Some 11 days after Amos Yee launched a crowdfunding campaign while in detention to raise money for his efforts to obtain political asylum in the United States, slightly more than $2,000 out of the $10,000 target has been reached.

The money came from 50 donors so far.

The 18-year-old Singaporean male is currently still detained in the McHenry County Adult Correctional Facility in Woodstock, Illinois. This was after he reportedly sought political asylum on Dec. 16, 2016, after he landed at O’Hare Airport in Chicago.

"Coming to America came at a pretty large expense, I think I'm left with ~$1,000 in my bank account," he wrote on Facebook with the help of an activist friend in his latest bid to ask the public for more money. "So it will be a bit of a struggle if I only have that amount."

American filmmaker Nina Paley is one of those helping the Singaporean teen's attempt for political asylum.

On Dec. 28, Paley set up a gofundme online campaign to raise money from people sympathetic to Yee's cause.

Funds raised will go towards paying for Yee's filing fees, phone call bills and flight tickets for his lawyers, and perhaps also cover future costs following his release from prison.

The gofundme page wrote:

"Thanks to the efforts of international human rights activists, he now has legal representation, actively working to assist him on a pro-bono basis. Nonetheless, this work is incurring costs; although many people are donating their time to help Amos, there are costs for filing fees and communications (phone calls from jail are exorbitant), and travel (even pro bono lawyers can't fly to Chicago for free). If and when Amos is released there will be additional expenses as he survives in the U.S. and prepares for further hearings. This campaign is to raise funds to pay for some of that."

Based on the comments on the crowdfunding page, some are supportive of Yee:

While others are giving short shrift to his funding justification:

It remains to be seen if any other wealthier backers are willing to help put money where Yee's mouth is.

Related article:

Amos Yee posts on Facebook from US jail with help from activist friend

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