The sad journey of gay refugees in France

Source rue89.com

NB: Bad translation from the French

In some countries like Pakistan, India or even Russia, the mere fact of being homosexual may expose you to persecution, threats of torture, even death sentences. Yet how many of these people concerned know that it is possible to request political asylum because of his sexual orientation?

Often, those who finally fled their country to take refuge in France don't reveal the reason for their departure, and seek asylum on that basis. Success in obtaining this right of asylum remains very difficult, particularly because of the taboo surrounding homosexuality, and the perceived impossibility of proving sexual orientation.

Lawyer Edouard Bera is the vice-president of the Ardhis, Association for the recognition of the rights of gay and transsexual people to immigration and residence. The group tries to look after gays or lesbian refugees and advocates for them.

For Rue89, Bera explains why this type of application is difficult in France.

The possibility of obtaining political refugee status on grounds of sexual orientation is fairly recent. The first case dates back to 1998, when the Appeals Committee of refugees granted this status to a transsexual Algerian.

To understand this decision, the court returned to the definition of political asylum under the Geneva Convention. This lists the causes of discrimination, based on examples of ethnicity or social group. If a country is clearly homophobic, this means that a 'gay community' of any sort can be likened to a social group.

It is estimated that each month in France there are one to two applications for asylum because of sexual orientation. The Ardhis is currently dealing with two, very different cases. One concerns a refugee from India, the other from Russia. Two very different situations, but both are entitled to refugee status.

Original article in French

Interview with Edouard Bera (in French)

demande d'asile politique pour les homosexuels
by rue89

demande d'asile politique pour les homosexuels 2
by rue89

LGBT asylum briefs

New facebook group supporting Prossy Kakooza

Newsweek: Heard On the Street
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a lucky man. Even Amir supports him. Amir is a gay Iranian who left the country five years ago and now lives with his boyfriend in London. (He uses a pseudonym because he still hasn't told his family about his sexual orientation.) When Ahmadinejad claimed during a question-and-answer session at Columbia University last week that no gays lived in Iran, "[it] made me laugh," says Amir. "Ahmadinejad is an ignorant and uncultured man who doesn't know much about anything beyond the world of radical Muslims and Revolutionary Guards." Yet Amir was incensed at the hectoring introduction from Columbia's president, Lee Bollinger, during which he described his guest as "a petty and cruel dictator." "He is still the elected president of my country," Amir says. "Insulting him in front of the world is insulting all Iranians."

"Listen, as a gay man living in Iran, I couldn't express myself and be what I am. My brother went to jail for eight years because he opposed this regime. Two of my cousins were killed because they were communists. Despite all that, if one day America or Israel attack Iran, I'll go back and defend my country. I'll do that regardless of who is the president and how gay people are treated in Iran." That's the voice Washington should be listening to, not Ahmadinejad's.

Russian gay community will picket the Embassy of Iran to protest against executions of homosexuals
Activists of Russian gay movement intend July 19 to picket the Embassy of Iran in Moscow for the third time to protest against prosecution of sexual minorities in that country.

"We sent letters to the President of Russia and Iran ambassador to Russia, and we picketed the Embassy of Iran in Moscow. This year should not be an exception. We need to continuously remind the state authorities [of Iran] that the death penalty must be abolished," Nikolay Alexeyev, the picket and Moscow gay parade initiator, said.

Russian gay community organized similar pickets in 2006 and 2007, on the day of execution by Iran authorities of two teenagers charged with homosexual relations in 2005. Alexeyev said that members of Russian gay movement had from the start "made continuous protests against this medievalism.


Despite his attempts to start a new life in Scotland, the Home Office ordered the deportation gay Syrian JoJo Yakob in March and, last week, his appeal against the decision was denied.

The ruling by the Asylum Immigration Tribunal, sitting in Glasgow, states: "Syria criminalises and represses homosexuality. Homosexuals have to modify their behaviour and lifestyle accordingly. We find no evidence that in Syria (Yakob] would conduct himself other than discreetly to avoid repercussions."

The tribunal concluded that case law does not allow homosexuals from repressive countries to international legal protection.

Women fundraise to support returned Nigerian lesbian
“In Nigeria, as an openly gay woman, I suffer homophobic abuse and violence. I am homeless and at the mercies of strangers. If my ex-husband and his family find out I am in Nigeria my life would be in further danger.”

Grace Ogunsola was refused asylum and deported when the Home Office and courts refused to acknowledge the dangers faced by lesbian women in Nigeria. She is homeless and survives on handouts or by occasionally turning to prostitution. She was unable to raise money for a much needed operation and has now been diagnosed HIV+.

Previously in Nigeria, Ms Ogunsola survived rape and other violence including an attempt on her life by her husband. She was trafficked to Britain in March 2005, and forced into prostitution to pay the agent who helped her escape. She was detained for over a year in Yarl’s Wood Removal Centre where she started a relationship with a woman and came out publicly as a lesbian. In November 2006, she was deported despite widespread public support including from Black Women’s Rape Action Project, her MP, the Metropolitan Community Church and Wages Due Lesbians. Increasingly repressive legislation and media witch-hunts have resulted in many so-called “failed asylum seekers” like Ms Ogunsola being deported back to rape, other torture and even death.

“Now is the time for prominent lesbian and gay people, including politicians and those from high profile organisations to defend the civil, human and legal rights of those of us seeking asylum - being an immigrant and fleeing persecution is a ‘gay issue’. Those who don’t support asylum seekers are upholding a different standard of ‘equality’ depending on whether someone has the right passport, skin colour, accent . . . ”

Wages Due Lesbians is fund-raising to help Ms Ogunsola.
For more information:
Phone: 0207 482 2496
Email: wdl@allwomencount.net


Omar Kuddas reports

Amnesty International has issued a strong criticism of the way in which the Netherlands handles individuals whose requests for asylum have been refused and who are awaiting deportation. The human rights organisation says that they are too often, and for far too long, unnecessarily locked up.

It believes that detention is being used more and more frequently to deter potential immigrants and asylum seekers. It also points out that foreigners placed in detention must follow the same regime as criminals, even though illegal residence is not, in the Netherlands, punishable in this way.

Finally, the organisation is calling for a better complaints handling procedure. It says that the number of complaints about mistreatment by guards is increasing, but that little or nothing is being done with them.


Bisexual woman to be deported from Canada to Nigeria
A victim of sexual violence and domestic abuse in her home country, Okojie says she fled Nigeria after being beaten by locals in her village and detained in prison after it was discovered she was bisexual.

"In Nigeria things are very bad for lesbians and gay people," says Okojie. "If you are a bisexual or lesbian or gay you can be stoned to death and you can be sentenced to prison for many many years. The government doesn't care."


Village Voice: Gay Arabs Party Here, Risk Death Back Home
Even in the Internet age, a savvier new breed of immigrants must deal with violence from the old country and family pressures.

Guardian: Talent going to waste
Having fled persecution, war and even torture back home, highly qualified refugees face huge obstacles finding work in the UK

Evo Morales Ayma, the president of the Republic of Bolivia: This European targeting of illegal immigrants is hypocritical, draconian and undiplomatic

An Interview with Arsham Parsi, Director of Iranian Queer Organization

An Evening with gay Nigerian activist Davis Mac-Iyalla

Davis was recently freed from UK detention.

Davis Mac-Iyalla, 35, is founder and director of the country's only gay-rights organization, Changing Attitude-Nigeria, which advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the Anglican Church and elsewhere in Nigeria.

This evening, from last year, was held at the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland.

The Episcopal Church is the American wing of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which includes 80 million members in 154 countries. In 2003, the Episcopal Church consecrated the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop. Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola has been a leading critic against the ordination of gay bishops and the inclusion of GLBT persons in the life of the church.

Mac-Iyalla is a leading voice fighting a proposed bill in his country that would make it illegal for gays to organize, meet in public, or even visit a GLBT website. He has received numerous death threats for his activism, has been fired from his job as a school principal, and forced to live in exile in a neighboring country in West Africa. Prior to declaring his homosexuality, he was an active member of the Anglican Church of Nigeria.

In May 2007, he convened a meeting of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists from seven West African countries, for the first regional conference of its kind. He toured 20 US cities, and he addressed the executive council of the Episcopal Church about the dangers faced by GLBT Nigerians.

Rally for Zimbabwean exiles

This is the story from Channel Four News of yesterday's protests about Zimbabwean asylum seekers being allowed to work. See Zimbabwean exiles abandoned, left destitute for more about their situation.

Their situation is also that of many non-Zimbabwean LGBT refugees.

Addressing a special church service at St Margaret's Westminster before the march the Archbishop of York John Sentamu said:

"This is not a party political venture."

"It is not pro‐MDC or anti‐Zanu PF. Rather it is for the people of Zimbabwe, black and white, being helped by those here in Britain, white and black. We need to remember there is only one race, the human race, and in joining together to restore Zimbabwe, we ease the sufferings of our brothers and sisters."

Thousands of asylum seekers in the UK are being forced into destitution. They are not allowed to work. But this isn’t working. Refused asylum seekers are being left homeless, hungry and without hope by our government, but they aren’t going back.

The Just.Fair Campaign aims to end destitution for asylum seekers.

Ireland preparing to deport gay Iranian

The gay independent Irish Senator David Norris has called for the reversing of a deportation order against a young Iranian man who, he said, would be butchered on return to his homeland.

This individual had left Iran, having been investigated and having openly acknowledged a sexual relationship with his male partner, he said.

Norris told the Irish Seanad:

"He has been served with a deportation order. What kind of people are running these services? Are they unaware, uniquely, because everybody else in Ireland knows, this man will be butchered, as was confirmed by the deputy Iranian foreign minister . . . last week.

"He said 'well, we are not going to do it from a crane on the back of a lorry, but we're still going to do it'. What are we doing? Where is the accountability? I demand in the name of the Oireachtas [composed of Dáil Éireann (House of Deputies) and Seanad Éireann (Senate)] that the practice of deporting someone in that condition should be ceased immediately."

Source: The Irish Times

Complete review of UK detention policies urged

Source: oneworld.net - 8 July

The Independent Asylum Commission will recommend that the UK conducts a ‘root and branch review’ of its detention policies, and that it should stop detaining the children of asylum seekers entirely, when it publishes its final report, Deserving Dignity, on Thursday 10th July.

Deserving Dignity – the Commission’s third report of recommendations – marks the end of the most comprehensive enquiry into asylum in the UK ever undertaken and makes over 90 recommendations to the UK Border Agency to improve the way they treat people seeking sanctuary. The Commission’s report, built on an evidence-base of hundreds of interviews and testimonies identifies a number of areas where the dignity of those who seek sanctuary is currently compromised – especially in detention centres, and in the treatment of particularly vulnerable asylum seekers such as children and torture survivors – and calls for urgent action to remedy the situation.

An estimated 2,000 children of asylum seekers are detained in the UK every year, and although the UK Border Agency is piloting alternatives to detention, the practice continues. The Deserving Dignity report calls for the end of the detention of children, a view supported by a majority of the British public (53%) in an opinion poll released alongside the report. The Commission also calls for the UK Border Agency to “treat children as children”, by ensuring that their best interests are paramount, and by piloting a guardianship programme for young people seeking sanctuary in the UK without their parents.

The Commissioners also warn against the use of X-rays to assess the age of young asylum seekers and urge the government to repeal legislation that can be used to deny support to families of refused asylum seekers and to take their children into care.

Following a recent government announcement that the number of detention centres will increase, the Deserving Dignity report recommends that there should be an independent root and branch review of the detention of asylum seekers, from the starting point that detention is appropriate only for those who pose a threat to national security or where there is absolutely no alternative to effect return.

The team of twelve Commissioners, including former Chief Inspector of Prisons, Lord Ramsbotham, argues that the basic safeguards that exist in the criminal system should be applied to detention and that detention should be time-limited, for clearly stated reasons, and subject to judicial oversight. The Commissioners also suggest that the Detained Fast Track asylum process should be phased out because it is unfair, contrary to the spirit of the Refugee Convention, and can lead to unjust decisions.

Deserving Dignity makes a number of recommendations to ensure that women, torture survivors, those with health needs and LGBT asylum seekers are treated with dignity. It suggests that survivors of torture, sexual abuse or other forms of trauma should be clearly identified as ‘at risk’ during their passage through the asylum system in order to avoid detention and the Fast Track process.

The Commissioners also urge the government to allow those who seek sanctuary in the UK to support themselves through work if their case takes longer than six months to resolve. The opinion poll released alongside the report shows that 51% of the public support people seeking sanctuary being able to work while their claim is being processed.

Commenting on Deserving Dignity, Commission Co- chair Sir John Waite, formerly a High Court Judge and a past Chair of UNICEF UK, said:

“All those who seek sanctuary in the UK deserve to be treated with a dignity over which mere administrative convenience must never prevail. The people we met during our review were not the scroungers, troublemakers and ne’er-do-wells that are presented to us in media stereotypes, but decent people trying to maintain their dignity in difficult circumstances.”

“The way we treat the most vulnerable in our midst is a true gauge of our values as a nation and a people. The public rightly expects fair and humane treatment of asylum seekers, befitting of a civilised society. Our review has found that there is a considerable distance to travel until the reality of how we treat women, children and torture survivors who seek sanctuary in the UK matches that aspiration. We hope that policy-makers will take note and look again at ending practices such as the detention of children. I hope we can all find common ground in agreeing that, whatever happens, the best interests of the child must be paramount.”

Ifath Nawaz, President of the Association of Muslim Lawyers and Commission Co-chair, said:

“We think that depriving a person of their liberty – particularly if they have not committed a crime – is an extremely serious issue. And the public agrees: 70% of the public think that people should not be detained unless they have committed a crime or are a risk to society. And yet a person who is seeking sanctuary from persecution can be detained without time-limit and without judicial oversight. That is why we think there should be an independent root and branch review of detention, that the government should be investing more in alternatives to detention, and the whole process should be more transparent and accountable.”

The Deserving Dignity report is due to be released on Thursday, July 10th at the ‘Refugee Rights and Realities in Wales’ conference organised and hosted by Swansea University’s Centre for Migration Policy Research.



Archbishop of Canterbury and NGO Statements of Support for Commissions Deserving Dignity Report

PRESS STATMENTS

The Independent Asylum Commission today welcomed the following statements issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Children’s Society, Barnardo's, The Scottish Refugee Council, The Welsh Refugee Council and the Immigration Advisory Service in support of the Deserving Dignity Report.

Statement From The Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop Supports Calls for End to Detention of Children Seeking Asylum

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has today supported the findings of the Independent Asylum Commission, which calls for more humane and dignified treatment for those seeking sanctuary in the UK.

Commenting on the Commission’s report ‘Deserving Dignity’, the Archbishop drew particular attention to the need to use detention more sparingly and to end detention as a means for dealing with children seeking asylum.

The Archbishop said:

“This is an important report that makes sensible and clear recommendations about how we should be treating some of the most vulnerable people in society. I cannot but support the calls within the report for a root and branch review of the detention of asylum seekers, having witnessed first hand the conditions inside our immigration detention centres and heard the often heartrending stories of those held there.

“Many Anglican chaplains serve the spiritual and emotional needs of asylum seekers within detention centres. They have seen the scars, both figurative and literal, left by torture and abuse on people, who are currently deprived of liberty, even though they have broken no laws and pose no threat to our society.

“The continuing use of detention for children seeking asylum- the most exposed of an already vulnerable group - needs to end. The best interests of the child should always be paramount in the administration of our immigration system and I hope that the Borders and Immigration Agency will consider carefully whether the status quo fulfils this. It can never be justifiable for a child to be detained because the system is not equipped to meet their needs.

“The administration of our borders is a difficult task, which doesn’t lend itself to easy solutions. However, how we keep in focus the humanity and dignity of the subject of immigration control must remain central to all those framing policy in this area. The needs of those who have been subject to torture, sexual abuse or other kinds of trauma can and should be better met, and there are sharp questions to be asked about how far detention or fast-tracking of cases currently achieves this.

“’Deserving Dignity’ is an apt title for this report. The dignity that each of us expect and deserve as human beings and which we owe to our neighbours, cannot be wholly at the mercy of the pressures of effective border control. Alternatives to detention in cases where there is no threat to national security or real risk of absconding - as outlined in this report - need to be considered carefully and without the hysteria or preconceptions so often accompanying debates of this kind.”

“I am grateful to the Independent Asylum Commission for the thoroughness and expertise it has brought to bear on this difficult subject. Over the last two years, it has shown great care and balance in its recording of the reality of life for those seeking asylum in the UK. Its recommendations, in this report and the two that preceded it, should be considered very seriously by all of us, not only those in charge of our immigration system.”


Statement from The Children’s Society

Re: Deserving Dignity: The Independent Asylum Commission's Third Report of Conclusions and Recommendations
By: Lisa Nandy, Policy Advisor

"The Children’s Society supports the Independent Asylum Commission’s calls for alternatives to detention. This is no place for a child. Our direct work with child asylum seekers confirms that many are often placed in detention - in 2006 at least 1235* refugee children were locked up.

“The UK Border Agency’s assertion that children are only detained as a last resort runs contrary to our experience. As a charity committed to ending detention for all child asylum seekers we want greater clarity on who is being detained, for how long and why. Later this year we will be jointly launching a national programme with Bail for Immigration Detainees to end the detention of refugee children."


Statement from Barnardo's
ASYLUM SEEKERS MUST BE ALLOWED TO WORK

Responding to ‘Deserving Dignity’ - the final report by the Independent Asylum Commission (IAC) into the treatment of those seeking refuge in the UK, Martin Narey, Chief Executive, Barnardo’s said:

“This report illustrates how families and children who have been seeking sanctuary in the UK for many years are driven into destitution”

“Ironically many of these Asylum seekers have real skills and are desperate to pay for their own keep and to contribute through taxation to the country that has taken them in. Denying them the right to work condemns them and particularly their children to a life of misery and despair.”

“The Government must change its policy to allow asylum seekers whose case has not been resolved within six months the ability to use their skills and pay their way. They seek only the right to give their children a better life and recover some dignity for themselves.”

“The current situation is a stain on our moral authority as a nation.”


Statement from Scottish Refugee Council

John Wilkes, chief executive, Scottish Refugee Council said:

“Scottish Refugee Council welcomes this latest report by the Independent Asylum Commission, particularly its recommendations around children.

Children should never be detained for the purposes of immigration. This position is supported by the Scottish government and Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, who seek to respect the rights of every child in Scotland, regardless of their immigration status.

We urge Westminster to adopt this position and to take heed of this and the report’s other recommendations, which will enable them to fulfil their international obligations to asylum seekers and refugees.”



Statement from Welsh Refugee Council

Commenting on Deserving Dignity, Mike Lewis, Chief Executive of the Welsh Refugee Council, said:

“Every individual seeking sanctuary should be treated with dignity, but especially those from the particularly vulnerable groups that this report looks at. The Commission has uncovered the way that the asylum system treats children, women and torture survivors is far from fair and humane.

Depriving people of their liberty – especially children – is not acceptable. We hope that policy makers will look at these findings and stop practices such as the detention of asylum seekers. Welsh Refugee Council fully supports the Commission’s findings and recommendations.”


Statement from Immigration Advisory Service

“The report form the Independent Asylum Commission “Deserving Dignity” is a wake-up call for the Government and the British people. Its conclusions are indisputable as they are based on detailed evidence and analysis – something which consistently has been lacking in the approach by Government to its changes in immigration legislation. If Britain is to regain its international reputation as a country which is fair and humane, despite the Government being found wanting in the courts on human rights issues relating to immigration and asylum, then the messages must be heeded.

First, those who have committed no criminal offence should not be detained without cogent reason which is not the case at present. Secondly, the condemnation to a life of deliberate destitution of people who cannot be returned to their country of origin besmirches the name of Britain and lays us open to criticisms usually reserved for dictatorial tyrannies around the world. We should be helping such highly talented people to enhance their skills so that when they return to their countries of origin they can help to rebuild them and have a fond memory of the assistance they received while in the UK. This is especially true of the Zimbabweans currently in the UK. The report identifies the obscenity of the Government’s indifference to children who have fled from persecution.

The Government needs to learn the lesson that pandering to the prejudices of the tabloid media is not acting in the best interests of the UK or according to the wishes of the majority of British people, as opinion polls show. Anyone reading this report should feel a sense of anger and shame and send a clear message to the Government that present policies need to change. “Not in my name” should be the clarion call which reaches the ears of Government. Humanity should be applied to all.”

~~~~~~

Interim Finding 7.At the treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers in the asylum system

• Finding 7.1 –  At the treatment of LGBT asylum seekers in the asylum system
• Finding 7.2 –  That some ‘white-list’ countries, such as Jamaica, recognised as ‘safe’ may not be so for LGBT asylum seekers
• Finding 7.3 –  That LGBT asylum-seekers may be slow to ‘come out’ and so have difficulty providing evidence to substantiate their claim
• Finding 7.4 –  That LGBT detainees are not adequately protected in detention

UKBA response:
All detained individuals are risk-assessed for any special factors or risk and issues such as the treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals will be contained in the country specific operational guidance notes. An individual’s sexual orientation and gender identity are naturally a private matter for them. Nevertheless, all detainees regardless of sexual orientation/gender identity are subject to the same degree of safety and security whilst detained in our removal centres. There are systems in place to ensure this is the case, including anti-bullying strategies and Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT). Countries are designated under Section 94 of the Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 where they are in general free from persecution and are safe for most people. There is no assumption that all claims from people entitled to reside in the listed countries will be refused and certified. Each claim is considered on its individual merits and will only be certified as clearly unfounded if is found to be so after careful consideration of all the relevant evidence by specially trained caseworkers. The High Court found (in the case of Husan), that the approach taken by UKBA in deciding whether a claim was clearly unfounded was not materially different
depending on whether or not the claimant was from a designated state Commissioners’ assessment: The concern of the Commissioners is that certain countries may be considered safe for most returnees, but that particular groups, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people may be at particular risk. Where such risk exists, whether acknowledged or not, information about a detainee’s sexuality could be used by others, including other returned asylum seekers, to pressurise them in detention or to harm them on their return. UKBA and IRC staff need to be alert to such fears and dangers and rigorously to respect confidentiality and privacy.  

Recommendations 7.5: The Commissioners therefore recommend:

• 7.5.1 – That specific guidelines for UKBA case owners on the sensitivities of handling the cases of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender asylum seekers should be developed.
• 7.5.2 –  That Country of Origin Information should be improved accurately to assess the situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers from countries such as Iran, and otherwise safe countries such as Jamaica.
• 7.5.3 –  That there should be an assessment of the risks to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers in detention.

• Deserving Dignity full report (PDF)
• How we treat people with additional vulnerabilities - The Commissioners’ conclusions and recommendations on the treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers in the asylum system (PDF)

Previous reports

• Safe return: How to improve what happens when we refuse people sanctuary (PDF)
• Saving sanctuary: How we restore public support for sanctuary and improve the way we decide who needs sanctuary (PDF)
• Fit for purpose yet? The Independent Asylum Commission's Interim Findings. A nationwide review of the UK asylum system in association with the Citizen Organising Foundation (PDF)

We need art!

By Paul Canning

Babi Badalov is not just 'a gay asylum seeker' but an artist. And we need artists!

The UK has a very long tradition of accepting artists as refugees and Babi is just the latest. Babi's part of the world (the Caucasus) has a long tradition of queers as artists and it is a crying shame that they become persecuted - but it is the UK's gain and we should see it that way, not as a burden.

Here's some of Babi's work, I love it!


TESCO-DISCO


I AM UPSET


Tortured family


Eastern market.1990


Before-after

• Lots more on his blog

• Sign the petition
• Visit the campaign website to find out more and how you can help.

Nigerian asylum seeker and activist freed

The gay Nigerian Christian lay preacher Davis Mac-Iyalla has been freed by the UK Home Office, Peter Tatchell reports.

Earlier this afternoon, London-based gay human rights group Outrage! reported that Mr. Mac-Iyalla, who is seeking refuge in UK had been arrested and incarcerated at the Oakington asylum detention centre in Cambridgeshire.

“The Home Office has just announced that [Mr.] Mac-Iyalla has been freed,W Mr. Tatchell said.

“After an intensive lobbying campaign for his release, the Home Office has relented and set free Mr Mac-Iyalla.

“I am delighted that the Home Office has finally seen sense and released him.

“But he was only freed because he has lots of supporters and a first-class solicitor, Abigale Evans of Wilson and Co.

“Many gay asylum seekers are not so lucky,” Mr. Tatchell pointed out.

“They end up in detention for months.

“Davis should never have been detained in the first place.

“Treating a victim of homophobic persecution like a common criminal is outrageous, said Mr Tatchell insisted.

~~~~~

Davis Mac-Iyalla (b. 1974 in or near Otukpo) is a Nigerian LGBT rights activist. He established the Nigerian wing of the British Changing Attitude organization, which presses for internal reform of the Anglican Communion for further inclusion of Anglican sexual minorities.

He came out to himself at the age of 14, but his disinterest in dating females was not made apparent to others around him until after two events: the ordination of Gene Robinson as the bishop of New Hampshire in the Episcopalian branch, and the death of his mentor, the Bishop Iyobee Ugede of Otukpo. He was, in July of 2003, fired from his job as the principal of a local Anglican children's school; after this incident, which he believed was due to his being gay, he became an activist and started work with Changing Attitude.

He has faced stiff opposition from both the religious elite and their lay constituents in Nigeria, which is a heavily-conservative nation in terms of politics. The church of Nigeria has issued a disclaimer against Mac-Iyalla on their website. However, Mac-Iyalla has met with the primate of the Nigerian Church, Peter Akinola, who is most well known for leading an internal faction of the worldwide communion against welcoming actions towards LGBT Anglicans by the British Anglican and U.S. Episcopalian churches.
Mac-Iyalla has ventured to other countries with Anglican communities on speaking tours.

He has been accused by Nigerian Anglicans as a charlatan who made up his life story, most notably by Canon Akintunde Popoola, but Mac-Iyalla posted photos of his time as a knight of the church during his younger years on the Web.

Source: Wikipedia

Zimbabwean exiles abandoned, left destitute

One image from the terror campaign: More

By Paul Canning

The UK Prime Minister is currently in Japan lecturing people about doing more to oust Robert Mugabe.

At the same time his government is doing everything it can to oust the opposition to Mugabe from the UK.

This week 11,000 Zimbabwean refugees received letters asking them to return to a country described by the same government as undergoing a campaign of terror orchestrated by a military cabal. No opposition is brokered and activists are being hunted down and killed.

These refugees are being denied a right to work or any official support (because they are 'refused' to return because they are terrified and do not have 'leave to remain') so they are - officially - destitute and many are homeless and some beg to survive. This is the practice adopted by the UK government to force people to return.

It is hypocrisy of the highest order. Many poor African countries have accepted thousands more Zimbabwean refugees, in South Africa millions. Yet the fifth richest country in the world refuses basic support to the very same people it is praising in Zimbabwe - Mugabe's opposition.

The sole reason is because the UK government is beholden to a few media proprietors who propagate lies about asylum seekers to make money from populist fears.

The government has been trying for some time to forcibly send people back to Zimbabwe - there was a court case which highlighted the unreported issue this week.

Donna Covey, Chief executive of the Refugee Council said:

“The legal ping pong over the removal of Zimbabweans is now becoming farcical. The Judges in explaining their decision today said as much, making the point that the test case going through the courts is more than a year old, and based on even older evidence, while the situation in Zimbabwe is clearly deteriorating day by day.

“It’s now time for the government to drop the legal action and do the decent and sensible thing. It should give all Zimbabweans a temporary right to stay in the UK until the situation in their country improves markedly. This would allow the Zimbabweans, many of whom are well qualified, to work to support themselves and to carry on making plans for rebuilding their shattered country once the Mugabe regime falls.

“The current situation, where brave Zimbabweans who have stood up for democracy and human rights are left homeless and destitute in the UK, having been refused any protection, is a disgrace.”

Sir John Waite, co-chairman of the Independent Asylum Commission, which has just published a report on the asylum system in the UK, described the situation as a source of shame.

He said: "We heard testimony from many Zimbabwean asylum seekers and we were shocked by what we found - Zimbabweans sleeping on sofas, in parks and launderettes, reliant on charity and prevented from working."

He added: "Our nation's leaders have loudly condemned the Mugabe regime, but perhaps we should also look a little closer to home, to the thousands of Zimbabwean asylum seekers who have been left in a harsh legal limbo - unable to work, deprived of welfare and unable to return home. If the British people had heard what we have heard from destitute Zimbabweans, they would be troubled and perhaps even ashamed."

A march and rally is due to be held in Westminster on Friday, to ask for asylum seekers from Zimbabwe to be given status and the right to work. It will begin in Parliament Square, outside Westminster Abbey, at 1.30pm.

It will be preceded by a special service at St Margaret’s Church Westminster Abbey, led by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu.

• Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's website
• Foreign Secretary David Milliband's blog
  
  
  
  
• The Still Human Still Here Campaign
  Dedicated to highlighting the plight of tens of thousands of refused asylum seekers who are being forced into abject poverty in an attempt to drive them out of the country.

Iranian President mocked at London Pride

Gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell marched in the London’s Gay Pride Parade on Saturday 5 July carrying a poster placard ridiculing the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It featured a doctored photo of Amhadinejad wearing blue eye shadow, red lipstick, a gold earring and pink nail varnish.

See photos of the placard. These photos are free to use, without charge.

The placard was emblazoned with the words: “President of Iran. Murderer. Homophobe.” Next to the President’s tiny wagging finger was a mocking speech bubble with the words: “My penis is this big.”

“Sometimes the best way to deflate tyrants is by mocking them,” said Mr Tatchell.

“Ahmadinejad leads a regime that arrests, jails, flogs, tortures and sometimes executes gay people. It also terrorises trade unionists, students, women activists, journalists, bloggers, sunni Muslims and ethnic minorities like the Ahwazi Arabs, Baluchs and Kurds.

“I don’t support a military attack on Iran, but I do urge greater international solidarity with democratic, liberal and progressive Iranians who are struggling to overthrow the clerical dictatorship from within,” he said.

Mr Tatchell marched in the parade with actor Sir Ian McKellen and Davis Mac-Iyalla, a leader of the Nigerian gay rights movement.

“Mr Mac-Iyalla was recently forced to flee Nigeria after threats and attempts to kill him, following homophobic denunciations by the Anglican Archbishop of Nigeria, Rev Peter Akinola. Akinola is a leading figure in the conservative splinter group, Gafcon, which opposes women bishops and gay priests, and which supports punitive legal discrimination against lesbian and gay people,” said Mr Tatchell.

“Davis arrived in Britain seeking sanctuary but was incarcerated in an asylum detention centre. The government treated him like a common criminal. It took a frantic lobbying campaign to pressure the Home Office to release Davis. He was only set free from Oakington detention centre at 5pm on Friday, the eve of the Pride London parade. Although it is good that he was released, the Home Office should have never incarcerated him in the first place,” added Mr Tatchell.

Speaking from the Gay Pride main stage in Trafalgar Square, Mr Tatchell condemned “President Amadinejad’s violent homophobia” and “the Labour government’s policy of deporting lesbian and gay asylum claimants back to Iran.”

He condemned the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith MP, who last month refused requests for a moratorium on the return of gay asylum seekers to Iran. She claimed “the evidence does not show a real risk of discovery of, or adverse action against, gay and lesbian people who are discreet about their sexual orientation.”

“This is complete nonsense and deeply insulting,” said Mr Tatchell.

“It is like saying that Jews in Nazi Germany were safe if they hid their Jewishness.”

In his address from the main stage Mr Tatchell had urged the crowd to boo Deputy Prime Minister Harriet Harman.

"
Harriet Harman

At several points during her speech a bewildered Ms Harman appeared to waiver and had to struggle to be heard," said Mr Tatchell.

"It got so bad that the gay Pride organisers came on stage and appealed to the crowd to stop jeering and listen to what she had to say. Their appeal had limited effect.

"Hundreds of people in the crowd expressed their anger at the way the Labour government is locking up gay asylum seekers, refusing them refugee status and ordering them to be sent back to violently homophobic countries like Algeria, Uganda, Iran, Nigeria, Iraq and Belarus.

"Those who are returned are at risk of arrest, imprisonment torture, rape and even murder.

"I tried to explain the crowd's anger to Ms Harman as she left the stage. But several gay Pride stewards violently shoved me out of the way and threatened to have me arrested. It was needless and unjustified aggression."

"As I was being dragged away by the stewards, Ms Harman shouted for me to contact her. She said: ‘Peter, give me a call and we can discuss your concerns.’ I will take up her offer. I plan to present the government with a six-point plan to end the homophobic bias of the asylum system,” said Mr Tatchell."

~~~~

gayasylumuk comment: we are dismayed to read that Pride London reacted, in Peter's words' 'aggressively' to Peter's attempts to speak to Harriet Harman, particularly as she wanted to speak to him (and as a lifelong campaigner for human rights, she should damn well want to). This accusation demands an explanation from the event organisers.

Babi-asylum campaign update

Gay Azeri artist's asylum campaign update

Babi Badalov has been campaigning to stay in the UK since his claim for asylum was rejected. He has been informed that he is now liable to be detained and has to sign in every week at the Border and Immigration Agency offices in Cardiff. His first signing was last Tuesday (24th June) and supporters from the campaign accompanied Babi to the BIA offices. Concern is high that he may be snatched at one of these signings so everyone was relieved to see him come out of the building, not least Babi himself.

News of the campagin has reached Azerbaijan where Babi was recently in a newspaper article that disputed Babi was an internationally renowned actor. No wonded as Babi has never claimed to be an actor and isn’t suprised that people had never heard of this actor’s name. He is however a contemporary artist that has had his work shown in many galleries throughout Europe and across the world.

This article made the fact he is homosexual known to his whole family. They have telephoned him, screamed at him, threatened him and disowned him. Babi has expressed concern for his family and the shame that this will have brought on them by having a family member that is gay, just proving how unacceptable homosexuality is in Azerbaijan. This article has raised Babi’s profile even further in Azerbaijan, resulting in letters being written to the press in his defence. Not only will this make it even harder for Babi to return if he is deported but it will also mean he has no support and family to return to if he is sent back.

We are pleading to people to continue to support Babi by either signing the online petition, getting your friends to sign it and by writing to Jacqui Smith (model letter here) and expressing your outrage at Babi’s claim being rejected. If you have already written, please write again.

London Pride protest expected over Government's treatment of gay refugees

Gay and lesbian revellers plan to protest against the Government's treatment of gay people from other countries at the London Pride parade tomorrow.

The theme of this year's event in London is Fairy Tales, Myths And Legends, and organisers promise "a colourful procession of beaux and beauty, princes and prancers, debutantes and dancers." They expect a turnout of more than half a million.

Campaigners will use the event to voice their anger about what they see as the Government's failure to give refugee status to the gay victims of persecution in other countries.

Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, will be among the politicians speaking on the main stage in Trafalgar Square at 3pm. But gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell warned that she was likely to be in for a rough ride.

He said: "One of the biggest issues tomorrow will be the Government's mistreatment of lesbian and gay asylum seekers."

But the Home Office defended its record on the issue.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "We consider each case on its individual merits and will continue to provide refuge for those asylum seekers with a genuine need for protection."
Festival-goers will also draw attention to the persecution of gay people in countries such as Iran, Jamaica, Nigeria and Uganda.

Tatchell himself plans to carry a placard mocking Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in protest against the country's treatment of its gay population.

His placard will depict a doctored photo of the Iranian leader wagging his finger while wearing make-up and jewellery, accompanied by a caption accusing him of being a murderer and homophobe.

Souce: 24dash.com

Tatchell tells unionists about LGBT refugees

The British government is being urged to "initiate urgent reforms to the asylum system to end the injustice whereby many genuine gay refugees being sent back to viciously homophobic countries like Iran, Uganda, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Jamaica, Belarus and Saudi Arabia."

The call comes from gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell of OutRage!

Speaking at a fringe meeting, supported by the GMB union, at the TUC LGBT conference in London last night, Mr Tatchell said said that urgent government action was needed to implement five key policy changes to ensure a fair hearing for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) asylum applicants

“First, asylum staff and adjudicators should receive sexual orientation and transgender awareness training,” he told the meeting.

“They currently receive race and gender training but no training at all on sexual orientation and gender identity issues. As a result, they often make stereotyped assumptions: that a feminine woman can’t be a lesbian or that a masculine man cannot be gay.

“They sometimes rule that someone who has been married must be faking their homosexuality.

“Home Office rulings that LGBT refugees should ‘go home and be discreet’ is insulting, humiliating and puts the returnees at risk of arrest, imprisonment, torture, mob violence and even possible murder,’ he insisted.

“Secondly, the government should issue explicit instructions to all immigration and asylum staff — and to all asylum judges — that homophobic and transphobic persecution are legitimate grounds for granting asylum.

“The government has never done this, which signals to asylum staff and judges that claims by LGBT people are not as worthy as those based on persecution because of a person's ethnicity, gender, politics or faith.

“Thirdly,’ Mr. Tatchell continued, “the official Home Office country information reports — on which judges often rely when ruling on asylum applications — must be upgraded and expanded to reflect the true scale of anti-LGBT persecution.

“At the moment, the government’s documentation of anti-gay and anti-transgender persecution in individual countries is often partial, inaccurate and misleading,” he pointed out.

“It consistently downplays the severity of victimisation suffered by LGBT people in violently homophobic countries like Pakistan, Uganda, Egypt, Nigeria, Iran, Cameroon, Iraq, Zimbabwe, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.

“Fourthly, legal aid funding for asylum claims needs to be substantially increased.

“Existing funding levels are woefully inadequate. This means that most asylum applicants — gay and straight — are unable to prepare an adequate submission at their asylum hearing.

“Their solicitors don’t get paid enough to procure the necessary witness statements, medical reports and other vital corroborative evidence.

“Fifthly, the Home Office needs to issue official instructions to asylum detention centre staff that they have a duty to stamp out anti-gay and anti-trans abuse, threats and violence.

“Many LGBT detainees report suffering homophobic victimisation, and say they fail to receive adequate protection and support from detention centre staff.

“These shortcomings need to be remedied by LGBT awareness training to ensure that detention centre staff take action against homophobic and transphobic perpetrators, and that they are committed to protect LGBT detainees who are being victimised.

“Labour’s claim to be a LGBT-friendly government rings hollow when it continues to fail genuine LGBT refugees,” he suggested.

“We must insist on an asylum system that is fair, just and compassionate – for LGBT refugees and for all refugees.

“These are systemic failings by a callous and indifferent government that is more interested in cutting asylum numbers than in ensuring a fair, just and compassionate asylum system.

‘The UK's harsh, homophobic asylum policy has provoked two suicides by gay Iranians in the last five years.

“In September 2003, Israfil Shiri, a gay Iranian asylum seeker, died after pouring petrol over himself and setting himself on fire in the offices of Refugee Action in Manchester, after his asylum claim was refused.

“In April 2005, 26-year-old Hussein Nasseri shot himself in the head two weeks after his asylum claim was turned down by the Home Office,” Mr Tatchell concluded.

Source: UKGayNews

Getting voices of witness out of Africa

From Desert's Child

Several of us have been trying for months to figure out how to get the voices of LGBT Africans heard at the Lambeth Conference -- you know, as part of the listening process that every Lambeth Conference since 1978 has called for. And as a response to those bishops who insist there aren't any LGBT people in Africa.

Getting LGBT people physically to Lambeth was proving very difficult because it's hard for them to get passports/visas because so many of them can't get jobs because they are gay -- or in the case of straight allies, because they are sympathetic to the LGBT cause. The British immigration people don't care why they are jobless -- they won't let them in if they don't have a job back home.

So the idea of a Voices of Witness Africa video similar to the Voices of Witness 2006 video produced by Louise Brooks for Claiming the Blessing seemed a natural way to do it. But videos are expensive to produce and raising money takes time. The first bloc of money didn't come in until the first of June.

So with less than ten days to prepare -- getting visas, lots of shots, setting up interviews, arranging for equipment, reassuring spouse/partner/children that we would be safe, and taking a big gulp of faith -- Cynthia Black and I headed off to Africa to try to talk to as many LGBT Africans as we could. We were looking for witnesses to the fact that yes, there are LGBT folk in Africa, just as there are all over the rest of the world, and yes, many of them are faithful Christians, even -- dare I say it -- Anglicans.

We videotaped their stories to show at Lambeth to as many bishops as we can corral, and perhaps, at General Convention 2009.

We had raised enough money to get us to London, where we could interview some GLBT Nigerians who had fled there for sanctuary; and then on to Uganda and Kenya. And to get us back home, where I am now trying to compress 20-plus interviews into a reasonable time frame for a video while doing justice to the stories of these courageous people.

It is an awesome responsibility, for just by talking to us these folks are risking more than any of us privileged people can begin to understand.

Among those we talked to is

• a transgendered [F to M] Nigerian
• a partnered lesbian activist in Uganda
• a transgendered [M to F] Ugandan
• one of a pair of gay 20-something twins in Kenya
• a gay Ugandan farmer whose dream is to own two acres of land to grow his sugarcane
• gay partners in Kenya who dream of having their union blessed
• a gay Nigerian who was beaten badly simply for being gay

There were many more. We also interviewed some of their straight allies -- a Ugandan bishop, a Kenyan Anglican priest, a Ugandan law professor and feminist; and a Kenyan Methodist minister.

And while my editor and I are putting together a dynamite video, this isn't the finished product.
We need to raise money to:

1. Visit more African nations and interview even more LGBT Africans.
2. Add production values such as more music, archival footage, etc., that cost money for rights.
3. Distribute copies of the expanded video to each and every bishop in the Anglican Communion.
4. and pay Cynthia and me for our work-- something that would make our long-suffering loved ones happy.

We can do items 3 and 4 for about $15,000. To do items 1 and 2 we'll need at least $35,000 -- travel in Africa is very expensive.

If you can help get these Voices of Witness out of Africa and into the hands of the bishops, here's how:

Integrity is set up to be the fiscal agent for VOWA. Checks should be made payable to "Integrity" with "VOWA" in the memo line and mailed to the address below.

There is a VOWA option for online giving http://page--www.integrityusa.org/donate.

When I asked these Africans what they wanted to say to the church, here's some of what they said:

"If the church happens to allow inclusion and let our voices be heard and let us tell our story how it is, it will go a long way because as a gay man or lesbian woman -- your dreams and aspirations are most times caught at a point . . . you have ideas and you have visions and you want to do things for the common good for humanity but you are kind of like, you get caught up and you don’t want your voice to be heard and you don’t want to raise the dust as they say, so you just stay quiet and so your voice, your dreams, your vision just dies with you." -- A gay Nigerian

"Another question is do they really know that we have gay people in our churches? Do they really know that they worship in those same churches and when they preach sermons which are going to send them away rather than to bring them to Christ what are they really doing? What do they think when people run away from Christ rather than come closer to Christ? Do they really know that this is a reality? Those are questions that they should ponder, they should sober up, come together and reflect, not fight amongst each other. We are one. God is not happy, and God wants us all together." A gay Kenyan

"It is because the high profile people in Uganda and to hear them inciting the public how to treat us it really hurts me. These are people especially the Church leaders who are supposed to be preaching love, tolerance, and acceptance and instead they are the ones trying to preach the opposite of that. Like in today’s newspaper the whole head of Church in Uganda, Orombi, is busy wasting time about gay marriages in UK instead of concentrating on pressing issues that affect the people of Uganda like the war in Northern Uganda. They are busy talking about people married in UK. They are wasting time on issues which are not really a big deal." A lesbian Ugandan

"Well, I think the bottom line, when it comes to God – God is love. And that should be it. Homosexuals do not practice something else, we are not killers, we are not murderers, we are not molesters, we are not bad, We are like your average people, except that we choose to love in a different way, but at the end of the day it is love -- we love deeply, truly, honestly, and we should be given a chance to show that to the world. Do not force people into closets. Instead talk positively about people like us, homosexuals, so that people who for whatever reason they think that we are bad because they do not know any better, when they hear this from leaders in the church, they might change their attitudes and make it better for us to exist." A lesbian Kenyan

"I would love to let people know that homosexuality is not the epitome of what is wrong in this world. I’m out, but I’ve come to realize that people perceive me as what is wrong with this world. If asked what is wrong with this world, I’m sure they’d go like "that gay man is wrong with this world." Now I’d love people to know, that is not what is wrong with this world. There are far more worst things to be in this life, worst things that they themselves do behind closed doors. I’m open about this and this is not the worst thing to be in life and if anything, it’s the best thing." A gay Kenyan

Let them be heard.

Prossy Kakooza wins latest fight

By Andy Braunston

Ugandan Lesbian Prossy Kakooza today won the latest fight in her battle for asylum in the UK.

A senior immigration judge dismissed a previous Immigration Tribunal ruling, denying Prossy asylum, calling the judgement "a mess".

Prossy fled Uganda after being tortured and raped by police officers.

Her family had discovered Prossy and her partner in bed together and had marched them, naked, to the police station where they were detained. Prossy was subjected to horrific sexual attacks and physical torture. She escaped to the UK after her family bribed the guards to release her - as they wanted to deal with their family shame by having Prossy killed.

The Home Office denied her asylum but the original judge believed Prossy's claim to have been raped and tortured but felt it would be safe to return her to a different part of Uganda.

This ignored the facts, and case law, which suggests that someone who has been so mistreated by the state is likely to suffer similar mistreatment in the future.

Today's ruling allows Prossy to present her claim afresh to an asylum tribunal. This hearing is likely to take place in the autumn where Prossy's claim will be looked at, the possibility of "internal relocation" in Uganda examined and her identity as an out and proud lesbian in the UK considered.

• Visit the campaign website to find out more and how you can help.
• Prossy Kakooza Must Stay
  

Jacqui Smith on sexual orientation

By Omar Kuddas

Last Wednesday night, home secretary Jacqui Smith said:

'In the 21st century, no one should ever feel under threat of verbal or physical violence just because of their sexual orientation.'

She added: she would ask a ministerial action group to tackle the issue.

Does this imply that only those who are British, European or born in the free west are entitled to live without fear, or does this also extend to all asylum seekers who fear for their lives due to their own governments stand on Homosexuality?

If NO ONE should ever feel under treat of violence, Britain and herself must take the stand as other European nations have done that homosexuals fleeing persecution, torture and execution should be grated asylum, Carte Blanche, and not have to prove their personal “threat of verbal or physical violence just because of their sexual orientation.'

LGBT asylum briefs

Arsham Parsi, Executive Director of the Iranian Queer Organization, pictured with Patrick Carney, the force behind the Friends of the Pink Triangle, at it's launch (amid hazy smoky conditions). The Pink Triangle sits atop Twin Peaks, San Francisco during Pride.

‘Discrete’ Gays Safe in Iran: Really Ms. Smith?
UKGayNews op-ed republished in gaywired.com.

Brown’s moral compass spins unpredictably
Editorial in the Scottish Herald

In a big, bad world, out and proud Persians may not be your top priority. But stop and think about this for a moment. In our name, ministers are deporting people to face imprisonment and even death for their sexuality, and the best we can offer is some helpful advice to be "discreet". Are we saying the same of those whose ethnicity, political beliefs, faith or creed requires similar discretion? You may be Jewish, Kurdish, Sunni, Christian or anti-Mugabe, but please go home and don't be flamboyant about it.

Comment for conservativehome.com

The treatment of gay men in Iraq came to prominence earlier this year when Mehdi Kazemi was threatened with deportation to Tehran - even after his boyfriend had been executed. Conor Burns wrote about it at the time for CentreRight.com.

This Labour Government is often 'tough' when it shouldn't be - as here - and 'soft' when it shouldn't be - illegal immigration more generally. Without commenting on individual cases it would be good to see Dominic Grieve taking up this general issue.

Tara's Crossing is a new play which explores the experience of lesbian & gay asylum seekers from Guyana living in the United States.

"The story is based on gays and lesbians who are not protected well in Guyana. The play is about Vermal's life and experiences in Guyana, her quest for freedom and to be granted asylum."

In one of the scenes, Hemraj recalled, when an attorney was interviewing Vermal, he reportedly called the Guyana Consulate and was told that there were no negative issues affecting gays in the country because there are no gays in Guyana.

Letters from Caroline Lucas, Green MEP. concerning Pegah Emambakash

• Response to first letter
  
• Further letter to the Home Office re Pegah’s asylum claim 2008
• Response

At the Jerusalem Global Anglican Futures Conference a reporter representing the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement asked Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda to comment on the case of Prossy Kakooa, a Ugandan woman who was jailed, raped and tortured after it was discovered she was gay, and was currently fight a decision by the Home Office refuse her asylum in Britain.

Archbishop Orombi said he was unaware of the case, and after the details were related to him, said that all Anglicans, as well as all Ugandans would be shocked by the allegations of police brutality and would condemn it.

Dr Jensen summarized the views of all of the archbishops by saying, “any such violence or behaviour against gays and lesbians is condemned by us” and is contrary to Christian principles, and was utterly rejected.

However there is also this report of what was said:

When given the example of a lesbian women from Uganda who had applied for asylum in the UK after being jailed, raped in the police station, and marched for two miles naked through the streets of Uganda, Archbishop Akinola said: "That's one example. The laws in your countries say that homosexual acts, actions are punishable by various rules. I don't need to argue. If the practice (homosexuality) is now found to be in our society" he continued, "it is of service to be against it. Alright, and to that extent what my understanding is, is that those that are responsible for law and order will want to prevent wholesale importation of foreign practices and traditions, that are not consistent with native standards, native way of life."

Archbishop Henry Orombi said it was not possible, or the church's role in Uganda, to speak out favourably about gay and lesbian people. "The church's practice is to preach, to proclaim" he said, "so that people who find themselves in a position where they go away from the word of God, the same word of God can bring them back to life. And that is in Uganda as already Archbishop Akinola is saying."

From a Queer West forum, part of the international queer festival in Toronto:

"In Mexico, many people are assaulted and beaten based on what people interpret to be a lesbian or gay look," said Carolina Gama, a member of Mujeres al Frente (Women in the Front Line), a support group for Latin American LBTIQ women and transgender persons from Mexico, Central and South America living in Toronto.

"Just having short hair, loose clothes, not wearing makeup, anything not conforming to the female stereotype" would be a gay look.

Gama went on to detail the problems Latin American LGTBQ women face when claiming refugee status upon entering Canada.

"A common problem Mexican LGTBQ people face is being denied protection as a refugee because they can live in Mexico City without any aggression, so they are denied refugee status and told to go back even if they don't live anywhere near the city," said Gama. "Not every LGBTQ who is tortured, violated, beaten, raped is granted asylum in Canada."

The second speaker, Andrea Siemens, has worked extensively with Amnesty International's Refugee Network and Christian Peacemaker Teams overseas in Uganda and The West Bank and said the persecution some had to face could be found in almost all aspects of their society.

"A very widely read weekly tabloid in Uganda have at least three times published lists of 30 to 40 people that they identified to be gay or lesbian by name and at times dates of birth," Siemens said. "These people would lose their jobs, their homes and have to deal with people who can be very aggressive."

Siemens added she encountered a number of people overseas who hold the perception that the system in place to accommodate refugees or asylum seekers in Canada is easily accessible, but said in reality it can be difficult to secure status.

"Even with all the documented problems it's still very difficult for someone from Uganda identified as queer to come to Canada and say 'I'm facing persecution' and be granted asylum," Siemens said. "It's hard to believe and it works on a case-to-case basis, but one of the issues that comes up is proving it."

Swedes changes rules for gay Iranian asylum seekers

From PinkNews.co.uk

In a decision hailed as "remarkable" the Swedish Migration Board has decided that people who lived openly as gay or lesbian in Iran should be granted asylum.

Previously more evidence of persecution would have been required.

While there will still be individual assessments of each case, the board's new "guiding decision" will take into account the risk that the person might be persecuted because of their sexual orientation.

Stig-Ake Petersson, a gay asylum activist working for The Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RFSL), said he has had a number of meetings with the Swedish Migration Board regarding gay Iranians seeking asylum.

Henrik Winman, a lawyer with the Migration Board, told Dagens Nyheter:
"The situation of homosexuals and bisexuals, transgender people in Iran is difficult and RFSL has commented on our past practice."

The Swedish decision follows the case of a 25-year-old Iranian who fled to the Scandinavian country. He said he had lived openly with his boyfriend in Iran and had been arrested several times.

The migration board gave him leave to remain in Sweden as a refugee as they considered he would run the risk of persecution because of his sexual orientation.

The ruling seems to be at odds with the "country information" from the Swedish Foreign Affairs ministry.

Three weeks ago the country's embassy in Tehran said that there are "no executions in Iran as a result of their sexual orientation."

RFSL has also reportedly successfully submitted a case involving a gay Iranian man to UN’s Committee against Torture, the first time such a case has been accepted.

In the UK, the Home Secretary has moved to clarify a statement she made in a letter to a Lib Dem peer stating that gay people who live "discreetly" in Iran face no danger.

Jacqui Smith said that individual cases would be considered but "current case law handed down by the asylum and immigration tribunal concludes that the evidence does not show a real risk of discovery of, or adverse action against gay and lesbian people who are discreet about their sexual orientation."