Video: New musical looks at asylum seeker struggle in America

Source: VillageTheatre1



Source: Bellevue Reporter

By Garrielle Nomura

Desperation, longing and full musical theater belting rocked the house, as actors performed "Take me America" at Village Theatre opening night, Sept. 14.

The name of the musical was also the the cry for help uttered by seven of the characters in the show, refugees who had come to the U.S. from all over the world, including Algeria, Darfur, China, El Salvador, Haiti and Palestine.

Those seven actors grappled with an added challenge of singing and acting with accents from their character's respective homelands. Whereas Aaron Finley, Dennis Batemen and (a hilarious performance by) Leslie Law, played the U.S. officials who determined whether they would stay or go.

Standout acting included Ben Gonio, who played a Chinese poet fleeing persecution under Communist China. Gonio's dramatic performance was gripping as he recounted atrocities he suffered in prison. On the other hand, performer Diana Huey, who played his wife, sparkled with an impressive vocal range and tenderness in her duets with Gonio.

In many cases, the characters in the musical were fleeing from certain death, such as Malith, a Dinka from Darfur, played by Ekello Harrid Jr.

More immediate than immigration, asylum requires people to prove they are fleeing from harm's way in their homeland.

In reality, this life-and-death situation happens everyday in the U.S.

"Take Me America" writer and lyricist Bill Nabel was inspired by the PBS documentary "Well Founded Fear," where filmmakers Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson enter the closed corridors of the Immigration and Naturalization Services. The film reveals a stark, haunting true story where human rights and American ideals collide with the nearly impossible task of trying to know the truth.

Some refugees seeking asylum lie about their reasons for wanting to come to the U.S.

That was touched on in Nabel's show with the character Jean, a Haitian refugee played by J. Reese. Jean lied about his reasons for seeking asylum, because no one will believe that he is actually a gay man.

This brings up another success of "Take Me America" – it's ability to entertain, while still presenting a serious topic. It's a musical that both excites, and wrenches the heart.

While Jean's story of being discriminated against for his sexual orientation was somber, the song "Not Gay Enough" was upbeat and humorous, depicting the various lengths Jean went to "look the part" for the U.S. bureaucrats, including dressing in drag and throwing glitter.

Finally, the show closed with projections of Lady Liberty over the simple, yet versatile set (a series of file cabinets) as refugees once again cried out the show's signature phrase.

Hearing these desperate cries, to be taken or rescued by America, was a reminder to audience members of their own freedoms in the U.S. As Nabel had hoped, the show redefined conventional notions of the American experience with both poignancy and a powerful delivery.

Take Me America runs now until Nov. 20 at Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah. For more information, go to www.villagetheatre.org or call the box office at 425-392-2202.

Related articles

• Are asylum seekers lying when their testimony is inconsistent? A personal story (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

In Haiti, the United Nations finally pledges protections for LGBT

Rafael Renold, SEROvie Peer Educator providing HIV Prevention Counseling and Training at the SARTHE Displaced Persons Camp

By Paul Canning

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has won an important comittment for Haitian gay and HIV+ people, its Executive Director, Cary Alan Johnson, has said.

Johnson said that Nigel Fisher, humanitarian coordinator for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti has "pledged to help elevate the voices" of LGBT and HIV-Positive Haitians, "so their demands are met in the rebuilding process."

Fisher was speaking to hundreds of AIDS policy experts at the North American Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit, 22 September.

“People living with or affected by HIV and AIDS, or gay and transgender minorities, they are still left out in the cold,” said Fisher.

“So I can say to the summit organizers: You’ve already done two things in bringing me here. One, you’ve raised my awareness by inviting me. But, two, you’ve allowed me to meet with . . . Haitian advocates here. And we’ve already come up with some ideas about how we can work together once we return to Haiti.”

Following the January 2010 earthquake rhetoric blamed LGBT people for bringing the “wrath of God upon Haiti.”

IGLHRC worked with SEROvie, Haiti’s men who have sex with men (MSM) Community Organisation, extensively in the months after the earthquake to document the secrecy, isolation, discrimination and violence that Haiti’s already vulnerable LGBT population was facing. With them they produced a report titled 'The Impact of the Earthquake, and Relief and Recovery programs on Haitian LGBT People', which proposed guidelines for the UN, governments, civil society organizations, and human rights groups to protect the human rights of LGBT people in disaster situations.

In March last year Johnson wrote of a visit to Haiti:

"Many in this community have been left without food, shelter or identification—and more still have lost close family members and friends. SEROvie has distributed food and medication to LGBT people in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s devastated capital, and have begun to re-launch their important work in 5 regions (Le Nord, L’Ouest, Le Sud-Est, Artibonite, le Sud) around the country. They are also trying to help LGBT people in the makeshift camps for the displaced in Port-au-Prince, distributing condoms and lubricant (some of which was provided by Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) ) and by offering encouragement and understanding to a marginalized group of people that, in the span of 37 seconds, was rendered substantially more vulnerable."

In March this year, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) held a thematic hearing on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Haiti.” [See video of the hearing] Petitioners in the hearing included the IGLHRC and SEROvie.

Said Johnson of Fisher's pledge:

"We are happy to see this important pledge of support from the UN. As a supporter of our organization, I wanted to share with you this example of the real impact of our work and of your support."

Related articles

• Video: In Haiti, LGBT ignored post-earthquake (madikazemi.blogspot.com) 
• LGBT in Haiti, Three Months After the Quake (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

   

   

Video: In Haiti, LGBT ignored post-earthquake

Source: The Human Rights Brief

By Mina Trudeau

• Commissioners: Dinah Shelton, Luz Patricia Mejía Guerrero, Rodrigo Escobar Gil.
• Petitioner: International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission
• State: State of Haiti

Update: The January 2010 earthquake in Haiti resulted in the deaths and injuries of 300,000 Haitians, and more than a million Haitians were left without shelter. The quake hit already-vulnerable communities, such as those living in poverty, especially hard. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are amongst the most vulnerable in Haiti, but their situation has been largely unrecognized and unaddressed in the aftermath of the disaster.

During its 141th period of sessions, on March 25, 2011, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) held a thematic hearing on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Haiti.” Petitioners in the hearing included the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and SEROvie, a Haitian community organization addressing the concerns of sexual minorities, HIV-positive people, and their families, and the Respondent state of Haiti. IACHR President Dinah Shelton presided over the hearing, with Commissioner Luz Patricia Mejía Guerrero and Commissioner Rodrigo Escobar Gil.

Petitioners raise concerns regarding specific post-earthquake impacts on LGBT Haitians.

Read more »

In Haiti, LGBT ignored post-earthquake

Image via Wikipedia

Source: International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission

Violence and discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people has increased since the January 2010 earthquake, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and SEROvie said in a briefing paper issued today. The paper, The Impact of the Earthquake, and Relief and Recovery Programs on Haitian LGBT People (PDF), documents anti-LGBT human rights violations that have occurred since the earthquake.

“UN Agencies, private organizations, and governments must recognize the horrible impact of the Haiti disaster on LGBT people,” said Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC’s Executive Director. “While the needs of some marginalized groups are at least acknowledged, LGBT people are completely ignored.”

Perhaps most shocking, conservative religious leaders in Haiti even blame LGBT for the earthquake, leading to increased stigma and violence.

“In the days and weeks after the earthquake, we were shouted at in the streets…you gay people, take your sin and go, you are responsible for this tragedy’” said Reginal Dupont, Program Manager at SEROvie. “Many masisi were attacked, verbally and physically.”

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LGBT in Haiti, Three Months After the Quake

Source: International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission

By Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC Executive Director

In the fall of 2009, I traveled to Haiti to get a better understanding of emerging LGBT communities, the impact of HIV on men who have sex with men (MSM), and how LGBT were responding to the HIV crisis. At the time, I met some talented, committed individuals, who were mainly working in the context of the HIV prevention, treatment and care sector, but were also steadily carving out a space for the promotion and protection of a broad set of human rights for LGBT people.

It has only been three months since the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake of January 12, 2010, and I have returned to Haiti, along with Marcelo Ferreyra, IGLHRC’s Latin America and Caribbean coordinator, and researcher Samara Fox. This week we will be interviewing LGBT Haitians, relief workers, and human rights activists to learn more about how the earthquake and the recovery efforts are impacting LGBT lives.

Our findings will help us understand the specific difficulties that LGBT people face in the wake of massive disasters and upheaval so we can make our partnerships as useful as possible when working with organizations such as SEROvie and its members in Haiti, and LGBT communities elsewhere in the wake of catastrophes.

Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC at the SEROvie offices

Stepping into the courtyard of the offices of SEROvie, the only organization in Haiti working exclusively with gay and bisexual men and transgender women, is a shocking experience. The bright, spacious office that I had visited only 7 months ago has been reduced to its foundations. The one room left standing is the office of Program Director Reginald DuPont, a composed young man with a reassuring voice, who oversees SEROvie’s counseling and outreach programs. Fourteen SEROvie members were killed on the day of the earthquake; seven in the collapse of the office. Reginald pulled many of the dead and dying from the rubble himself.

Read more »