Bradford Wells and Anthony John Makk, together 19 years and married
since 2004, had been living under the threat of Makk's imminent
deportation to his native Australia.
But they received at least a two-year reprieve this week from U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services thanks to intervention from House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and state Sen.
Mark Leno.
Added Wells: 'I’m relieved, really excited and relieved. I am so
grateful I don’t have to worry about Anthony being taken out of the
country.'
The couple, who live in San Francisco's Castro District, were
especially desperate not to be separated because Wells is suffering from
illnesses related to AIDS and it is Makk who is his primary caregiver.
Pelosi gave the good news to the couple herself this week and issued
the following statement: 'The positive resolution of Anthony’s
immigration petition is a personal victory for Bradford and Anthony, and
keeps this loving couple together.'
Makk has been in the U.S. legally but had run out of extensions on his
visa. The two-year reprieve can be renewed, according to Immigration
Equality, the advocacy group that championed the case.
Working in the couple's favor for future reprieves are new federal
guidelines in these types of cases that take into account such factors
as being a primary caregiver, a lack of criminal record, family ties,
and a long period of living in the U.S. legally.
Wells and Makk married in Massachusetts in 2004 and the Australian
native applied for a green card based on his marriage to a citizen. But
his application was denied due to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
passed in 1996 which bars same-sex couples from all federal marital
rights.
The U.S. Justice Department announced last year that it would no longer
defend DOMA in court but the law has not been officially repealed.
UPDATE: Chris Geidner reports that this case is more complicated than has been reported:
"The couple has not lost its battle, as the administrative decision is just that – an agency decision – and can be appealed to a point where an adversarial process could allow discretion more easily to be employed. And, though the article states that the Obama administration ''ordered the expulsion of a man who is the primary caregiver to his AIDS-afflicted spouse,'' there was no removal order issued in the case and, therefore, no immediate threat of deportation."
The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that the Obama administration is enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act by denying immigration benefits to a same sex couple married seven years ago in Massachusetts.
Bradford Wells is the U.S. citizen spouse, and his husband, Anthony John Makk, is a citizen of Australia. Mr. Wells filed a Form I-130 Immigration Petition for Alien Relative, which was denied by the administration on July 26. Mr. Wells has AIDS, and relies on his husband as his primary caregiver.
The Chronicle has further reported that Mr. Makk has been ordered removed from the United States, and is required to depart by August 25. I am not sure that this information is accurate, however, because it is unclear whether immigration court proceedings had already been instituted prior to the denial of the I-130. If I am able to get more information to clarify this point I will post an update.
So what does this tell us? It has become abundantly clear that this President and his administration are in fact adhering to the mandate of the Defense of Marriage Act, despite the fact that they have said otherwise.
Matthew L. Kolken, Esq. is a trial lawyer with experience in all aspects of United States Immigration Law – including Immigration Courts throughout the United States, and appellate practice before the Board of Immigration Appeals, the U.S. District Courts, and U.S. Courts of Appeals.
A personal account of a mans experience of the Queen Boat police raid on the early morning of May 11, 2001, Cairo, Egypt:
I had a rough day and I really felt like going out. I called up a friend of mine to see if he would like to go out with me to the “Queen Boat” – a boat that is docked on the bank of the Nile River off the Island of Zamalek, opposite of the Marriot hotel. My friend said that he was tired and in no mood to go out. He suggested that his house mate and our mutual friend go out with me instead because he had had a really bad day.
Our friend Fadi was fired from his job simply for being Christian and could not do anything about it. Fadi was reluctant at first but I kept pestering him until he agreed to go out with me. We agreed that we will meet there, outside the boat.
I finished up getting ready and then took a cab to the boat. Fadi was waiting for me, it was a little before midnight. We greeted each other with the usual kiss on each check. We walked across the path way from the sidewalk to the docked boat.
The boat had 3 levels, the club was at the bottom level. We went down the stairs, paid at the entrance and entered the club. Music was blaring, some people were dancing, others were at the bar. As we walked to our seats I remember thinking that it was unusually empty. Usually there would be a lot more men at this hour on a Thursday night. I didn’t think much of it and continued walking to our seats.
The PARSA Community Foundation, an American based Persian community foundation, has made a major grant donation to aid LGBTI Iranian refugees.
PARSA has given a $100,000 grant to the Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration (ORAM) to help in three key areas over the next two years:
Legal representation in Turkey,
direct and emergency assistance in Turkey, and
resettlement in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Through this program the Iranian LGBTI asylum seekers in Turkey will receive counseling and legal representation. Individuals with exceptional and urgent needs awaiting adjudication will receive clothing, utilities, food, and medical care. The SF Bay Area pilot resettlement program will provide language and vocational training, housing and carrier assistance, community orientation, and trauma counseling. ORAM publishes reports on the issues LGBTI asylum seeker have to deal with in order to raise awareness and build long term programs.
PARSA say:
"[We] recognizes the urgent humanitarian issues that Iranian LGBTI community members who seek refugee and asylum status have to deal with. Due to cultural, religious, and government sensitivities many members of this minority group travel to Turkey and have to live under very hard conditions while trying to immigrate to another part of the world. ORAM has been helping Iranian LGBTI refugees both in Turkey and in the US. They deal with many different issues, from assistance for food, housing, and emergency medical care, to legal representation and resettlement process."
Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration (ORAM) is beginning a resettlement program helping LGBTI refugees start a new life in the San Francisco Bay Area and are calling for volunteers to help.
The aim of the resettlement program is to offer these refugees a new life in San Francisco and to assist them through the first challenging months, enabling them to thrive in their newly adopted home. Refugees resettled to the U.S. are entitled to work, and therefore a crucial part of the program is to find them employment and affordable housing.
They say:
We have our first refugee arriving in a few weeks and we especially need help finding suitable low-cost accommodation. Please email us at info@oraminternational.org if you think you might be able to help.
Source: Bay Area Reporter
By Matthew S. Bajko
A little known agency founded two years ago in San Francisco is helping to shine a spotlight on the plight of LGBT refugees around the globe who are fleeing persecution in their home countries.
The Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration, called ORAM for short, is the brainchild of Neil Grungras, an openly gay lawyer who specializes in immigration and refuge law whose career has included stints with the State Department and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
Since founding ORAM in 2008, Grungras has devoted himself full time to growing the nonprofit. He oversees its program in Turkey for LGBT Iranians seeking to immigrate to Western countries and lobbies United Nations officials in Geneva about the needs of LGBT asylum seekers and refugees from around the globe.
"No one had touched on the issues of LGBT refugees, period, from a legal perspective. No one had confronted the reason why the international system does not protect LGBT refugees," said Grungras when asked why he started ORAM in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter .
As we reported on Saturday, fears that the two detained LGBT rights workers would be tortured have unfortunately proved correct.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said yesterday that Ellen Chademana and Ignatius Muhambi, who work for Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), have been beaten and tortured in police custody.
GALZ has suggested that this is a backlash from their participation in the constitutional review process.
Edited to add: See South African Mail & Guardian analysis at end - Is the crackdown about Zanu-PF baiting Tsvangari and his party?
The warrant to raid GALZ last week was issued by Chief Superintendent Peter Magwenzi who has been implicated in the torture of civil society activists.
David Hofisi and Dzimbabwe Chimbga, the lawyers representing the two employees Ellen Chademana and Ignatius Mhambi told Harare Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi that their clients were tortured during their detention in police cells and asked for an investigation into the alleged torture.
Mhambi alleged that police used empty soft drinks bottles to assault him on his knees and forced him to “sit” in a position without a chair or any other tool for a long period. Chademana said the police also forced her to undertake the same action for a long period.
Both detainees allege that they were subjected to assaults all over their bodies.
Magistrate Mutevedzi initially ordered the police to surrender the two GALZ employees to Harare Remand Prison. However the police indicated that they would not be able to transfer the duo, forcing Magistrate Mutevedzi to publicly caution the police to only detain the two employees in police cells and not to torture or assault them whilst in cells until Thursday morning when they are supposed to be brought to court for the finalization of the bail application.
Meanwhile High Court Judge, Justice Joseph Musakwa will on Thursday 27 May at 14:15hrs preside over an Urgent Chamber Application filed by Chademana and Mhambi’s lawyers seeking their release. In their application the lawyers have requested the Officer in Charge of CID Drugs, only identified as Chibvuma, and Detective Inspector Gomo to release the two GALZ employees from the custody of the police because their arrest and detention is unlawful.
The lawyers argue that the arrest and detention of the two GALZ employees is now beyond the statutory 48 hour period provided for by Section 32 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (Chapter 9:07).
The Urgent Chamber Application was filed at the High Court in Harare on Tuesday 25 May 2010 at 13:00hrs. The Duty Judge, Justice Lavender Makoni, after asking the clerk to read the Certificate of Urgency to her over the telephone, stated that the matter “could wait” until the following day. It was following this delay that police unlawfully removed Chademana and Mhambi from their police holding cell and subjected them to the assaults described above, which amount to torture under the Constitution of Zimbabwe and various regional and international instruments to which Zimbabwe has become a voluntary State Party.
The concerns were raised in a letter to the Judge President, Justice George Chiweshe, and by way of a Supplementary Affidavit filed in the High Court by the detainees’ lawyer, Dzimbabwe Chimbga. An urgent set-down of the matter for today was requested in light of the safety and security concerns; however the High Court saw it fit to delay the matter further, to Thursday afternoon.
In what appears to be a major attack on organised LGBT Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum reports that the police have raided the house of Chesterfield Samba, the Director of GALZ.
They said:
Five police officers from the Zimbabwe Republic Police searched the house and confiscated Mr. Samba’s birth certificate, passport photo, magazines and business cards. Mr. Samba was not present during the ordeal, but the family members there report that the police asked for his whereabouts and when he will return.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (the Forum) condemns this conduct by the police in the strongest terms. The conduct of the police is unwarranted and is testament of the levels of intolerance within the police force and our government. Further the Forum questions the independence of the police in executing what clearly are political instructions against the gay and lesbian community in Zimbabwe.
The Forum reiterates its calls to all civil society organisations to stand in support of GALZ as fellow comrades in the struggle for human rights, being mindful of the fact that such repression can easily happen to any organisation fighting impunity in this country.
The Associated Press has reported that the charges against Chademana and Muhambi are under Zimbabwe's censorship law - not for possessing drugs and pornographic material as reported elsewhere. The lawyer, David Hofisi, from ZLHR, said they were charged with undermining Mugabe by allegedly displaying a plaque in their office showing former San Francisco Mayor Willie Lewis Brown Jr denouncing the President’s homophobia.
We reported yesterday that confirmation has finally come that Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangari's opposition MDC-T party has abandoned the move for some legal protections for that country's LGBT community, proposed during the constitutional review process.
We believe the pair are being victimised as a direct result of GALZ making a submission to the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (COPAC), despite the call for submissions for this process. We ask the question, is government asking for participation so as to clamp down on individuals and organisations that contribute to the process?
Despite Mugabe’s rhetoric, arrests of gays have been rare and the raids appear to be an attempt by Zanu-PF to bait the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which has no coherent position on gay rights. Zanu-PF could be looking to put Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on the spot - he cannot condemn the arrests without being seen as supporting gay rights, which are strongly opposed by his supporters. But he cannot support the arrests as this will anger his civil society allies and Western supporters, who want an end to years of restrictions on personal freedom under Mugabe.
In March, while jointly addressing a Women’s Day rally with Mugabe, Tsvangirai backed Mugabe’s stance on gays. “I have heard President Mugabe speak about men who breathe into other men’s ears,” Tsvangirai said, to cheers and laughter. “I too disagree. Why would a man look for another man? There are more women than men anyway.”
But, reflecting the MDC’s unclear position, days later an official in Tsvangirai’s office told reporters the prime minister had only been expressing his personal views and not those of his party.
Police on Monday slapped two members of the Gays and Lesbians Association of Zimbabwe (GALZ) with a new charge of undermining the authority of President Robert Mugabe, one of their lawyers said last night.
The GALZ members, Ellen Chademana and Ignatius Muhambi, were arrested last Friday by police who stormed the organisation’s Harare offices claiming they were looking for dangerous drugs and pornographic material.
The lawyer, David Hofisi, said in addition to formally charging the GALZ employees with possessing drugs and pornographic material [LGBT ASYLUM NEWS note: The AP says they were charged under the censorship law], the police had also charged the two with undermining Mugabe by allegedly displaying a plaque in their office showing former San Francisco Mayor Willie Lewis Brown Jr denouncing the President’s homophobia.
“They have now been formally charged and a fresh charge of undermining President Mugabe has now been added,” said Hofisi, who is from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) that is helping defend the two GALZ workers.
According to Hofisi the two were likely to appear in court tomorrow after today’s Africa Day holiday.
Mugabe is know for his dislike for gay and lesbian people who has described as “worse than dogs and pigs” and Mugabe’s supporters and government agencies have fought to keep homosexual people away from the public view most notably by barring them from participating at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair.
Earlier this Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai publicly spoke out against homosexuality and said an exercise underway to write a new constitution for Zimbabwe should not be used to smuggle the rights of gay and lesbian people into the country’s fundamental law.
In a sign that the anti-homosexual tendency is probably common across the region, a Malawian judge last week sentenced a gay couple Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza to a maximum of 14 years in prison with hard labor under that country’s anti-gay legislation.
Thanks to all Out4Immigration members who rallied in DC over the weekend as part of the Reform Immigration for America (RIFA) march and in San Francisco yesterday, with a march through downtown to Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office. Thanks in large part to the actions of Todd Fernandez (second from left in the photo) in organizing an 11th hour phone bank to the Center for Community Change (CCC) on Friday afternoon, a same-sex binational couple was given a speaking slot at the DC rally.
Until Todd put out the word to our members and allies – there were no plans for an LGBT voice among the more than 200,000 immigrant rights’ activists who descended on Washington (although there were plenty of us in the crowd - those pictured with Todd, including Donald Hitchcock from ACT On Principles, second from right, wore face masks to protest our silence). It is essential that whenever there is a rally for immigrant rights and comprehensive immigration reform in the coming weeks that we come out and demand our families are included in this battle.
Comprehensive immigration reform is not “comprehensive” unless it includes everyone affected by the broken immigration system. This includes same-sex binational couples, LGBT Americans with foreign partners who are denied the same rights as our heterosexual counterparts to sponsor our partners for a green card.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, we are welcomed into the immigrant rights’ fold, thanks in large part to Amos Lim. From the very early days of the battle for same-sex binational couple immigration rights, Amos worked from the ground up to build coalitions with other immigrant rights' groups. He saw the fight for the passage of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) as two-fold: the bill could pass as a stand-alone, or someday it could be included as part of a much larger immigration overhaul that the United States so desperately needs. When the Bay Area needs someone to talk about our families – there is only one call they make: Amos Lim from Out4Immigration.
Amos’s speech (see text) was well-received by the crowd of 1,500. It was interrupted by applause several times. “I feel the immigrant community here is finally understanding that we are affected, too. They understand that when we talk about family, our family is no different from theirs, and we should not be discriminated against.” Afterward, Amos was approached by many of the marchers who want to tell him we have their support and to thank him for speaking out.
Chris Barnett is another Out4Immigration member who traveled at his own expense to Washington DC last weekend to rally for our rights. He joined up with a small group of other same-sex binational couples who were holding a vigil at the Washington Monument, passing out stickers and fliers, and holding up photos of their partners who they are currently separated from due to our broken immigration system.
On Monday, Chris followed up on a recent Bay Area meeting O4I had with Senator Feinstein’s staff and met with her DC staff. It has been a relentless goal of O4I to get Sen. Feinstein to co-sponsor UAFA. We have been told by her staff that she supports CIR and would prefer to see a bill that reforms the whole system rather than piecemeal legislation. This is good news – but it doesn’t stop us from continuing to ask the senior Senator from the most populous state to stand up for her same-sex binational constituents.
So – again, a big thanks to those mentioned above for stepping up representing all of us. We hope this post inspires you to take a lead in the coming weeks as CIR moves to the center of the national stage. In San Francisco, we owe special thanks to Erik Schnabel for organizing for O4I to have a presence yesterday and Martha McDevitt-Pugh from Love Exiles, who came home from The Netherlands to be at the march. Thanks also go to the sponsors of the march and rally, including Reform Immigration for America, SIREN, CCISCO, BOCA, PIA, SEIU, UFCW Local 5, Dolores Street Community Services, Asian Law Caucus, EBASE, ICIR, and Padres Unidos.
Queer demonstration for human rights and LGBTI *- in Honduras.
4 pm In front of the Foreign Office, Werderscher 1 then to FDP party headquarters
(following the rally of the Honduras Cordination at 3pm)
Kidnapping, arrest and the murder of human rights activists increased since the military coup in Honduras. Among them was Walter Tróchez, who was shot from a vehicle and later died in the hospital on December 13 2009. Tróchez was a victim of harassment and death threats prior to his murder. One such case occurred on July 20th 2009, which he was beaten up by police while in custody, and insulted about his sexual orientation after he attended a human rights rally against the military coup. Tróchez lead the fight for legal protection for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, trans and intersex as well dedicated himself for education about HIV and AIDS.
He took a stand against the killing of many transgender people and gay men since the military coup. Although the situation for LGBTI in Honduras was dire, it became life-threatening after the coup. Everyday life became brutal through increased military presence and increased power for right-wing political groups and religious fundamentalist. The crimes committed since the military coup, some sanctioned by national institutions through the police and military will go unpenalized and receive amnesty. The perpetrator will go free.
The de facto government will go into office on January 27th with their “President” Porfirio Lobo. We fear the recognition of Lobos by the German federal government. We carry the torch of Walter Tróchez and hope that our actions will help our LGBTI friends in Honduras.
Today was inauguration day in Honduras, and Porfirio Lobo was sworn in as the country's new President. To mark the occasion, gay and democracy advocates took to the street in solidarity with Hondurans. For two-hours this morning, 14 activists staged two vigils at the Honduran consulate in San Francisco's historic Flood Building on Market Street.
The first vigil took place first, when five gay and HIV/AIDS activists went to the consulate's office, only to find it closed for the special day. We spent half an hour in the hallway, talking with people from other offices on the 8th floor. We snapped a few pics and thought to leave a message for the workers, when they return tomorrow.
Our signs with Walter Trochez's visage were taped to the consulate's door, and a few were slipped under it. A small way to express our concern for the gay citizens of Honduras, especially those who've been murdered, and for the full protections of human rights protocols for all Hondurans.
The remainder of the morning was spent engaged in a vigil and flyer-distribution in front of the office building housing the consulate. Members of the Bay Area Latin American Solidarity Coalition, BALASC, including several seniors born in Honduras whose families have suffered harms by rightwing forces over the years. Click here to learn more about the orgs that comprise BALASC, and its multi-faceted political agenda.
This Saturday, January 30, starting at 4 pm, BALASC is holding a town hall meeting with Jose Luis Baquedano, an Honduran labor and political leader active in anti-coup efforts. That meeting is at the Center for Political Education, located at 522 Valencia Street, between 16th and 17th Streets. Stop by to learn more about pro-gay and pro-democracy forces in Honduras.
And big thanks to all the wonderful folks who came out today, on just two-days' notice, to stand in solidarity with gay people in Honduras, and that nation's democracy.
The first set of shots, courtesy of Lou Ann Prosack, were taken early on in the afternoon protest. More from the 8-9am protest soon to come. Also, there are tons more pics from the incredible Berlin rally. If I have time to process them all soon I will. I really need to set up a photosharing account...
These photos courtesy of Elijah Edelman (thanks to Elijah & the DCTC for their awesome organizing)
Anti-immigrant sentiment has led Congress over the past few decades to make it more and more difficult for an individual to be granted refugee status in the United States. Legislation has erected new procedural hurdles, and the requirements regarding evidence have been toughened considerably. As a result, people whose lives really are in danger because they are gay sometimes can’t find refuge in this country — ironically, at a time when it seems clear that such asylum is vitally needed.
Two recent cases denying refuge here cast this point in sharp relief — particularly when viewed in the context of news stories that emerged from abroad. The names of the asylum applicants are being withheld, given the likelihood that they will now be returned to their home countries.
The first example came in a December 14 ruling from a three-judge panel of the Houston-based US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The petitioner, a gay man from Pakistan, was tripped up by tight procedural rules, having failed to file a timely appeal — within 30 days! — of a ruling from the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that upheld a decision denying him refugee status. After the BIA ruled, the man learned he was HIV-positive, and filed a motion to block his deportation. The man was hamstrung in his effort to challenge the original BIA ruling, and the Court of Appeals only considered his appeal of the BIA refusal to reopen his case to weigh the impact of his newly discovered HIV status.
The petitioner argued that the BIA abused its discretion in denying his motion to review the issue of his HIV status, arguing that the changes in his circumstances warranted another look at his asylum bid.
The appeals court, however, accepted the BIA’s reliance on a 2008 State Department Human Rights Report that “showed no observed persecution based on HIV/ AIDS status from government services or society in general, and that a slow, positive change was also occurring even though some discrimination remains.” The court also considered salient the fact that the gay man had not demonstrated that he has AIDS, but merely that he is HIV-positive.
Citing the Pakistani man’s failure to appeal the original BIA ruling within the required 30 days, the appeals court stated it had no jurisdiction over his motion to reconsider the rejection of his argument that he faces persecution on the basis of his homosexuality.
The Court of Appeals upheld the BIA’s order that the man be deported.
The court’s brief opinion points up much of what is wrong with our system. Only 30 days to appeal an adverse ruling is ridiculous. Requiring that every refugee applicant reinvent the wheel by having to prove that in their individual case it could be deadly to return to their home country after having established they are gay and HIV-positive is absurd. Failing to note that Pakistan is a predominantly Muslim country, where there is fierce cultural disapproval of homosexuality, strikes this observer as Kafka-esque!
It is also more than fair to question the quality of the State Department record upon which the BIA reached the conclusion that there is no discrimination against HIV-positive gay men in Pakistan. In other Muslim countries, gays are frequently targeted for honor killings, and people with HIV try to keep that a deep dark secret until they can get out of the country to avoid shunning or worse.
The 5th Circuit decision is particularly startling when contrasted with a January 3 story in the Korea Times, which reported that nation had granted a gay Pakistani man, who was an illegal immigrant, refugee status “because he may face persecution due to his sexual orientation if deported.” The newspaper noted that the decision “is a rare case of the Korean authorities acknowledging such an asylum bid,” but said it “is expected to affect other applicants waiting in line.”
In describing the man’s circumstances, the Korea Times reported, “The man has known he is gay since he was 14, but has had to remain ‘in the closet’ due to the fierce punishment levied by Pakistan on homosexuals, which can be as harsh as life imprisonment. He was married to a woman but had sexual relationships with other men. He worked as a lawyer in his own country between 1983 and 1996, but came to Korea in 1996 and has stayed here illegally. He was apprehended during a nationwide crackdown on illegal immigrants last January.” According to the newspaper, the Korean court concluded, “Though he had a relatively lucrative job back in his home country, he came to Korea for his own safety, leaving everything behind. There were court rulings condemning homosexuality there, which indicate that he could be severely punished.”
So, who is correct? The US Board of Immigration Appeals, which rejected a plea based on a 2008 State Department Report, compiled by a Republican administration indifferent or even hostile to gay rights, that said there was evidence things were improving for gays in Pakistan and there was no official persecution, or the court in Seoul that cited harsh judicial rulings against gays in Pakistan and found that a gay man from that country should be extended asylum because he would be persecuted if returned? Who is being more solicitous of the human rights of gay people — Korea or the US?
Another case that will likely shock the conscience even more concerns a gay Honduran man who sought to stay in the US. In the December 24 issue of Gay City News, Doug Ireland reported on the assassination last month of Walter Trochez, a well-known and highly respected gay and HIV rights advocate in Honduras, and linked it a broader crackdown by the government installed last year in a coup. On December 21, the European Union issued a statement condemning “recent murders of civil society and media representatives or their relatives in Honduras” pointing to, among other cases, Trochez’s murder.
The very next day, however, the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, based in San Francisco, upheld the BIA’s decision to deny a gay Honduran immigrant’s request to be given US protection under the international Convention Against Torture.
This case points up the fallout from Congress’ draconian crackdown on drugs; immigration law virtually requires that non-citizens convicted of drug offenses be thrown out of the country, no matter how trivial the offenses. As the Honduran man discovered, to lose eligibility to stay in the US, it’s enough to be convicted on state misdemeanor possession charges. The last straw the man had to grasp was the Convention Against Torture, the provisions of which could allow even a convicted felon to stay in the U.S. if they could show that returning to their home country would subject them to likely torture or serious harm. The Honduran man was unsuccessful in making that argument.
The burden the man faced, the court found, was to “show that actors would specifically intend to inflict severe pain and suffering on him; where those actors are private citizens, he must show that the Honduran government acquiesces in their torturous conduct.” However, the record, the court stated, “does not compel the conclusion that any private or governmental actor who might commit misconduct against [the man] would intend any torturous consequences that could result from the combination of his homosexuality, poor health, and the poor condition of the Honduran public health system.”
The reference to the Honduran man’s health is not explained in the court opinion.
Relief under the international torture treaty was denied for three reasons. First, the violence the man had suffered in Honduras came “at the hands of private actors” when he was a youth. The applicant did not show “government acquiescence” in the attacks on him.
According to the court, the record also failed to make the case “that a gay man is more likely than not to be tortured in Honduras.” There is discrimination, the ruling stated, but it is not clear “that the Honduran government acquiesces in the torture of gay men. Specifically, Honduras does not criminalize gay acts, Honduran prosecutors prosecute crimes against gay people, and police misconduct against gay people does not clearly rise to the level of torture.”
Finally, the applicant did not provide specific evidence that he would be tortured if he returned to Honduras.
Significantly, in light of Trochez’s murder, the court found that the Honduran man “is not a gay rights activist, transsexual, or member of another category of homosexual persons more frequently targeted for violence.” The court also rejected the man’s argument that because of his poor health he could face the risk of being denied medical care if he were imprisoned in Honduras.
It is haunting to read, just days after the murder of a prominent gay activist in Honduras, that a gay man desperately seeking not to be deported to that nation has nothing to fear because he is not a “gay rights activist.”
Since the early years of the Clinton administration, the Justice Department has recognized gay people as a “particular social group” whose members might achieve refugee status here by showing they were subject to persecution or severe danger in their home countries. That policy has meant success for some asylum seekers. The US government, however, in far too many cases, continues to apply unreasonable standards in a manner oblivious to the reality of gay life in many oppressive societies, denying deserving refugee applications the right to the protection of this country.
SF Mayor: Halt Uganda's Homo-Hate 'Circle of Love' on Human Rights Day
(Activists link arms and send a message to Uganda. Photo credit: Clinton Fein.)
A crowd of nearly forty people gathered for thirty-minutes today at the Ugandan pillar in United Nations Plaza, and stood in unbending solidarity with gay Ugandans. Under a cloudy sky, signs were taped to the pillar, voices were raised, passersby offered support, and a successful visibility action took place, for gays on the other side of our small planet.
Mayor Gavin Newsom had a message read by Supervisor Bevan Dufty deploring the Anti-Homosexuality Bill under consideration in any form. Anna Damiani shared a statement from her boss state Sen. Mark Leno. South African-born Clinton Fein spoke about American Christians advising Uganda's president.
African-American transgender and HIV/AIDS advocate Jazzy Collins denounced Ugandan politicians. And Gary Virginia of Gays Without Borders criticized the demonization of gays everywhere.
Among the participants were representatives from many orgs including the Market Street Marijuana Cooperative, Restore Equality 2010, the Rainbow World Fund, St. Francis Lutheran Church, and One Struggle/One Fight.
From the media, Fox affiliate KTVU sent a cameraman, KCBS News Radio had a reporter cover us, as did the Bay Area Reporter and the Bay Times.
After everyone spoke and the reporters asked their questions, we assembled into a "Circle of Love" around the Ugandan pillar. We wanted to symbolize surrounding Uganda's borders with an embrace full of acceptance and tolerance from gays and allies in San Francisco, extended to all of Uganda.
We did some old-fashioned call-and-respond chants. As you read the words on your screen, say them, or if you prefer, shout them out, as a vocal act of solidarity:
"Gay Ugandans under attack. What do we do? ACT UP! Fight back!"
"Lesbian Ugandans under attack. What do we do? ACT UP! Fight back!"
"Transgender Ugandans under attack. What do we do? ACT UP! Fight back!"
"Ugandans with AIDS under attack. What do we do? ACT UP! Fight back!"
Many big thanks to all who made the vigil such an achieve of solidarity. It wouldn't have happened without you.
And to gay Ugandans, we have a message for you: San Francisco officially, politically, spiritually and unconditionally are with you in your time of need.
~~~~~~
Source: Peter Tatchell London Uganda demo – Photos and report
Protesters urge: “Drop the Anti-Homosexuality Bill”
Human Rights Day protest against Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill - Ugandan Embassy, London, 10 December 2009. L-R: Michael Senyonjo, Richard S, Topher Campbell, Peter Tatchell, Godwyns Onwuchekwa, Rev Rowland Jide Macaulay. Credit Brett Lock of OutRage!
Nearly 100 protesters rallied outside the Ugandan Embassy in London on Human Rights Day to support the Ugandan LBGTI community. They called on the Ugandan government to drop its draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which is currently being debated by the Ugandan parliament.
Under this proposed law, LGBTI Ugandans will face execution for certain homosexual acts and life imprisonment for all other same-sex acts – even mere caressing and kissing.
The London protesters included LGBTI activists from the UK and of Jamican descent, plus LGBTI campaigners from Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria, the Congo and Kenya.
These photos are free to use. Please credit Brett Lock of OutRage!
The keynote speakers were gay Ugandan John Bosco and straight Ugandan human rights activist, Michael Senyonjo.
John Bosco was recently jailed in Uganda, after he was illegally and forcibly returned to Uganda by the British Home office while seeking asylum in the UK.
He condemned the Anti-Homosexuality Bill as “an attack on the civil liberties of all Ugandans,” denouncing it as “dividing Ugandans against each other and requiring people to report on their own family members who are gay.”
Michael Senyonjo told the crowd:
“In the last five years we have seen Idi Amin return to Uganda and his name is (President) Yoweri Museveni. We cannot allow fascism to return to Uganda. He should leave power and go because he is not taking the country anywhere but to disaster," he said.
Peter Tatchell of the London LGBTI rights group OutRage! echoed this view:
"President Museveni is fast becoming the Robert Mugabe of Uganda and that's a threat to the civil rights of every Ugandan person - gay or straight....There's a huge ground swell of public opinion that this bill goes way too far. Even people who say they're against homosexuality say this bill is excessive and a threat to the human rights of all Ugandans.
The Ugandan government should drop this law and abide by international human rights legislation.
“The Anti-Homosexuality Bill violates the equality and non-discrimination clauses of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are merely asking Uganda to uphold international human rights law.
“This homophobic legislation undermines the right to privacy and individual liberty and thereby sets a dangerous legal precedent which threatens the human rights of all Ugandans. It is part of a wider drift towards an authoritarian state,” Mr Tatchell said.
The protest MC was Dennis Hambridge, global coordinator of the Gay Activists Alliance International (GAAI). He said the protest was about sending a message to the Uganda government – that the world is watching and that human rights supporters deplore this repressive bill.
Nigerian gay activists Godwyns Onwuchekwa, Rev Rowland Jide Macaulay and Bisi Alimi declared that gay rights are human rights and expressed pan-African solidarity with Ugandan LGBTI people.
Other speakers condemned the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, including Skye Chirape (a Zimbabwean lesbian activist), Topher Campbell (a Black British gay man of Jamaican descent, who is a lead member of the black arts collective, the Rukus Foundation) and Josh Kutchinsky (a spokesperson for the British Humanist Association).
The London protest was coordinated by the Gay Activists Alliance International, with the support of OutRage! and Ugandan LGBTI exiles (most of whom were too afraid to be photographed or identified in case there are reprisals against their families in Uganda).
Other supporting organisations included Changing Attitudes, Rainbow Church, Queer Youth North, British Humanist Association, Rukus Foundation and the National Union of Students LGBT section.
“The new Anti-Homosexuality Bill, if passed, proposes the death penalty for ‘aggravated’ and ‘serial’ homosexual acts and extends the existing penalty of life imprisonment for anal sex to all other same-sex behaviour, including the mere touching of another person with the intent to have gay relations. Life imprisonment is also the penalty for contracting a same-sex mariage,” said Peter Tatchell of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights group OutRage!.
“Membership of LGBT organisations and funding for them, advocacy of LGBT human rights and the provision of condoms or safer sex advice to LGBT people will result in a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of seven years for “promoting” homosexuality. A person in authority who fails to report violators to the police within 24 hours will incur three years behind bars.
“Astonishingly, the new legislation has an extra-territorial jusridiction. It will also apply to Ugandans who commit these ‘crimes’ while living abroad, in countries where such behaviour is not a criminal offence. Violators overseas will be subjected to extradition, trial and punishment in Uganda,” added Mr Tatchell.
According to Dennis Hambridge of GAAI:
“The bill is likely to be detrimental to the fight against HIV/AIDS by denying gay and bisexual men access to condoms and safer sex advice and driving countless numbers of them further underground. It will create even more stigma, discrimination and oppression
“Activists in Uganda have reported to GAAI that there are eight gay people currently awaiting trial or sentencing in Uganda.
“With immense pressure being put on the Ugandan Government to drop the bill, by human rights groups, governments and religious groups worldwide, we call on people in the UK to protest,” he said.
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill has been condemned by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists and the World AIDS Campaign.
It violates the Commonwealth principles of human rights and human dignity. You can email the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, here: secretary-general@commonwealth.int
If you were not able to attend Thursday’s protest, please lobby your MP and MEP. Ask them to write to the Ugandan High Commissioner, Joan Rwabyomere, urging that the legislation is dropped. You can email your MP and MEP here: www.writetothem.com
You can also email the Ugandan High Commissioner, Joan Rwabyomere, yourself: info@ugandahighcommission.co.uk
Thank you.
All power to Ugandan LGBTI people! For a free, democratic, secular and humanitarian Uganda! John Bosco – Gay Ugandan
Terry Conway – Lesbian trade union activist
Peter Tatchell - OutRage! gay activist
Michael Senyonjo – Ugandan human rights activist
Godwyns Onwuchekwa – Nigerian LGBT activist
Topher Campbell - Black gay activist, Rukus Foundation
On coldest day of the year, we stand in solidarity with Ugandan LGBTs
CHICAGO, IL -- The cold was absolutely miserable tonight and the action was initiated just a few days ago despite the nasty weather forecast, but about 20 people still came out on International Human Rights Day to express their solidarity with Ugandan Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) people facing that country's proposed "Anti-Homosexuality Bill."
As originally proposed, the Ugandan bill would impose the death penalty for some homosexual acts, make speaking out in favor of gay rights an imprisonable offence, and require imprisonment of those who didn't inform on their gay friends, neighbors and relatives.
At 8 degrees Fahrenheit (-13 C) and -20 F wind chill (-29 C), people gathered despite the cancellation of many other public activities in the city this evening. Lacking an official Ugandan consulate in the city, protesters instead held their action outside of the city's LGBT community center.
One of the central themes of speakers at the protest was the importation of Western anti-gay ideas into Africa. When African anti-gay leaders claim that homosexuality is a "Western" import into the continent, they turn reality on its head. Not only have many of the anti-gay actions on the continent been directly inspired by a U.S.-based group known as "The Family" -- which includes several high-ranking U.S. politicians from both major parties -- most of Africa's anti-gay laws are direct descendents of laws imposed by white colonial regimes during the early 20th Century.
Indeed, rather than being indigenous to Uganda, some of the language from Uganda's proposed bill uses language that sounds like it was pulled directly from statements by anti-gay activists in the United States: "This Bill aims at strengthening the nation's capacity to deal with emerging internal and external threats to the traditional family. This legislation further recognizes the fact that same sex attraction is not an innate and immutable characteristic."
Another theme of tonight's action was that pro-gay actions and publicity around the world are beginning to have an effect on the bill. A few weeks ago Ugandan activists reported that the bill -- which proscribed the death penalty for "aggravated" and "serial" homosexuality -- seemed a virtual shoo-in to pass intact. But today came news that the death penalty provision was dropped, and that anti-gay leaders like evangelist Rick Warren and the Vatican have finally publicly condemned the proposed bill.
But while distancing themselves from Uganda's bill in recent statements, both the Catholic hierarchy and Warren also re-stated their moral condemnations of homosexuality. But the pogromist Ugandan bill is just the ultimate, logical extension of these condemnations, even if for the sake of public relations in the West, some anti-gay leaders feel they must reluctantly condemn it. By labeling Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people as an entire group "immoral," they dehumanize us. Dehumanizing a group of people is the first step towards legitimizing discrimination and violence against them.
The Gay Liberation Network (www.GayLiberation.net), the initiators of the Chicago action, look forward to future opportunities to work with activists in other countries, especially Uganda, to defeat this bill once and for all.
PLEASE CALL THE WHITE HOUSE Tell Obama to Speak Out Against This Bill: 202-456-1111
PLEASE CALL THE UGANDAN AMBASSADOR Perezi K. Kamunanwire Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 202-726 4758
By Garry Virginia Gays Without Borders/San Francisco
On May 17, International Day Against Homophobia, more than 100 people participated in the Castro Rally at Milk Plaza to raise awareness of LGBT Iraqis facing increased torture and murder. Sadly, this story has been buried for five years in the mainstream media while 600 documented gay murders have occurred.
Gays Without Borders/SF teamed up with Rainbow World Fund to organize the rally with a goal to raise $10,000 in direct aid for fleeing Iraqis.
Heartfelt thanks to the many speakers, volunteers, and everyone who donated online and in the streets for a total of $4,500 so far. Special thanks to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc. for a $1,000 leadership gift and critical volunteer support. Rev. Don Fox, former Night Minister, presented a $300 check on behalf of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church.
“I had no idea this was going on,” said most passersby, referring to the genital mutilations, executions, torture and witch hunt of gays and suspected gays. Once people viewed photos of the victims — some showing groups of preteens bloodied and dead in the streets with a cadre of onlookers reading “pervert” notes on the victims’ chests — and read copies of stories from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and other media, the donations flowed.
For the uninformed, the US occupation of Iraq has lead to a false sense of security for minorities to express themselves more fully. LGBT Iraqis would gather in cafes, dress and act more expressively, and be a bit more open. This decision has proved fatal. AND NEIGHBORING IRAN DOESN’T EVEN HAVE GAYS
In 2006 the Washington Blade reported that a powerful Islamic leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a fatwa in October 2005 calling for the killing of gays in Iraq. Ali al-Sistani stated “Those who commit sodomy must be killed in the harshest way,” according to BBC news reports. A network of gay Iraqi exiles in Europe reported that the fatwa triggered a flurry of assassinations, kidnappings and death threats against Iraqi gays.
The Badr Corps was already killing suspected gays but was emboldened by the fatwa. The Badr Corps is the military arm of the Iranian-backed Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the powerful Shia group that is the largest political formation in Iraq’s Shia community.
According to an exiled gay Iraqi, entrapment through internet sites and threats to unmarried men over 30 result in kidnappings, beatings, arrests, disappearance and a soon death. The bodies are usually discovered with their hands bound behind their back, blindfolds over their eyes, and bullet wounds to the back of the head.
Fast forward four years and the situation has gotten worse. The world has shown a blind eye toward gay Iraqis in spite of billions of US tax dollars and military lives (including gays) lost to bring “democracy” to Iraq.
In past months, bodies of as many as 25 boys and men suspected of being gay have turned up in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City. Twenty men have shown up in hospitals with mutilated genitals. Recent accusations evidence gluing of anuses and forced laxatives for a slow, painful death. A Sadr City cafe frequented by gay men recently burned down under mysterious circumstances.
It’s lazy to say that the Iraq situation is too confusing for us to take action. Openly gay Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) made his own investigation in Iraq and verified the horrific conditions for LGBTs. He has asked for a State Department investigation and donated $10,000 of his own funds for aid.
It is time for President Obama and Speaker Pelosi to stand up for human rights for LGBT Iraqis in this American occupied country. Their own foibles with detainee torture and overall complexity with the Middle East are no excuse to not denounce abuse and torture. At a minimum, use our forces to provide a safe escape and asylum for all LGBT Iraqis, even if done discretely. If Iraqis can spot suspected LGBTs, surely our soldiers can and offer rescue.
I feel that if we are aware of torture and murder of gays anywhere in the world, we have a moral obligation to act. If not, we become a party to it. Collections can be organized by schools, churches, businesses small and large, clubs and organizations, non profits and foundations.
The sexual cleansing of Iraq is our LGBT generation’s Holocaust. What will you do to stop it? How long will LGBTs allow ourselves to be on the bottom rung of human rights around the world?
Tax deductible donations for direct aid to LGBT Iraqis may be made to: Rainbow World Fund, 4111 18th St., #5, SF CA 94114; rainbowfund.org
Never doubt that a handful of pissed off queens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that has ever moved the queer movement meaningfully forward.
At least one-hundred people came out in today's heatwave over the course of a one-hour rally and participated in San Francisco's first action for IDAHO, International Day Against Homophobia, Sunday afternoon at Harvey Milk Plaza. We rallied against the killings and torture of LGBT Iraqis, and expressed unwavering solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the U.S.-occupied country.
Thanks to the efforts of my organizing colleagues, Gary Virginia of Gays Without Borders and Jeff Cotter of Rainbow World Fund, and several members of the ever-fabulous Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, over the past week and today's bucket brigade, slightly more than $5,000 was raised. The funds will go to direct-relief aid for the LGBT Iraqi community. Tax-deductible donations can be made at http://rainbowfund.org.
My favorite moment came at the end of the rally. Gary Virginia criticized our very own Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who, he pointed out, is also Speaker of the House, and whose district includes the possibly gayest neighborhood in all of America, was recently in Baghdad and she was silent during her visit about the LGTB murders.
"She's said nothing about the atrocities and that has to change," explained Virginia, to boisterous applause and cheers.
How the hell is it possible our Congressional rep is 100% mute about the murders of homosexuals in Baghdad, is the great unanswered question of the day.
Artist and activist Clinton Fein is editing and preparing a video of today's demonstration, which will be made public tomorrow. Look for it here and on his site Annoy.com.
Let's look at photos from today and see a few of the fine people who showed up. On behalf of the organizers, we thank you. Most photos, except where noted otherwise, were snapped by me.
From the left, Supervisor Bevan Dufty, SF Police Commission president and transgender leader Theresa Sparks, political artist Clinton Fein, MCC Rev. Lea Brown, State Senator Mark Leno, and with the microphone, community organizer Gary Virginia. (Credit: Bill Wilson Photos.)
Theresa Sparks speaking to the crowd, about her son in the military who just returned for another tour of duty in Iraq.
Lesbian leader Debra Walker questioned America's continuing presence in Iraq, and restoring our moral authority on human rights and torture.
Holding the mic, Iranian-American Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who is straight, talked of the necessity to demonstrate, even if the corporate media ignores us.
Under my umbrella hat, I thanked everyone for coming out for IDAHO, and led a short chant: "Gays and lesbians under attack. What do we do? ACT UP! Fight Back!" (Credit: Bill Wilson Photos.)
On the left, Jeff Cotter from Rainbow World Fund, I don't know who the man in the middle is, and on the right is Japanese-American humanitarian advocate with RWF, Karen Kai. (Credit: Bill Wilson Photo.)
One of the Sisters, in her own shade, sending a message to the universe.
Is this eye candy to you? Not my type at all, but who the hell cares. They were there and gave a few bucks. "Are you wearing sunblock?" I asked them. "Yes," said the one in the hat. "And torture is wrong." Out of the mouths of young hairless hunks oft times come gems.
Translate this websiteTraduire ce site · ترجمة هذا الموقع · 翻译此网站 · अनुवाद इस वेबसाइट · Traduci questo sito · Перевести этот сайт · Traducir esta página web · Translate tovuti hii · Translate Bu web sitesi
Other languages? Use Google translate
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=e285a03e-e7b4-4899-a925-a3ba70bd7256)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=200413d2-e4b1-4482-8ee2-6b3f143b7c22)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=2c336890-8807-4d82-a31a-688e016bdbf6)
RSS feed
Join our page
