, handing out information about such activities.
She also involved herself in the International Women’s Association, an organization designed specifically for spouses in her situation. The IWA helps women adjust to their new lives in the United States. Husdal, who recently quit the organization, founded its vocabulary club.
Last year, the association had about 90 women on its mailing list, though knowing the exact number of international spouses is difficult.
The club provides a haven for women intimidated by life in the United States. “You have someone willing to help you? I helped a new student to go around the city, to call the cable company,” said Melita Djurisic, an international spouse from Yugoslavia and member of the association.
The IWA offers activities for its members, such as the book club or the coffee club, as well as moral support.
International spouses must make the best of their situations, said Leda Miranda, the association’s president. “Most of us knew exactly the conditions?that [we’re] not going to be able to work here. But when I came, I knew that I would be able to do other things.”
Spouses should take the opportunity to enjoy everything they can about the country while they are here, she said.
But for Husdal, it’s not that easy. “There’s not much to do. It’s difficult, especially if you are a person who really likes to study. It’s not healthy,” she said.
Husdal’s husband will graduate in 2003, at which time they will decide whether to go back to his native Norway or remain in the United States. Because of her anti torture activism, she cannot return to her native country. “The people who did these terrible things are still very powerful in that country. I hope justice will be done in my lifetime,” she said.