Tatchell barred from Pride parties by Brown + Boris

By Paul Canning

If you were to stop people in a British street and ask them to name a gay rights campaigner I would bet money they would name Peter Tatchell. For twenty years he has been in front of the media.

Yes, Sir Ian McKellan is more famous but I doubt most people would see him as a more prominent campaigner than Tatchell.

But Peter is a thorn in the side, not least to those who are quick to praise the Labour government on LGBT issues and slow to critique it. Last year he had a very public word with Harriet Harman at London Pride about LGBT asylum - 'why are we sending gays back to Iran?' This followed her being heckled as she spoke. Of course Harman made promises which were immediately forgotten about.

Most notable of those who don't like Tatchell are the gay establishment, those whom Labour have awarded gongs to. So it's unsurprising to learn that when Ten Downing Street hosts an event for Pride Month on Saturday morning Tatchell won't be there. Neither will he be at Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's soirée, according to Tatchell's tweet, despite being a patron!



Tatchell also says about another Downing Street event in March, held to dismiss the widely believed idea that Gordon doesn't like the gays, he was actively dismissed from the guest list.

An insider tipped me off that my name had been removed from the invite list, at Gordon Brown's personal request. He was apparently still angry that I had heckled him over his government's erosion of civil liberties, when he opened the Taking Liberties exhibition at the British Library late last year.

You could imagine that those invited into the golden circle are not exactly likely to say 'I'm not coming if Tatchell's not there' given that Peter says they're "tame apologists for Labour". And that is precisely what is happening.

Not that Tatchell gives a shit:

I don't do my human rights work to win awards, honours or invites. It doesn't matter to me that I haven't been invited.

What angers me is the principle - the way the Prime Minister invites and fetes mostly tame pro-Labour loyalists in the LGBT community. It is a manipulative tactic by an insecure government that knows its record on LGBT human rights is not as glorious as it claims.

And if the evidence of the Mayor's non-invitation is anything to go by "mostly tame pro-Labour loyalists in the LGBT community" deliberately exclude him precisely because he just so damned awkward.

Britain must do more to support refugees

Image by daveblume via Flickr

By Rebecca Collard

Contrary to popular opinion, it is the world's poorest nations who provide sanctuary for the most refugees

Contary to the impression given by media, 80% of refugees seek asylum in the world's poorest nations, putting an incredible burden on countries already struggling to care for their citizens. Most refugees and migrants escape their country of origin and land in a similarly unstable or poverty-stricken neighbour state.

It is a comparatively small number who traverse the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco to mainland Spain or hop the layers of electric fence guarding the tiny Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. Some find other ways to sneak into fairy-tale Europe, smuggled from the North African coast by boat to Italy.

The world's wealthy nations are not doing enough; the burden is been carried by poorer, less stable countries. The UK currently hosts 300,000 refugees. Syria and Iran host the refugee populations of near 1 million each while Pakistan is home to the largest number of foreign refugees, 1.8m. Aside from the financial cost, the sheer volume of refugees risks destabalising Pakistan's already fragile political system. Pakistan has already seen enormous internal displacement, as this year, 2m have fled their homes.

At the end of 2008, the UN high commission for refugees (UNHCR) counted 42m people uprooted globally. Of those, 16m are seeking asylum in another country, while 26m are displaced within the borders of their own state.

In most receiving countries, rich and poor alike, the attitude toward those fleeing from persecution remains sceptical, if not xenophobic. There will always be those who abuse the system, who fabricate or exaggerate threats for the opportunity to earn a coveted, European minimum wage, but millions more are fleeing real danger.

The organisers of Refugee Week, which ends on Sunday, hope to encourage a better understanding between communities and to celebrate the contribution refugees make to the country. The UNHCR's World Refugee Day, celebrated tomorrow (June 20), hosts similar events across the world in an effort to educate host populations about refugees and dissolve the stereotypes and stigma attached to the title.

Claiming asylum is not easy. Applicants often endure intense and invasive questioning to prove they meet the UNHCR's strict criteria and are not just economic migrants. Thousands of claims are rejected; in 2007, the UK dismissed 72%[pdf] of the 14,935 asylum appeals made that year.

This decade has seen one of the largest population movements ever; almost 5 million Iraqis fled their homes during the violence following the American-led invasion and occupation. Nearly 2 million are seeking asylum in another state while 2.8m remain displaced within Iraq's borders. Some of these refugees cannot return home because their work with coalition forces in Iraq has made them a target. This should qualify them for resettlement to the US and UK, but only a fraction have actually succeeded as few are able to meet the rigid application requirements.

The goal for asylum seekers is a durable solution. In some cases, refugees return home but for the majority that is not an option and life in the poor nations that host them is usually miserable. In 2008, the UNHCR resettled just 67,000 refugees to third countries while governments reported taking another 20,000 without UNHCR assistance. The US took over 60,000 of those leaving fewer than 30,000 refugees sprinkled over the rest of the world's wealthy states.

The global refugee crisis is unlikely to subside, as those who are resettled and repatriated are quickly replaced by others fleeing new conflicts and searching, sometimes literally, for higher ground as environmental crises make their homelands unlivable.

Inhabitants on the Carteret Islands, north east Papua New Guinea, are starting to evacuate as the rising sea level threatens to engulf their atoll. The islanders aren't the first to flee environmental conditions—people have always migrated because of drought, flood or scarcity of resources. They do, however, illustrate how actions afar can impact others. Climate change, fuelled by global consumption, is actually swallowing their land. Inhabitants of larger neighboring islands don't want them. With so few refugees being resettled, the situation for inhabitants of the Carterets, and for millions of other uprooted people, remains bleak.

Source

Gay Life After Saddam on BBC Radio 5Live this Sunday

This program has now been postponed to Sunday June 12.

Radio production company Made in Manchester has won its first major commission for BBC Radio 5Live with a harrowing documentary about the persecution of gay people in Iraq.

In Gay Life After Saddam, presenter Aasmah Mir finds out how life for the country’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community (LGBT), has got much worse since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Human rights campaigners claim hundreds of LGBT people have been killed or tortured while others have fled the country fearing for their safety since Saddam was toppled from power six years ago.

Meanwhile, in the UK, gay Iraqis seeking asylum are struggling to persuade authorities to let them stay.

Through some harrowing testimonies, Aasmah hears from campaigners and those who’ve been persecuted to see how life has actually changed for gay Iraqis.

Producer Ashley Byrne, who is also Made in Manchester’s Creative Director, says: “We’re proud to be making our 5Live debut with such an important documentary which tackles a subject that doesn’t usually feature as part of the usual narrative from Iraq.

“The programme includes an interview with a gay Iraqi who was kidnapped and raped before fleeing the country, we hear from a young man who fled to Paris after being tortured and we get exclusive access to a so-called ‘safe house’ harbouring vulnerable LGBT Iraqis on the outskirts of Baghdad,” says Ashley.

He adds: “Some of the evidence is very difficult to comprehend especially a form of torture involving glue and diarrhoea inducing drugs.”

Presenter Aasmah Mir also meets a London based Iraqi whose life is under threat for the work he’s doing to help gay people in his homeland. Ali Hilli, who runs the group Iraqi LGBT claims he has had two fatwas issued against him from extremists in the Middle East.

Co Producer Gail Champion says: “What becomes clear throughout is that not one person, one group or another is responsible for this persecution. It seems like it’s chaos in Iraq with the authorities struggling to keep control. What surprised me more than anything was how much life was easier for LGBT people under Saddam Hussein.”

As part of the programme, the US Government is put on the spot over the issue. Ashley Byrne says: “It was our reporter who managed to illicit a response from the US Government during a State Department Briefing in Washington earlier this month. The Obama administration’s reaction to the recent killings and violence can be heard during this programme.”

The programme also includes interviews with the Iraqi Prime Minister, religious leaders and ordinary people on the streets of Baghdad where homosexuality is still viewed by many as an illness and something that needs treatment.

Radio 5 live Commissioning Editor Jonathan Wall said: "This important programme raises issues about human rights and tells some stories seldom heard in the general narrative from Iraq.

"It's a moving and powerful documentary."

Gay Life After Saddam is produced by Ashley Byrne and Gail Champion and is A Made in Manchester Production for BBC Radio 5Live. It will air from 7-8pm this Sunday, 5th July 2009 on 909/693 medium wave, on line and DAB Digital Radio and via the BBC iplayer.

Vahid, the iranian gay refugee is free!

By Gruppo EveryOne

He is now with his partner in Rome. Reassurances from the Chairman of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini and from the Farnesina (Italian Government's Foreign Affairs) about his humanitarian protection.

EveryOne Group: “The case reaches a positive conclusion, thanks to the activism and the political intervention of democratic forces”.

Rome, 27 June, 2009. Vahid Kiani Motlagh, the 32-year-old Iranian gay refugee who faced deportation in the next few days, was transferred yesterday morning from the Saint-Exupery (Lyons) detention centre in France to Fiumicino airport, in Rome, Italy, on the grounds of the Dublin Convention and the Dublin II Directive. He was released in the afternoon by Italian Police.

“The Chairman of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Gianfranco Fini has personally taken an interest in the case after EveryOne Group's appeal, activating diplomacy policy with the Italian Foreign Affairs Minister, Franco Frattini, and the Farnesina, who reassured us that everyone is working on Vahid's case: Vahid will not be deported back to Iran and will soon obtain humanitarian protection and refugee status in Italy” announced Roberto Malini, Matteo Pegoraro and Dario Picciau, co-presidents of the international human rights organization.

“It has been a difficult campaign,” continue the activists “which we followed step by step, through diplomacy with the French and Italian institutions and authorities, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the European Parliament - thanks to the Italian official, Ottavio Marzocchi, member of the Radical association Certi Diritti, who worked together with us to save Vahid's life.

EveryOne Group, together with Vahid and his partner Patrick, has sent a message of thanks to the Radical association “Certi Diritti” and the Massimo Consoli Foundation in Rome; to Gianfranco Fini and his political advisor Alessandro Cortese; to Arcigay Rome, which is now following Vahid's humanitarian protection's instances; to MPs Concia and Della Vedova; MEPs Lambert, Romeva, Cashman, In´t Veld, Lunacek, Gröner; to Dirk De Marileir, ILGA-Europe Director; to the Italian Republican Party and to the Italian young Jews' movement, who asked the Italian Government to respect Vahid's rights; to the journalist of the La Repubblica newspaper, Mr. Giampaolo Cadalanu; to LGBT blogs and websites for their interest in the case; to Arcilesbica Rome, Azione Trans, GayNet and the international human rights organizations network who cooperated on the case.


Source: everyonegroup

Call to protect persecuted athletes

City councillors are calling for measures to ensure that gay participants in next month’s World Outgames in Copenhagen are not forced to return home if they risk imprisonment or capital punishment for their sexual orientation.

It emerged yesterday that 85 participants in the nine-day sports, culture and human rights event come from countries where homosexuality is illegal, and a number of councillors say council leadership should lobby the state to ensure that participants can be granted political asylum or residence on humanitarian grounds if necessary.

‘If these participants will have problems returning home after being in Denmark, then we need to find some solution,’ said Social Liberal councillor Manu Sareen.

Pia Allerslev, head of the council’s Culture and Leisure Committee, called the matter an issue for the Foreign Ministry and immigration officials.

Officials on the Copenhagen organising committee, supported with 30 million kroner in city funding, said they were helping to ensure the safety of participants by allowing them to participate using an alias. So far 13 people have requested to do so.

Thorbjørn Nesjan, Outgames head of security, said other measures, such as suggesting that participants not march in the opening and closing ceremonies could also help protect identities.

Representatives from government and opposition parties in parliament said they had no plans to alter immigration laws to permit people to seek asylum based solely on participation in the Outgames.

Source

Gays mistreated in Rwanda - AI

Amnesty International has said Rwandan gays and lesbians face serious hostilities, harassment and intimidation in the East African state.

According to the Amnesty International 2009 report, the treatment of the lesbian community is not isolated but indicative of general short-fall in the respect of human rights, saying the Rwanda government reacted with hostility to criticism on gay and lesbian community.

It also criticises Rwanda’s donor community which did not dare to challenge and or criticise the government for its violation of rights for gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

“Freedom of expression was limited and civil society and the media were under close scrutiny by the government,” the organisation said in the report.

The report cited that in March, two female LGBT activists were accused of forging documents and detained for two weeks after attending a LGBT conference in Mozambique. “They were subsequently released two weeks later after prosecution withdrew the case citing lack of evidence,” the report stated.

Amnesty International has also warned that the global economic crisis is exacerbating human rights abuses, stating that rising prices meant millions were struggling to meet basic needs in Africa and other part of the world.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch remain in a frosty relationship with Kigali that in 2007, President Kagame slammed the two organisations of “deliberately refusing to see anything good in Rwanda”.

Source

France: Gay Iranian risks deportation. NGOs pressure for political asylum

By Roberto Malini

Vahid Kiani Motlagh, a 32-year-old Iranian, arrested in France on 25 May 2009, is being held at the retention center at Saint-Exupery Airport, Lyon, where he risks imminent deportation to Iran.

Motlagh, who had lived for about 1 year as an illegal alien in Italy, was travelling with his French companion to Belgium where the two had planned to get married.

On 29 May, Lyon administrative court judge Peuvrel rejected Motlagh’s request for release from the center; that day, Motlagh, as refugee and asylum seeker, filed a request for humanitarian protection and asylum. Iran punishes homosexual acts with imprisonment, torture, and hanging. Based on Islamic law, homosexuals accused of “lavat” (sodomy) are arrested without any means for defense.

According to unofficial reports, Motlagh could be expelled from France within the next couple of days and deported to Iran. This violates the provisions of the Geneva Conference, the directives of the European Council (Tampere, 1999), and European Directive 83/29 April 2004—all documents that establish the inalienable right to receive protection or asylum and not to be deported to one’s country of origin or another country where such person would risk violation of basic human rights.

We, at Everyone Group, jointly with the Fondazione Luciano Massimo Consoli and Certi Diritti, which sounded the alarm, have asked the French government to immediately suspend Motlagh’s deportation procedure and release him from the retention center until his request for asylum has been decided. We have contacted Jean-Marc de la Sabliére, French ambassador to Italy, asking him to intercede with the French Minister of Immigration and with president Sarkozy; and we have forwarded a dossier of the case to António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and Laura Boldrini, his spokesperson in Italy.

The right to asylum for refugees is also established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights under art. 14 and by the European Union Charta of Fundamental Rights, texts upon which democracy and human rights are based. This is an incontrovertible right of all human beings and the duty of all countries to extend it to persons such as Vahid Kiani Motlagh who seek to escape violence and persecution.

We hope that Vahid and his companion will soon be able to re-unite and contract their marriage as planned, as well as to resume a normal life in a country that recognizes and protects their identity and their human dignity.

Alerte - Expulsion - Homo: Ramzy en France depuis 10 ans

Paris, le 24/06/2009
Communiqué de l'association ARDHIS


l'Ardhis a été alertée vendredi de la situation de Ramzy (prénom d'emprunt), un jeune homme de 31 ans né en Tunisie interpellé par la police en gare de Bordeaux. Placé en garde à vue, il a été transféré au centre de rétention de Toulouse. Il est soumis à un arrêté préfectoral de reconduite à la frontière (numéro d’APRF de la Gironde : 093300548) confirmé par le Tribunal administratif de Toulouse. Il vient de demander l'asile en procédure d'urgence ... mais il est très rare que le statut de réfugié soit octroyé en rétention .

Lorsque la décision d'asile tombera (sous 2 jours), plus rien n'empechera son expulsion ... sauf notre mobilisation.

La Marche des Fiertés est samedi prochain, alors notre mobilisation pourrait payer !!

Ramzy avait connu l'Ardhis en 2006 alors qu'il envisageait une régularisation qui n'a pas pu aboutir.

Ramzy est un garçon timide et discret mais très attachant. Il a grandi à Tataouine dans un milieu populaire et très traditionnel. Parisien depuis 10 ans (arrivée en France en aout 1999), il travaille depuis son arrivée pour des PME du bâtiment.

Malheureusement les Tunisiens jusqu'à ces derniers jours restaient exclus de la régularisation par le travail, une discrimination de plus comme l'a souligné la Halde. L' avenant à l'accord bilatéral franco-tunisien publié au journal officiel le 26 mai dernier a enfin permis que son patron engage en sa faveur la démarche de regularisation pour ce monteur en structures métalliques très apprécié , un métier qui reste sous tension et enfin ouvert aux Tunisiens.

A cette discrimination s'en ajoute une autre.

Ramzy est homosexuel. Son éducation l'a longtemps conduit à dissimuler cette différence. Si sa famille le savait, elle le renierait. A son arrivée, il a vécu avec son frère jusqu'à ce que celui-ci ne menace de dévoiler à la famille qu'il était gay. Heureusement, Ramzy qui a noué ici des amitiés fortes et durables avec André et Jean-Marc des amis français , a pu alors être soutenu et aidé dans ses difficultés. Il y a 4 ans , en 2005, Ramzy rencontre Brahim dont il tombe très amoureux. Avec Brahim, il avait enfin accepté de vivre pleinement une relation avec un homme. Ils s'étaient même pacsés. Mais courant 2006, un cancer du colon a emporté Brahim en 6 mois. Aujourd'hui, Ramzy vit chez André. Il était parti se reposer en Gironde près de la mer chez un ami... Jusqu'à l'arrestation.

Après 10 ans ici, tout s'écroule pour lui ... Il va devoir rentrer : pour faire quoi ? pour vivre quoi ?
Pour recommencer à vivre son homosexualité dans la clandestinité et être contraint d'accepter un mariage qu'il ne veut pas?

Est-ce que la France peut se satisfaire de renvoyer dans un pays quitté il y a dix ans, un homme en sachant qu’il y sera réduit à vivre dans la clandestinité par peur d’être persécuté si l’on apprenait sa vérité, alors même que c'est ici qu'il a construit sa vie d'homme , sa vie professionnelle et sa vie affective, qu’ enfin il vivait ici sa différence avec quiétude et liberté?

MOBILISONS NOUS EN ÉCRIVANT AU PRÉFET DE GIRONDE
FAITES UN COPIE-COLLER DE LA LETTRE PROPOSÉE ET ADRESSEZ LA AU PRÉFET PAR EMAIL OU PAR FAX

Coordonnées de la préfecture de Gironde:
Fax du prefet: 05 56 90 64 76
Fax de la préfecture: 05 56 90 60 67

Tel: 05 56 90 60 60
dominique.schmitt@gironde.pref.gouv.fr
prefet@gironde.pref.gouv.fr
bernard.gonzalez@gironde.pref.gouv.fr
jean-marc.falcone@gironde.pref.gouv.fr

_________________________


Lettre type proposée

Monsieur le Préfet,

Je vous alerte de la situation de Ramzy interpellé en gare de Bordeaux le 16/06 et soumis à l'arrêté de reconduite à la frontière n° 093300548.

Il est actuellement retenu au centre de rétention administrative à Toulouse. Le tribunal administratif a confirmé la mesure. Il a formulé une demande d'asile. La décision devrait tomber sous 48hrs.

Cet homme de 31 ans est en France depuis 10 ans. Il travaille dans le bâtiment, un secteur en fort besoin de main-d'œuvre, comme vous le savez. Il vit à Saint Mandé dans le Val de Marne à Paris et il était venu se reposer chez un ami en Gironde. Cet homme est homosexuel et il peut vivre librement son homosexualité depuis qu'il est France. Il a pu ainsi se pacser avec un Français, l'homme qu'il aimait, avant que malheureusement ce dernier ne décède, il y a maintenant 3 ans.

Après 10 ans ici, tout s'écroule pour lui ... Il va devoir rentrer : pour faire quoi ? pour vivre quoi ?
En Tunisie, il va devoir recommencer à vivre sa "différence", son homosexualité, dans la clandestinité et devra accepter un mariage qu'il ne veut pas.

Est-ce que notre pays peut se satisfaire de renvoyer dans son pays d’origine un homme en sachant qu’il sera réduit à vivre dans la clandestinité par peur d’être persécuté si l’on apprenait la vérité, alors même qu’il vivait ici son homosexualité avec quiétude et liberté?

C'est pourquoi, je vous demande instamment, monsieur le Préfet, de bien vouloir accepter l'annulation de cette expulsion et d'envisager une régularisation à titre humanitaire du fait de ses 10 ans de présence.

Veuillez croire, Monsieur le Préfet, en notre plus haute considération.

~~~~~

Translation: French » English

Paris, 24/06/2009
Notice from the Association ARDHIS


the Ardhis was alerted Friday of the situation Ramzy (name changed), a young man of 31 years born in Tunisia arrested by the police station in Bordeaux. Placed in custody, he was transferred to the detention center of Toulouse. It is subject to an order of the prefect of escort to the border (number of APRF Gironde: 093300548) confirmed by the Administrative Tribunal of Toulouse. He has asked for asylum in an emergency procedure ... but it is very rare that refugee status is granted in detention.

When the decision to drop asylum (2 days), nothing would prevent his deportation ... except our mobilization.

The Pride March is next Saturday, then our efforts could pay!

Ramzy Ardhis had experienced in 2006 when he proposed a regulation that could not succeed.

Ramzy is a shy and quiet boy but very endearing. He grew up in Tataouine in a popular and very traditional. Paris for 10 years (arriving in France in August 1999), he has worked since his arrival to the building of SMEs.

Unfortunately Tunisiens until the last few days were excluded from regulation by the work of more discrimination as outlined in the Halde. The amendment to the bilateral Franco-Tunisian gazetted on 26 May this year has finally allowed his boss calls in his favor the approach of regularization in editor for this very popular metallic structures, a profession that remains under tension and open to the Tunisians.

For this discrimination to add another one.

Ramzy is gay. Her education has long led to conceal the difference. If his family knew it, deny it. Upon his arrival, he lived with his brother until it does not threaten to disclose to the family he was gay. Fortunately, Ramzy who established here and lasting friendships with André and Jean-Marc french friends, could be supported and assisted in its difficulties. 4 years ago, in 2005, Ramzy Brahim he meets falls in love very. With Brahim, he finally agreed to live a relationship with a man. They had even PACS. But in 2006, a colon cancer Brahim won in 6 months. Today, Ramzy lives in Andre. He had gone to rest in the Gironde near the sea with a friend ... Until the arrest.

After 10 years here, everything collapses for him ... It will have to return: To do what? How to live?

To start to live as a homosexual in hiding and be forced to accept a marriage he does not want?
Is it that France can be satisfied to refer to a country he left ten years ago, a man knowing that there will be reduced to live in hiding for fear of being persecuted if we learned the truth, then Just as it is here that he built his life as a man, his life and his emotional life, that finally he lived here with their differences peacefully and freedom?

Mobilisons WE WROTE THE PREFECT OF GIRONDE
MAKE A COPY-PASTE OF THE PROPOSED LETTER TO THE ADDRESS AND PREFECT BY EMAIL OR BY FAX

Details of the prefecture of Gironde:
Prefect Fax: 05 56 90 64 76
Prefecture fax: 05 56 90 60 67

Tel: 05 56 90 60 60
dominique.schmitt @ gironde.pref.gouv.fr
prefet@gironde.pref.gouv.fr
bernard.gonzalez @ gironde.pref.gouv.fr
jean-marc.falcone @ gironde.pref.gouv.fr

_________________________


Proposed Standard Letter

Mr. Prefect

I will alert you of the situation Ramzy stopped in the station of Bordeaux on 16/06 and subject to the order of deportation No. 093300548.

He is currently retained in administrative detention center in Toulouse. The tribunal upheld the measure. He made an asylum application. The decision should come within 48hrs.

This man is 31 years in France for 10 years. He works in construction, a sector in great need of labor, as you know. He lives in Saint Mandé in Val de Marne to Paris and came to rest at a friend in the Gironde. This man is gay and he can live freely as a homosexual since he is France. It was thus with a French pacs, the man he loved, before the latter unfortunately dies, there are now 3 years.

After 10 years here, everything collapses for him ... It will have to return: To do what? How to live?

In Tunisia, he will have to start living his "difference" as a homosexual in hiding and will have to accept a marriage he does not want.

Is our country can be satisfied to return to his country of origin a man knowing that it will be reduced to live in hiding for fear of being persecuted if we learned the truth, even though lived here peacefully with his homosexuality and freedom?

Therefore, I urge you, Mr. Prefect, to accept the annulment of the expulsion and to consider a regularization humanitarian because of its 10 year presence.

Please accept, Mr. Prefect, in our highest consideration.

You are Worth Nothing

Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr

By Joshua Kyalimpa

Kampala — Widespread gender-based violence against women and children in the conflict zones of the Great Lakes region has received some attention in recent years; less well-known is the extent of sexual violence against men.

A new documentary film shot in the Democratic Republic of Congo, northern Uganda and elsewhere in the region shows the extent of sexual violence against men.

"You are worth nothing. You are like women," says one of the male rape survivors in the film, recounting what government soldiers told him. "They would ask you to bend and remove your trousers and different soldiers would penetrate you through the anus."

"They put their penis wherever they could see an opening: in the ears, mouth, and the anus. By the time they were done I had sperm all over my body," another survivor of sexual abuse recounts.

Women and men alike are raped in conflict situations in order to dominate them physically and psychologically. Male survivors are humiliated in terms of socially-accepted sexual and gender roles.

Survivors in the film describe women being told to lie on top of their husbands while being assaulted by soldiers; of men raped in front of their wives to demonstrate their weakness vis-à-vis government soldiers.

Just as is the case for women, comprehensive statistics on the extent of sexual violence against men in the region is difficult to come by.

The Refugee Law Project of the Makerere University faculty of law provides counselling, documentation and advocacy on refugee issues towards better refugee policies in Uganda. Dr Chris Doran, director of the project, told IPS at the launch of the film in Kampala that at least three out of 10 male refugees reporting to the centre have been sexually abused.

Moses Chrispus Okello, the centre's head of research and advocacy, says many more men could be suffering in silence, fearing society may shun them if they speak out.

According to the Refugee Law Project, there are cases where police, rather than going after the perpetrators, have accused male survivors of rape of engaging in homosexual acts - outlawed in Uganda.

Women's rights activists Akina Mama wa Africa argue that gender inequality, inadequate laws and poor-or non-existent-enforcement contribute to the problem; inadequate statistics and funding mean support for survivors is limited. Men who suffer rape find themselves living in a woman's reality.

Dr Sylvia Tamale, former dean of the faculty of law at Makerere University and advisor to the RLP, says because the penal code does not recognise rape committed against men, perpetrators can only be charged with "indecent assault" which attracts much lighter punishment.

The documentary will be used to expose the realities of sexual assault against the men to governments in the region and the donor community.

The film-makers believe it should open up research into the issue and lead to a clearer understanding of sexual violence in the conflict-ridden Great Lakes region.

Source

Tradition of same gender marriage in Igboland (Nigeria)

By Leo Igwe

One of the contentious issues in the debate over homosexuality and same sex marriage is whether a marriage between persons of the same gender is totally alien to African culture and tradition. Those opposing same sex marriage have continued to argue that same gender union is foreign to Africa. On the contrary, I have tried to draw their attention to the fact that there is a strain of the same gender marriage in African tradition particularly in Igboland.

And that we should not rush to deny this, or pretend it does not exist or just sweep it under the carpet in the quest to establish that same gender marriage is alien to the African continent, and must be banned.

I hail from Mbaise in Imo State in Southern Nigeria. Traditionally, in my community, marriage is taken to be a union between a man and a woman as the case may be. But there are circumstances where a marriage between a woman and a woman is permissible.

In a situation where a woman has no son or no child, if the husband dies, it is culturally allowed for her to marry a wife. And in this case, she becomes the husband. Like in every case of marriage, this woman goes out, inquires and gets a wife of her choice. She pays her dowry and fulfills other traditional rites as it is done when a man is marrying a woman.

After that, the woman brings her “wife” home and they start living together as “husband” and “wife”. Nobody frowns at it. To have children -both the “woman- husband” and “woman- wife”- will agree to allow a man from the same village or neighbouring town to sleep with the wife.

And the children born by the wife bears the family name of the woman- husband, not that of the man responsible for the pregnancy. I want to add here that the man who sleeps with such wife in most cases are married men. And normally it is regarded as immoral, in fact it is a taboo for a married man to sleep with or “father” children from another woman. But in this case an act normally taken to be immoral is allowed.

This is a situation where people are permitted to break taboos and deviate from traditions. This marriage practice pre- dates Christianity and the so- called western culture which most people today blame for all the moral and cultural wrongs in Africa. The same gender marriage is still practised till date. In other words, there are some families today in Igboland where women are both husbands and wives, fathers and mothers.

There are some homes where woman- husbands are living happily with their woman- wives. Though there are not many of such families or marriages. Such unconventional marriages and families are in the minority. The fact is that they exist. The fact is that they are part of the local tradition and culture. They are not imports from the West. And this has in no way undermined social cohesion, public order and morality or family values.

Some people have tried to argue that this is not really a case of gender marriage because a man comes in to impregnate the wife. But, traditionally, it is the case and it is known as such. It is a case where a woman marries a woman.

The man who impregnates the wife does not come into the picture at all. He has no family responsibility. His duty is only to supply sperm. The family is responsible for the woman- husband and wife. Some say that same gender unions destroy family values and undermine the upbringing of children.

It should be emphasised that children in this case are brought up in an environment where both “parents” are females. And they grow up to be normal children. Some say because child bearing is involved, then it is not same gender marriage. But my response is this: whether for procreation or for pleasure, it is same gender marriage. And it is the couples, not the state that decides whether to marry for procreation and or for pleasure or for any other purpose they deem fit.

Unfortunately, most Nigerians think that same gender marriage is antithetical to procreation. It is not. In fact same gender unions as in this case enrich family values. There have been instances where a partner in a same gender relationship wants children, and goes ahead to have them.

Because of the secrecy, privacy and hypocrisy that go with sexual expression, no one can really say, if these female partners have or do not have sex with each other. But like all couples they live together and run their families. But today, things are changing.

Individuals are becoming more open, more assertive and expressive with their sexual and marriage choices, desires, orientations and identities. The sexual and marriage dynamics are changing rapidly. And Africans must make the necessary social, cultural and legal adjustments in response to- and to accommodate- these changes.

Igwe is the executive secretary of the Nigerian Humanist Movement.

Source

Amnesty International Refugee Day Rally

From Amnesty International's International Refugee Day Rally in London, in protest against Britain's asylum policy, in particular its practice of forced destitution for 'failed' asylum seekers.

More photos from Jason Alvey

Video from Simon Kimber.

Still Human, Still Here from Simon Kimber on Vimeo.

Groundbreaking Refugee Advocacy Organization Focuses On Refugees Fleeing Sexual & Gender Based Violence

San Francisco, CA - ORAM, a groundbreaking international refugee advocacy organization, announced its launch today. The Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration is the first non-governmental organization (NGO) to focus exclusively on refugees and asylum seekers fleeing sexual and gender based violence.

LGBT refugees often 'fall through the cracks' of the international refugee regime
They have escaped systematic hatred and violence at home, and their LGBT identity brings serious new threats to their safety and protection in countries of first asylum. Many live in a toxic mix of destitution and desperation.

The recent surge in homophobic violence in Iraq has shone a spotlight on the painful truths we're dealing with first-hand in the Middle East

LGBTs are the most persecuted people in many regions of the world today. For every reported execution, there are likely tens of judicially or family sanctioned murders, often in the name of honor.

ORAM provides free legal counsel for LGBT refugees in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), who have escaped violence, executions and "honor killings" in their home countries. Additionally, ORAM conducts wide-ranging international advocacy to advance the protection of all LGBT refugees and asylum seekers.

LGBTs often become "stuck" in their countries of first asylum, typically neighboring the places they have escaped harassment, violence, torture or death threats. With hostility toward LGBTs rampant in many areas, they are uniquely at risk, both in the countries they've escaped and in their "transit" countries.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton highlighted these facts in her statement earlier this month that "gays and lesbians in many parts of the world live under constant threat of arrest, violence, even torture." According to the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), homosexuality remains illegal in eighty-five countries and carries the death penalty in seven. Often lacking formal refugee protection, LGBT refugees are particularly at risk.

"LGBT refugees often 'fall through the cracks' of the international refugee regime," according to Neil Grungras, executive director of ORAM. "They have escaped systematic hatred and violence at home, and their LGBT identity brings serious new threats to their safety and protection in countries of first asylum. Many live in a toxic mix of destitution and desperation."

Grungras has more than twenty years experience working on behalf of vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers. He founded ORAM in January 2009 after serving as director for Europe & the Middle East at HIAS, a leading refugee and migration organization. Among his postings, he directed the U.S. Department of State Overseas Processing Entity (OPE) for Iranian refugees in Vienna, Austria.

Alongside its work helping individuals, ORAM also passionately advocates and educates on behalf of LGBT refugees as a group. Raising consciousness about their plight to governments, refugee organizations, communities and the media is critical in bringing desperately needed basic protection to this at-risk population.

The NGO hopes its community-based "Adopt a Refugee" program will create a grassroots network of inspired advocates for susceptible LGBT refugees. Supporting institutions can follow migrants and refugees through their trek to freedom, receiving case updates. Adopted refugees are invited to communicate with their sponsors, forming unique bonds of additional support.

ORAM has already assisted dozens of LGBTs who've escaped persecution and honor killings in the MENA region. Using communications technology to assist refugees in places where help was previously unavailable, the organization has been able to work with many LGBT refugees who have sought its help in existing project areas.

"The recent surge in homophobic violence in Iraq has shone a spotlight on the painful truths we're dealing with first-hand in the Middle East," said Grungras. "LGBTs are the most persecuted people in many regions of the world today. For every reported execution, there are likely tens of judicially or family sanctioned murders, often in the name of honor."

ORAM will co-publish its first report later this month on LGBT asylum seekers and refugees in Turkey. For more information, visit www.oraminternational.org.

Ugandan activist punished for transgender identity

By Elvira Cordileone

Grace and persistence under almost unendurable circumstances have earned Victor Juliet Mukasa a place at the head of this year's [Toronto] Pride parade.

Still, for someone who's been punished because of his gender identity, "a transperson," as the 33-year-old Ugandan calls himself, the prospect of serving as Pride Week's international grand marshal is scarey.

In an interview from Cape Town, where he is a researcher for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Mukasa sees irony in his situation. Although he promotes the rights of people like himself, only six years ago, he had no idea terminology existed to describe his gender identity.

Mukasa is biologically female. In Uganda, people expected him to act like one and, when he didn't (couldn't, he insists), his father and his school beat him for acting like a boy.

In a 2006 speech to the International Lesbian and Gay Association in Geneva, Mukasa lists some of the abuses transgender people face in Africa. They are:

"I became so desperate. I asked myself, `Why is this happening to me?' And I had an answer: `Because I am a lesbian and because of how I present myself,'" Mukasa says.

But he refused to bend and paid for it by becoming an outcast. His family shunned him, and today he lives in self-imposed exile.

Mukasa's activism began seven years ago when, after living in painful isolation, he met a group of lesbians and realized others suffered the same as he did.

Around that same time, he lost his job for refusing to wear skirts to work.

"I said to myself, `Where is the dignity? Where is the respect?' I think the only option some of us are left with is to fight for this to come to an end," he says.

In the next few years, Mukasa co-founded several rights organizations in Uganda and joined a long list of African-based and international groups working for human rights.

But in July 2005 his outspokenness brought Ugandan police to his home on the outskirts of Kampala. Without a warrant, they seized documents relating to the activities of the Sexual Minorities Uganda group he ran, and arrested Yvonne Oyoo, a guest in his house.

During the search, treatment of the pair bordered on indecent assault, according to a December 2008 International Federation for Human Rights newsletter.

Mukasa sued the government for the illegal search but was forced into deep hiding. A safe house became his prison from July 2005 to June 2006.

"It was miserable for me standing up against the government," he says. "My soul was broken. I felt a part of me was dead, except the fighting spirit for gay rights."

After almost a year in virtual isolation, friends helped him reach Johannesburg so he could "breathe some fresh air."

But Mukasa willingly went back to Uganda in May 2007 when his lawsuit began.

He had committed no crime, so the government had no cause to arrest him outright. Nevertheless, he feared for his life and went into hiding.

Forced to live like a criminal, even though he'd committed no crime, and depend on others for survival, he grasped the job opening in Cape Town as a lifeline.

"It was too much for me," he says. "I prayed. I'm a Christian and I prayed to God for this job."

Mukasa speaks of his work with pride. It makes him useful to others and earns him salary, so he no longer feels like a beggar.

The job also keeps him out of Uganda – for now, until things cool down for him there.

Source

Destitute and forgotten - the legacy of the UK's asylum rules

By Sara Ayech:

Refugee Week is a celebration of the contribution of refugees to our society, their courage and resilience, and everything they have done to make Britain the fantastic and culturally diverse place it is today. But in the midst of these celebrations we need to remember and stand up for a group of people who have been left out in the cold.

People who are refused asylum in the UK are given 21 days before they must leave their accommodation and all support for them is cut off. In the context of imminent homelessness they are expected to leave the UK immediately. However, many are from countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Zimbabwe, where there are ongoing conflicts and widespread, indiscriminate human rights abuses. Unsurprisingly, they are terrified of returning home. Others have physical or mental health problems, and many feel that they have not had adequate legal assistance in making their asylum case, so can have little faith in the decision that has been made.

As a result up to 300,000 refused asylum seekers remain in the UK, often homeless and destitute, relying on friends and charities for support, or forced into illegal and exploitative work such as prostitution, just to survive. As Rzgar, a Refugee Action caseworker in Liverpool says "sometimes clients receive help from the community and friends or family, however, these days - in the recession - there is little people can offer and frequently they are not able to provide support any more."

As you can imagine sleeping on the street frequently has a detrimental impact on both their physical and mental wellbeing. In his work Rzgar finds that "if they suffer from a medical condition it is easy to miss the times when medication should be taken or - with no address - there are difficulties in accessing their medication. Some clients are HIV positive and need to receive certain medication which must be stored in cool conditions - this is not possible if a client sleeps in the street."

Refugee Action, as part of the Still Human Still Here campaign, is fighting for an end to the current policy of destitution. We are calling for asylum seekers to be supported until they either receive refugee status or are able to return home, and for them to be allowed to work and have full access to healthcare.

To find out more watch our powerful film on You Tube, featuring interviews with long-term destitute asylum seekers.



Source

Bush State Department Ignored Iraqi Gay Murders

George W. Bush via last.fm

By Duncan Osborne

As concern over the killings of gay Iraqis grew in 2006 and 2007, the US Department of State appears to have done little more than develop media talking points and squabble over who at that agency should handle press interviews.

“[I]t is outrageous to see that by walking away from their responsibility to further investigate, document, and then ultimately discuss the human rights abuses with the Iraqi government, the US government missed a great opportunity to prevent the mass-scale attacks against LGBT community, which happened earlier this year in Iraq,” wrote Hossein Alizadeh, regional coordinator for Middle East and North Africa at the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), in an email.

Writing in Gay City News, Doug Ireland first broke the story in March of 2006 that Iraqi gays were being killed by death squads. Ireland and other gay press outlets continued covering the story in 2006 and into 2007, with the mainstream press offering occasional stories. The killings and the gay press reports on them have continued into 2009.

In September 2007 –– nearly two years ago –– Gay City News sent a Freedom of Information request to the State Department that sought all records “that relate to or identify homicides, assaults, or other violent acts committed against homosexual persons in Iraq.”

On May 26 of this year, the department responded, releasing two documents, totaling nine pages, that represent all the records that agency compiled from March 1, 2003, roughly the start of the Iraq War, through the date of the records request. No documents were withheld and only a small portion of the released documents was blacked out.

Two pages consist of a letter, dated March of 2007, from Senator Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican, to the department that forwarded an email from a constituent who was concerned about the killings.

The other seven pages are mostly internal emails –– three pages are a 2006 Washington Blade story on the killings –– with one from September 2006 and the rest from 2007.

The earliest State Department email was from a Larilyn Reffet, a staffer based in Baghdad, to other staff. Reffet noted that she had reached out to gay groups and received one initial response, but nothing more. It was not clear from her email if just Iraqi gay groups did not respond, or gay groups outside of Iraq also ignored her.

Contained in her email is the text of a 2006 letter that was sent to Paula Ettelbrick, then IGLHRC’s executive director, in response to a letter about the killings that Ettelbrick sent to the department. The department appeared to rebuff Ettelbrick in that letter.

“Our Embassy in Baghdad is interested in further dialogue on this issue with NGOs in Iraq,” wrote Victor Hurtado, a department staffer.

“NGOs in Iraq,” or non-governmental organizations, may be diplomat-speak for saying the department has no interest in talking to IGLHRC or other groups outside of Iraq.

Other emails show department staffers were concerned about mainstream press coverage and developed some talking points to respond to reporters. They noted when the department was not mentioned in such stories.

When Deb Price, a Detroit News columnist and an out lesbian, sought comment on the issue, staff had a minor tiff via email over who would talk to her.

Michael Petrelis, a longtime gay and AIDS and persistent critic of gay groups, faulted the State Department and gay groups.

“I am saying as an activist, IGLHRC had a responsibility to write back to Hurtado and say you should widen the circle of people you are willing to talk to,” he said. “They should have gone public with this. I don’t see the State Department alone as the problem. I see the NGOs in the US not engaging the gay public on these matters.”

Working with the Rainbow World Fund, a San Francisco-based relief agency, Petrelis and other activists recently raised $7,500 for gay Iraqi refugees. They will hold another fundraiser on June 19.

There is no evidence in the documents that the department ever discussed the killings with the Iraqi government. Alizadeh wrote that the documents showed the Bush administration stance –– “only making occasional vague comments about the high-level violence in that country (as an excuse not to pursue the issue further) when pressured by the media or NGOs (like IGLHRC).”

He added, “I hope President Obama’s State Department will not abandon Iraqi gay and lesbians. There is a lot we can do to prevent further violence against this most vulnerable group.”

At a June 10 press briefing this year, a State Department spokesperson said, “In general, we absolutely condemn acts of violence and human rights violations committed against individuals in Iraq because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This is an issue that we’ve been following very closely since we have been made aware of these allegations and we are aware of the allegations... This US Embassy in Baghdad has raised and will continue to raise the issue with senior officials from the government of Iraq and have urged them to respond appropriately to all credible reports of violence against gay and lesbian Iraqis.”

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International did not respond to requests for comment.

Gay City News sent to same records request to the Defense Department, which said it had no records, and the Defense Intelligence Agency, which has not completed its response.

Source

Video: Ordeals in Seeking U.S. Asylum

A report by American online journalist Nico Colombant and Kan Barber.

This mini-documentary profiles John, a gay man from Jamaica, and some of the people who have helped him.

Oakington Immigration Reception Centre: 'It's a living hell'

A HARROWING account of life inside Oakington Immigration Reception Centre has been told to the News by an asylum seeker.

The detainee, who declined to be named, said the people inside it are treated "as animals" and told how staff "use force" on them.

The immigrant said there was limited health care, "very poor food" and security problems at the centre, where immigration cases can take anything from "six months to two years" to tackle.

"Oakington is unsafe," warned the detainee.

"Something needs to be done."

The asylum seeker said there was another escape attempt on Saturday and a fight among 8-10 detainees in the TV room, when no staff were present.

"This happens generally 2-3 times a week," revealed the insider. "There are no staff sometimes to control or monitor detainees, leaving detainees alone to self-harm, commit or attempt to commit suicide.

"I have witnessed one in my block where a detainee tried to kill himself in the toilet before another detainee had to shout for help before he was later revived by medical staff."

The asylum seeker's comments follow a Parliamentary debate introduced by Labour MP Diane Abbott on Monday.

She reminded the Commons how an inquiry into conditions at the centre, conducted after a BBC Panora m a programme in 2005, found a "subculture of racism, casual violence and abuse".

She added: "Visiting the centre recently, I was shocked to find the very same G4 security manager who was in charge of Oakington at the time of the BBC documentary is still in place."

The MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington went on: "I am also concerned about the increasing use of force at Oakington. The prisons inspector found 53 uses of force since 2007, 34 of which had taken place in the first six months of 2008."

She warned that as it is unsafe to deport some of the individuals from Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, they are detained indefinitely. She said they are not "detained humanely" and the officers there were working in "stressful conditions".

Independent monitors of Oakington recently condemned the living conditions for the asylum seekers, illegal immigrants and ex-foreign national prisoners at the site, which is close to its 408 capacity.

The insider told the News it was as if they were "animals".

"The block room where detainees are housed is always filthy. The toilets are the worst place you want to visit because one is used by 11 people while the bath is used between 22. It is regularly out of action, leaving detainees sometimes fighting over toilet spaces. It's really appalling, nauseating and really unclean.

"There are no activities for detainees to participate in. The general atmosphere is always moody."

Dr Louise Pirouet, from the campaign group Cambridge Oakington Concern, said: "There has been a decline in respect for detainees. The prison inspectorate found people were being called by their numbers, rather than their names.

"There used to be quite friendly relations between staff and detainees, but that has disappeared with some, although not all, staff.

"They cannot close down this place down soon enough."

Phil Woolas, minister for Borders and Immigration, announced on Monday that the centre would close within the next two years. However, he said he was "satisfied that it provides a satisfactory level of service to detainees".

A UK Border Agency spokesman told the News: "We take any concerns about the welfare of our detainees extremely seriously. Our removal centres play a vital role in enforcing immigration rules and we are determined to make sure they are well run, safe and secure.

"We have been praised for the progress we have made. A recent report by the Independent Monitoring Board noted an improvement in the health care and facilities we provide for detainees."

Source

Finally: US State Dept condemns Iraqi gay pogrom

Image via Wikipedia

Ian Kelly
Department Spokesman
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
June 10, 2009


IRAQ
US condemns acts of violence and human rights violations against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity
Training for Iraqis security forces includes instruction on proper observance of human rights
The US Embassy will continue to raise the issue with senior Iraqi officials / Urged them to respond appropriately to all credible reports of violence against gay and lesbian Iraqis

QUESTION: Iraq if I can. The other week, Muqtada al-Sadr said that the depravity of homosexuality must be eradicated. And while he went on to say that he was not advocating violence, there obviously has been a lot of rather gruesome violence directed at gays and lesbians in Iraq. So I was wondering if State has any reaction to that.

And then off the back of that, is there any extra responsibility that the U.S. feels towards these groups who were, by their accounts, safer and more free to live their lives under Saddam?

MR. KELLY: Well, let me say that, in general, we absolutely condemn acts of violence and human rights violations committed against individuals in Iraq because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This is an issue that we’ve been following very closely since we have been made aware of these allegations, and we are aware of the allegations.

Our training for Iraqi security forces includes instruction on the proper observance of human rights. Human rights training is also a very important part of our and other international donors’ civilian capacity-building efforts in Iraq. And the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has raised and will continue to raise the issue with senior officials from the Government of Iraq, and has urged them to respond appropriately to all credible reports of violence against gay and lesbian Iraqis.

Other questions?

California lawmakers enmasse raise Iraqi gay pogrom with Obama, Clinton

Image via Wikipedia

June 2, 2009

The Honorable Barack Obama
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
The Honorable Barbara Boxer

Dear President Obama, Madame Secretary, Speaker Pelosi, Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer:

We are writing to urge you to call upon the government of Iraq to prevent the persecution of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and to protect the right of all Iraqi citizens to be free from all forms of cruel, inhumane or degrading punishment.

Deeply disturbing reports are emanating from Iraq with regard to the torture, beating and killing of LGBT people in that country. The increasing violence is being led by religious zealots who are targeting these individuals simply because of their sexual orientation. This year alone, 63 people have been tortured or killed as a result of religious decrees against gay citizens. A prominent Iraqi human rights activist has reported that Iraqi militia have deployed painful and degrading forms of torture and punishment against homosexuals that must be stopped.

The United States is spending trillions of dollars to fight a war that is based on bringing freedom and democracy to the Iraqi people. These unspeakable actions of violence on Iraqi citizens are in direct violation of our purpose for being in that country and of the stated policy of non-discrimination of the new administration.

Local police in Iraq have issued a statement that, "the extra-judicial killing of any citizen is a crime punishable by law. No one has the right to become a substitute for judicial authorities or executive authorities, and if there are complaints against individuals, there=2 0is law and there are police and there are government agencies. No group or class has the authority to punish people instead of the state." The violence occurring against LGBT Iraqis is in direct contradiction to this statement.

As one of the signatories to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Iraqi government has an obligation to protect the right to life (Article 6) and the right of all its citizens "to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" (Article 7). Current actions belie this obligation.

To protect the lives of LGBT Iraqis, we urge you to please take immediate action to stop the violence. We believe that a strong public condemnation of these actions must come from you and our other national leaders, along with the necessary pressure on the Iraqi government to protect the life and liberty of all its citizens.

Sincerely,

1. MARK LENO, Senator 3rd SD [letter organiser]
2. TOM AMMIANO, Assemblyman 13th AD
3. CHRISTINE KEHOE, Senator 39th SD
4. JOHN A. PÉREZ, Assemblyman 46th
5. JIM BEALL, Jr., Assemblyman 24th AD
6. JULIA BROWNLEY, Assemblywoman 41ST
7. SANDRÉ R. SWANSON, Assemblyman 16th AD
8. TOM TORLAKSON, Assemblyman 11th
9. MARTY BLOCK, Assemblyman 78th AD
10. MARIKO YAMADA, Assemblywoman 8th
11. 20 PEDRO NAVA, Assemblyman 35th AD
12. ANTHONY PORTANTINO, Assemblyman 44th
13. JERRY HILL, Assemblyman 19th AD
14. HECTOR DE LA TORRE, Assemblyman 50th AD
15. MIKE FEUER, Assemblyman 42nd AD
16. FELIPE FUENTES, Assemblyman 39th AD
17. CATHLEEN GALGIANI, Assemblywoman 17th AD
18. CURREN D. PRICE Jr., Assemblyman 51st AD
19. NORMA J. TORRES, Assemblywoman 61st AD
20. JOSEPH S. SIMITIAN, Senator 11th SD
21. ELAINE ALQUIST, Senator 13th SD
22. ALAN LOWENTHAL, Senator 27th SD
23. LELAND YEE, Senator 8th SD
24. GILBERT CEDILLO, Senator 22nd SD
25. JENNY OROPEZA, Senator 28th SD
26. GLORIA ROMERO, Senator 24th SD
27. GLORIA NEGRETE MCLEOD, Senator 32nd SD
28. LOU CORREA, Senator 34th SD
29. LONI HANCOCK, Senator 9th SD
30. LOIS WOLK, Senator 5th SD
31. PATRICIA WIGGINS, Senator 2nd SD
32. ELLEN CORBETT, Senator 10th SD
33. CAROL LIU, Senator 21st SD
34. FRAN PAVLEY, Senator 23rd SD
35. BONNIE LOWENTHAL, Assemblywoman 54th AD
36. WILLIAM W. MONNING, Assemblyman 27th AD
37. ISADORE HALL III, Assemblyman 52nd AD
38. MARY SALAS, Assemblywoman 79th AD
39. MIKE DAVIS, Assemblyman 48th AD
40. PAUL FONG, Assemblyman 22nd AD
41. WARREN T. FURUTANI, Assemblyma n 55th AD
42. JARED HUFFMAN, Assemblyman 6th AD
43. BOB BLUMENFIELD, Assemblyman 40th AD
44. ALEX PADILLA, Senator 20th SD
45. PAUL KREKORIAN, Assemblyman 43rd AD

Journal of Refugee Studies: Constructing the Personal Narratives of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Asylum Claimants

Journal of Refugee Studies 2009 22(2):195-223; doi:10.1093/jrs/fep010

Constructing the Personal Narratives of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Asylum Claimants
Laurie Berg and Jenni Millbank

Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway NSW 2007, Australia

laurie.berg@uts.edu.au, jenni.millbank@uts.edu.au

This article draws upon psychological and sociological literature to explore the issues that arise in eliciting and presenting a refugee narrative when the claim is based upon sexual orientation. Rigid notions of homosexual identity may consciously or subconsciously shape decision-makers’ approaches in this field.

First, we identify psycho-social issues of particular significance to lesbian, gay and bisexual claimants which may act as barriers to eliciting their narrative of self-identity, including: a reluctance to reveal group membership as the basis of a claim, the experience of passing or concealment strategies, the impact of shame and depression on memory, common experience of sexual assault, and sexualization of the identity narrative in the legal process.

Secondly, we explore factors which inhibit the reception of such narratives in the legal process. In particular we explore the psychological ‘stage model’ of sexual identity development and examine the pervasive impact this model has had upon decision-makers’ ‘pre-understanding’ of sexual identity development as a uniform and linear trajectory.

London Benefit gig for Iraqi LGBT

Next Wednesday June the 17th there will be a benefit gig at the Grosvenor in Stockwell. It is for the Iraqi LGBT UK group who are raising much needed cash to help shelter Iraqi LGBT activists from all kinds of bigoted repression including beating, torture and murder.

Line up is:
THE SUICIDAL BIRDS (holland)
PONYPACK (holland)
MONICA & THE EXPLOSION (sweden)
+DJs

The Suicidal Birds.
http://www.myspace.com/suicidalbirds
Ponypack.
http://www.myspace.com/ponypack
Monica and the Explosion.
http://www.myspace.com/monicaandtheexplosion

8pm till close. £4.00/£5.00 Wednesday June 17th
The Grosvenor
Sidney Road, Stockwell, London, SW9 OTP

Africa: Gay and lesbian voices in African blogosphere

by Haute Haiku

Homosexuality is perceived as a new phenomenon in Africa and a taboo. It is outlawed in many African countries. Many African leaders have condemned homosexuality as being un-African. The Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe once described gays as worse than dogs and pigs. Former Namibia's President, Sam Nujoma, once stated that “Homosexuals must be condemned and rejected in our society.”

Nigeria introduced a bill in 2007 banning same sex marriage. According to Rod 2.0 the bill is the most comprehensive homophobic legislation ever proposed in the world. Early this year homosexuals in Nigeria stormed the National Assembly seeking for legislation that will guarantee the protection.

Lifestyle, culture and religion have become the invisible fence to many homosexuals in Africa barring them from their freedom of sexual expression. A Kenyan blogger, Wilde Yearnings, was quite optimistic after US President Barack Obama officially declared June being a gay pride month and decriminalizing of homosexuality all over the world earlier this month. He posted Obama's speech on his blog:

My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world…NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.

Naughy Feeling commented on the post:

It is great our comrades in America are getting recognition. In our dear country we can't stick our necks in the sand and tell ourselves all will be well. The gigantous task ahead demands of us that we kid not ourselves of the responsibility ahead of us. It may require sacrifices but all for the greater good. May God bless LGBT kenya n give us strength for what is ahead. But hey, look on the bright side, we can still have fun at it.

But will culture, religion and lifestyle factors derail the decriminalisation of homosexuality in most African countries or will it be as Wilde Yearnings described “meanwhile in Kenya… The struggle continues…”?

It has been said that homosexuality is a lifestyle adapted by Africans from the West, SebaSpace a Ugandan blogger tries to points out that his “sexuality” and “him ” are one, that homosexuality cannot be a lifestyle because for him to be involved with someone it has to be sexually, emotionally and spiritually bringing the fact that homosexuality is a physiological function too.

SebaSpace has been on a constant war with an anti-gay blogger also from Uganda and the war is always revolving around religion, culture and lifestyle. This created a stir in the LGBT blogosphere and another gay Kenyan blogger wrotes a post to answer the three questions The Red Pepper had asked. The questions were:

1. If you try to drink water through the ear, you naturally spoil it because it was created by God to do the hearing function. That's physical harm.

2. when they discovered you were gay. You know very well how we love having grandchildren in Africa. Imagine what goes on in your parents' minds to know that you will never give them grandchildren (I am assuming that you a die-hard gay man but if you are bi, please forgive me). So that is emotional harm.

3. Spiritual harm. You tamper with God's plan of procreation. Understand that the main reason of creating the sexual organs was procreation purposes. For you in an attempt to be very creative, you put your organs at the disposal of pleasure only (I hope it is fun).If you have radical parents, they can start questioning God as to why he gave them such a child. I know parents of a gay boy who visited scores of witchdoctors thinking that their child had been bewitched. I can give you as many reasons as possible. I hope you are an objective gentleman who looks at things objectively.

With so much hate from all sides, will the African Leaders put their priorities in order from all the pressure by the UN, IMF and World Bank and speak out for the sexual minorities or will still hold them in this invisible cage?

His answers:

The Ugandan rag called Red Pepper has been engaging Afro gay, a fellow Gay blogger from Uganda in arguments regarding the situation on Homosexuality in Uganda. Follow this link to see the full post. Recently, the editor of red pepper wrote to Afro arguing that he (Afro) was causing Physical, emotional and Spiritual harm to his family by being gay.

I promised Afro that I will write my responses to the Editor on my blog and link back with him. I have taken their questions, edited without altering the message and I have responded to each question.

I tend to disagree with you when you say that homos have never done anybody physical, emotional or spiritual harm.

Without any prejudice I want to tell you that they are guilty of all the three accounts.

Count 1. If you try to drink water through the ear, you naturally spoil it because it was created by God to do the hearing function. That's physical harm.

Red pepper has made three elementary mistakes (assumptions) 1) The common one that homosexuality is equal to sodomy (their shallow analogy of the ear above) 2) Following number 1 above that sodomy is practiced only by homosexuals and 3) That all homosexuals engage in anal sex.

I will deal with the last one first. Is the paper saying they are ok with someone with homosexual orientation as long as they don’t engage in sex? Have they ever heard of celibate gay people and gay people who don’t engage in anal sex? Well, I have and know both types.

It's worth noting, that from the very beginning sodomy and homosexuality were two categorically separate things. The correct definition of sodomy–then and now–is simply non-procreative sex, whether practiced by heterosexuals or homosexuals. It includes oral sex, masturbation, mutual masturbation, contraceptive sex, coitus interruptus, and anal sex–any sex in which semen does not find its way into a uterus.

The anal sex thing is one elephant in the room, but it's not an inherent part of being gay, it isn't an activity engaged in exclusively by gay people.

SebaSpace refused to answer the questions from Red Pepper. He gives reasons for his refusal:

If you look at the e-mail below, the editor of the Red Pepper has valid questions he is asking and, ordinarily, I would answer them – indeed I have answered these questions over the years more times than I have had hot dinners.

The problem for me now is I don’t believe the people asking the questions are sincere. Rightly or wrongly, I think all they are looking for is material to feed their tabloid frenzy and so I have refused to provide the answers. That said, I think it would be okay for other bloggers to attempt to answer them on their blogs or wherever as they are legitimate.

Here is the e-mail I got from the Red Pepper and the questions they posed [heavily emended for clarity]

Thanks for the reply.

Well, you have not answered Phiona's question and I am sure she will maintain her opinion. I also have a feeling that you don't have an answer for it. The times I have interacted with you I have discovered that you are a clever man who cannot answer a question unless you are sure the answer is convincing.Again I tend to disagree with you when you say that homos have never done anybody physical, emotional or spiritual harm.

Without any prejudice I want to tell you that they are guilty of all the three accounts.

While gay and lesbian bloggers in Africa use blogs to express themselves freely, there are also anti gay bloggers targeting them. One of them, Blake, had a blog called Kenyans Against Gays before it was suspended for violating Blogger's Terms of Service. Kenyan Gay wrote about the suspension:

A couple of years ago, a dude called Blake started this blog and I think the first thing he did was to announce its launch on my blog. Over time, that blog grew with articles explaining why he felt he should take a position against us etc.

However, from propagating his position against homosexuality in recent times he moved to actually calling for gay people in Kenya to be killed. I have been alerted by a reader that the blog has been suspended whilst being investigated for possible blogger rules violation. I suspect it is because of his latest position that was quite militant.

I am a believer in freedom of expression and actually think that blog helped expose that there are some willing to propagate hate to get their point across. But I draw the line when someone advocates for homosexuals to be killed.

I think his blog served us more than it aimed to destroy us. This is because we have many Kenyan gay blogs and Blake used to visit all of them and in the comments section try to drive traffic to his site. If you followed links, you would find that very many of the comments were from people who attempted to engage him intellectually on gay issues. Unfortunately, there were those usual vile comments from both sides with most insults coming from him. He was a troll on my blog until I decided to ignore him.

When you visit Kenyans Against Gays blog you get the following message:

This blog is in violation of Blogger's Terms of Service and is open to authors only

However, Blake went on to start another blog using Wordpress.

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