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Homayra Sellier A Return to Innocence INTERVIEW BY: ALEXIS MUNIER PHOTO: ROMÉO BALANCOURT
Homayra Sellier came to Paris in 1975 as a refugee, fleeing war-torn Iran with her identical twin sister Golareh. But in the magical City of Light, Sellier caught a glimpse of the dark heart of underage prostitution and child trafficking – and decided to do something about it. She married and settled down to raise a family in Switzerland. But Sellier never forgot the abused children of Paris. Her call to duty came with UNESCO’s implementation of the January 1999 Action Plan, which was designed to dismantle and disband any paedophilia-related networks identified during its “Child exploitation, pornography involving children and paedophilia on the Internet” meeting.
Sellier, who speaks four languages, put the marketing and PR skills she learned in Paris at CELSA to work to fight the exploitation of children everywhere by founding Innocence in Danger (IID). As the organisation developed throughout five countries, Switzerland, France, Germany, USA and Colombia, she pushed to make the group a non-governmental organisation (NGO) separate from UNESCO, allowing her to maintain closer control over IID’s activities. Now one of the largest privately funded NGOs worldwide, Sellier has transformed Innocence in Danger into a beacon of light for abused children and parents in their darkest hour.
GSTAADLIFE: Your personal story reads like a thriller. Tell us how you came to Paris. Homayra Sellier: My twin sister, Golareh, and I left war-torn Iran with just a suitcase in
hand. We thought we’d be away one week, but I never set foot there again. We settled at a so-called ‘safe house’ in Paris and were surprised to discover how dangerous the city was for two young women – rank with underage prostitution and drug use. We managed to avoid getting into harm’s way, but friends were not so lucky.
GL: When and how did you hear the ‘calling’ to get involved? HS: Two events changed my life and guided me to my current work. One was the suicide of a close friend who left a letter for me. She was among those sent to Paris, like I was, when martial law was implemented in Iran – but she fell into the hands of predators. The last lines of her letter read: “If only you were here now; if only I had someone to talk to. If only I could tell my story in safety, I would