Monday 26 September 2011

Voice of LGBT asylum seekers raised at Manchester Pride


By Alice Nicolay

On Saturday 27 August, Freedom from Torture joined Manchester Pride Parade for the first time ever!

Teaming up with the Lesbian Immigration Support Group (LISG), we joined the Parade in celebrating Manchester Pride’s 21st birthday as well as giving a voice to asylum seekers and refugees who do not have the freedom to express their sexual identity in their own country. We joined Pride to highlight that many asylum seekers are still at risk of persecution if returned to their countries because of their sexual identity.
Over 30 Freedom from Torture and Lesbian Immigration Support Group supporters joined us to highlight the difficulties faced by LGBT asylum seekers coming into the UK.

We marched with banners in hand and chants including ‘Free Sexuality, Stop the Brutality’ and ‘There’s no excuse, for human rights abuse.’ We even got some of the crowd to chant along with us!

It was a great day for all of us, the sun even came out at the last minute, and we are already putting our heads together to come up with ideas for next year’s Parade.
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