'Homosexual panic' grips Tunisian politics

Image by Magharebia via Flickr

Source: Gay Middle East

By Dan Littauer

Tunisia’s new interior minister, Ali Larayedh, has been embroiled in controversy and scandal as a leaked video allegedly shows him in a gay prison sex video. This scandal has outraged and inflamed public opinion regarding homosexuality which was already jittery due to the electoral political tactics that used sexuality in order to discredit various opponents.

18 January, a 45 minute long black and white video, dating from 1991, showing two men having sex, was posted on YouTube.  The occasional close-up on one of the men’s faces resembles Ali Larayedh, the current interior minister and a member of the ruling Islamist party Ennahda who won last years’ October elections after the first Arab spring rebellion which deposed dictator Ben Ali. The poor quality of the video makes it difficult to determine the video’s authenticity, or whether Larayedh is actually in the video.  The video on the site was quickly removed, although it is still available on file-sharing sites.

In 1990 Ali Larayedh was arrested by Ben Ali's police for his activity as a member of the then illegal Ennahda party and was sentenced to 15 years in prison after a show trial. He alleges that he has been tortured while serving his jail sentence, while in 1992 his wife was sexually assaulted during an investigation at the Ministry of the Interior.

The alleged video of Ali Larayedh from his time in prison was posted shortly after an announcement by the Tunisian government that three arrest warrants had been issued for senior officials at the Ministry of the Interior. Tarek, Tunisian Editor for Gay Middle East notes that “the security forces of Tunisia have largely remained intact since the time of Ben-Ali and thus many of its personnel are potentially hostile to the Ennahda party.” In other words, the video may have been leaked by someone in the Ministry of the Interior, or perhaps former a high-ranking police officer, wishing to undermine Ali Larayedh by further inciting public opinion using a tactic dubbed “porno politics” by Tunisian activist Ahmed Manaï.  According Manaï’s book, book, “Tunisian Torture: The Secret Garden of General Ben Ali”, tactics to discredit political opponents through exposing sexual scandals, and in particular homosexual ones were used by the deposed Tunisian dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, during the early 1990s.

The background to this scandal is important to note.  Two days before this incident (16.1.12) Naji Behiri, the brother of the Tunisian Minister of Justice, Noureddine Behiri, was released from prison under presidential amnesty, despite allegation from his hometown that he raped a young boy. Tarek attests: “A wave of public anger erupted across the nation accusing Ennahda party of being at league with homosexuals and paedophiles, terms that were used interchangeably.  Highly homophobic comments were posted on related news articles and throughout the social networking sites, mostly asking that Naji Behiri remains in prison and tried and punished for sodomy.  Conspiracy theories of homosexual corruption and cover up within the Ennahda party have become commonplace.”

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Audio: Is life for gay people in Tunisia better since the revolution?

Image via Wikipedia

Source: RFI

By Marine Casalis

The revolution in Tunisia has brought with it many changes. Under the old regime, for example, being homosexual had always been a problem.

So one year on from the fall of former president Ben Ali, RFI talked to a number of gay people in Tunisia, to see if things have changed for them.

RPT AFRIK Tunisia Marine CASALIS

(02:48)

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Fear stalks gay married Tunisian in France

Ashraf and Olivier picture Têtu

By Paul Canning

Têtu is reporting that a Tunisian gay man married to a Frenchman is at risk of being returned and the couple split up.

24 year old Ashraf met Olivier in 2009 and they 'married' last summer - in France there is a civil partnership called Pacs which is also available to opposite-sex couples. France's parliament rejected a gay marriage bill in July.

He arrived on a student visa in 2007 but became undocumented, which appears to be the reason why his residency claim has not yet been accepted.

Ashraf says:

"I wanted to escape Tunisia, land of my childhood. The country where my family, once my homosexuality was revealed, chose to cut all relations with me. To abandon me. The same country where intimidation and violence made my life unbearable. The same country where four bearded men tried one night to make me give up my sexual orientation, holding a knife to my throat."

For a young gay Maghreb (North African) France is a "homo Eldorado" he says, as seen on television and on the Internet: "I just came for a normal life in France ..."

But there is a vast distance between his naive dream and reality. His lawyer points out that even though he is in a recognised relationship with a Frenchmen there is no automatic right for him to stay. But because he is in a Pacs this would put him at risk if returned.

In Tunisia homosexuality is punishable with three years imprisonment. The victory of an Islamist party in Tunisia's elections has left him 'every day, scared', afraid that he will be stopped for an identity check, then forcibly returned to Tunisia.

Writing of the rise of the Islamists, Tarek, Tunisia Editor of the Gay Middle East website, said that the Islamists are telling the international media one thing - we won't touch the gays - but the reality on the ground is very different.

"LGBT people’s suffering in Tunisia started a long time before the election but I fear its results may make things worse," he wrote.

Tarek and others have reported that Tunisian gays have gone even further underground as increasingly confident Islamists strong arm others into their way of life.

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• Are LGBT Tunisians about to face a dark Arab winter? (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• Tunisian Islamists offer reassurance to gays, women (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

Are LGBT Tunisians about to face a dark Arab winter?

Source: Gay Middle East

By Tarek, GME Tunisia Editor

Here in Tunisia we had our Arab Spring which I supported – we brought the dictator Ben Ali down. The summer passed and autumn came, recently, on the 24th of October we had elections. The Islamic Ennahda Party won 90 seats, making it the largest bloc in the 217-member assembly. Although they obtained only 25% of votes, they have 41% of seats. This is due to the dispersion of other political groups and independents which means, 35% of votes were lost.

The Islamic party kept reassuring it will protect religious and ethnic minorities and never question the achievements of Tunisian women. Homosexuality is a taboo that was not discussed by any party, and even less by the Ennahda. For example, the humanist parties like the “Modern Democratic Pole” just promised to protect individual freedoms and change the laws in order to be conform to international conventions. This party’s sympathizers were accused, mostly by islamists who wants to weaken them, of being pro gays, lesbians and prostitutes because they defended basic human rights. It got only 5 seats.

An executive member of the populist Party “Ennahdha” recently promised dignity for gays, this declaration was very welcomed by the foreign media and some LGBT associations. Paradoxically, it was very frightening for LGBT Tunisians to know that this party, with its violent history, will be interested in sexual orientation and rights. Tunisian gays would prefer stay out of the political debate because they know the Islamic leaders are just manipulating and hiding their real intentions.

Mr Riadh Chaibi who promised gays dignity is a “political scientist” known for his anti-liberalism, he is considered as a conservative but moderate member.

But let us return for a minute to the Ennahda Party; the gap between what the leaders of the party are saying to the international media compared with the very conservative discourse they have in their meetings in Tunisia is huge. This gap is even more important between leaders and sympathizers. The majority of sympathizers of the Ennahdha are influenced by extremist religious theories, and the party is torn between satisfying the extremist voters and having the confidence of moderate ones. This is the main reason of the contradictory declarations of the leaders and often of the same person who could say something and the opposite at the same time.

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Tunisian Islamists offer reassurance to gays, women

Photo credit European Parliament

By Paul Canning

The newly elected Islamist-led government in Tunisia has offered reassurances to both women and gays that they will respect 'individual freedoms'.

In an interview with Spanish news agency EFE, Ennahda ("Renaissance") party spokesman Riad Chaibi said that they will not pursue the use of alcohol or punish atheism and homosexuality.

Chaibi, who spent five years in prison for his opposition to dictator Ben Ali, said that in Tunisia "individual freedoms and human rights are enshrined principles" and that atheists and homosexuals are a reality in Tunisia and "have a right to exist." According to Chaibi, in the case of homosexuals there is also "a matter of dignity, because society sees them as undervalued."

In the Tunisian Penal Code homosexual sex is punishable with imprisonment for up to three years. The US State Department 2010 Human Rights Report says that:

There was anecdotal evidence that gays faced discrimination, including allegations that police officers sometimes brutalized openly gay persons and accused them of being the source of AIDS. There were no reports of persons arrested for homosexual activity.

Chaibi also denied that his party intends to make the wearing of the veil for women compulsory. "The veil is part of belief, a religious symbol, and as such has no value if it is taken from freedom," he said.

He said that the Tunisian political, social model is closer to Muslim-majority states like Turkey or Malaysia than to Iran or Saudi Arabia. Tunisia has always been considered the most 'liberal' on social issues in North Africa.

"We want a lot [of what they have] in Turkey and to take advantage of their experience," says Chaibi of another country ruled by a democratically elected Islamist government. He defines the Turkish model as "Islamo-modernist." Chaibi admitted that the Arab world is "inward looking" but said that "you cannot force the Arab world, or anyone, to be modern."

"We will not force anyone to drink or not drink: our principle is to convince the people of the negative aspects of alcohol, or drugs, but we have no intention to force," he said, recalling how American Prohibition resulted in an increase in the consumption of alcohol.

Secularists, women's groups and other detractors have accused Ennahda of being moderate in public and radical in the mosques.

The party will be the largest part of a coalition government.

"Ennahda will be mindful not to offend its coalition partners, and also the youth who voted for it, who aspire to a certain way of life," Issaka Souare, a north African specialist at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies, told AFP.

"It will need the buy-in of other members of the assembly in all decisions."

"[Ennahda] cannot afford to damage Tunisia's relations with Western countries," Souare said, pointing to tourism which represents almost a tenth of GDP.

Tunisia's neighbour, Libya, adopted Islamic Sharia law on Sunday as the basis of all the new regime's laws.

Related articles

• Profile: Tunisia's Ennahda Party (bbc.co.uk)
• Celebrating Tunisia's Islamists (andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com)

Little impact of 'Arab spring' in asylum claim numbers: UNHCR

Image via Wikipedia

Source: UNHCR

Industrialized countries saw a 17 per cent increase in asylum applications in the first half of this year, with most claimants coming from countries with long-standing displacement situations.

UNHCR's "Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries, First Half 2011" report, released today, also shows that 198,300 asylum applications were lodged in the period between January 1 and June 30, compared to 169,300 in the same period in 2010.

As application rates normally peak during the second half of the year, UNHCR projects that 2011 may see 420,000 applications by year's end – the highest total in eight years.

So far this year there have been major forced displacement crises in West, North and East Africa. The report finds related increases in asylum claims among Tunisians, Ivorians and Libyans (4,600, 3,300 and 2,000 claims respectively), but overall the impact of these events on application rates in industrialized countries has been limited.

Taking the 44 countries surveyed in the report as a whole, the main countries of origin of asylum-seekers remained largely unchanged from previous surveys: Afghanistan (15,300 claims), China (11,700 claims), Serbia [and Kosovo: Security Council Resolution 1244] (10,300 claims), Iraq (10,100 claims) and Iran (7,600 claims).

"2011 has been a year of displacement crises unlike any other I have seen in my time as High Commissioner," said UNHCR chief António Guterres. "Their impact on asylum claims in industrialized countries seems to have been lower so far than might have been expected, as most of those who fled went to neighbouring countries. Nonetheless we are grateful that the industrialized states have continued to respect the right of people to have their claims to asylum heard."

By continent, Europe registered the highest number of claims with 73 per cent of all asylum applications in industrialized countries. Only Australasia saw a significant decline in applicants: 5,100 claims compared with 6,300 a year earlier.

By country, the United States had more claims (36,400) than any other industrialized nation, followed by France with (26,100), Germany (20,100), Sweden (12,600) and the United Kingdom (12,200). The Nordic region was the only part of Europe to see a fall in asylum applications. Meanwhile, in north-east Asia applications more than doubled – 1,300 claims were lodged in Japan and South Korea compared to 600 in the first half of 2010.

The "Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries, First Half 2011" report complements UNHCR's annual Global Trends Report, issued in June each year, and which this year found that 80 per cent of refugees are being hosted in developing countries.

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Why Syrian LGBT people should join the revolution

Image by ElvertBarnes via Flickr

By Sami Hamwi, Syria Editor of Gay Middle East

Seven months ago, most Syrian gay men I know were either neutral or pro-Assad. While many have decided later to be on the side of the revolution, some, surprisingly, still believe that this regime is the best for them. However, hope now is in lesbians who have more resilience to fight against this oppressive regime.

I have witnessed over the years how this regime was everything but tolerant when it comes to LGBT people.

• 1980’s and 1990’s were almost the same for gay men in Syria. Back then, only the lucky ones had land phones. Telecommunications in Syria were an image of the 1960’s communications in most other countries. I still remember the angry voice of the centralist when I used to call my grandmother, who actually was related to us somehow! Those difficulties worked side by side with the paranoia most gay Arabs have to limit any possibility of regular inter-gay relationships or friendships.

• 1995 marked my first tries to explore cruising areas. I was often harassed by policemen and/or secret police, who have always tried to intimidate young people to fulfill their sick needs of control.

• In 1996, I was asked several times by secret police for my ID, and told not to sit or go to certain places at certain hours i.e. “not to cruise during peak cruising hours”, if I want to avoid “social humiliation” as they eloquently said.

• In 1998, I personally witnessed a raid on a park in Aleppo. It was horrifying… People were beaten and dragged to police cars. I remember thinking that I have to run in order not to be identified as a “regular cruiser”. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the only raid I have witnessed.

• In 2001, nearly a year after Bashar al-Assad became the current illegitimate president of Syria, raids were made on hammams and cruising areas in Damascus and Aleppo. Police and secret police raided gay places and parties for the next 9 years. Some raids were more regular and reoccurring to form real campaigns targeting gay people in the years of 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2010.

• In 2010, when gay life in Syria started to take some kind of a shape and form, police started their most vicious campaign targeting hammams, cruising areas, and gay parties. More than 35 men were arrested in a single gay party and were exposed to their families and communities. The lucky ones managed to escape to other countries, and the rest were left to face the social punishment.

Lesbians are highly persecuted by family members if they tried to express their sexuality in any form. The regime’s claims about women being equal to men before the law are mere lies to anyone who knows how the Syrian society functions. I personally know someone who was literally sold to an older man as a “wife”, while in fact she is more like a servant to him and to his family only because she told her older sister “I am attracted only to girls, I cannot imagine myself with a man”.

I remember the day when former Tunisian president Bin Ali fled Tunisia to be the day that brought back my long lost dream of living in free Syria. While I was surrounded by people like me at work, who have always dreamt of a free country, some of my gay friends shocked me with their ignorance of what had been happening to us, gay people, in Syria, and with their little remembrance of what has been happening to gay people over the last decade. Most of them have always known my political views and some of them stopped or at least avoided being in contact with me.

It is a fact that this revolution had reshaped my social relationships. For example, my uncles have become in real enmity with me because most of them do not want the change to reach Syria. However, this doesn’t change the fact that I had never been in good terms with them even before this revolution started.

The last seven months have also revolutionised my homophobic friends’ views on homosexuality with more gays and lesbians joining our group of activists. I preferred to keep my sexuality hidden from them for years, and at some points I regretted it, especially now when I hear the words “gay” and “lesbian” spoken with lesser hate and more acceptance. Nevertheless, I still find it too soon to dream of acceptance by those people who I admire for their courage because homophobic jokes and statements are still being made in the absence of other LGBT people. Yet, it is a dream this revolution has revived as well as many other long lost dreams.

Gay people of Syria should follow the lead of Syrian lesbians who have been fighting for freedom. It is the time for dreams, even though the most desired dream is yet to be accomplished.

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In Italy, prosecution opens into floating detention centres

Source: La Repubblica

Translation by Chiara Lauvergnac

The Prosecutor opened an investigation into the Palermo floating Cie, or the two ships still stationed in the port of Palermo, with about three hundred Tunisians on board, illegally detained for weeks the conditions of their detention have been contested. The decision of the prosecutor Leonardo Agueci, who coordinates the investigation, came after the presentation of a petition presented this morning by some members of the anti-racist movement in Palermo. Among the signatories of the complaint are Professor Fulvio Vassallo Paleologo (lawyer and member dell'Asgi), Judith Gleitze (Borderline Sicily, which in recent months has constantly monitored the situation in Lampedusa) and then Peter Milazzo (Sicily CGIL ) and Anna Bucca (ARCI).

The complaint indicates that the Tunisian prisoners on ships in the port of Palermo are illegally deprived of freedom, without right to legal defense and without the validation of a judge and asks the presence of six children on board and a pregnant woman is clarified, as denounced yesterday by the member of Parliament, Alessandra Siragusa of the Democratic Party and the regional member of Democrats, Pino Apprendi, after visiting the floating Cie, on the side of the demonstration at the port of Palermo by anti-racist movements. Here is an excerpt dell'esposto, asking to make clarity also in the beatings occurred in Lampedusa against a Canadian activist and an imprisoned Tunisian still in a coma at the hospital of Palermo.

"To our knowledge, no formal measures have been issued authorizing the detention of the migrants on the ships," said Fulvio Vassallo Paleologo, professor of asylum law at the University of Palermo. "In fact they are denied the right to defense and freedom of communication with the outside, as it happens in the Cie. It is demonstrated by the fact that they have confiscated their mobile phones. We ask the judiciary to verify compliance with the procedures laid down to implement the repatriation and EU rules in the  forced removal of foreigners in irregular position."

 At the moment, the investigation of the Prosecutor is against persons unknown.

~~

This story was corrected 29 September following comment by Prof. Bruce Leimsidor. He said:

"No one questions the right of the state to detain these people, who are most likely simply economic migrants. It is unclear if they have already been adjudicated, or if they even have requested asylum. But at any rate, the state has a prefect right, and even obligation, to detain them until their cases have been adjudicated. Their detention is certainly not illegal. Nor does the Repubblica story imply this."

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The Guardian tells stories of LGBT from Africa, Middle East

Image via Wikipedia

Source: The Guardian

Bisi Alimi, from Nigeria

In 2002, I was at university in Nigeria and standing for election. A magazine wrote about me and exposed me as being gay. This led the university to set up a disciplinary committee. I was very nearly dismissed. When I did graduate, people wanted to refuse me my certificate on the grounds that I did not have good enough morals to be an alumnus of the university. While this was going on, the then-president, Olusegun Obasanjo, declared that there were no homosexuals in Nigeria, and that such a thing would not be allowed in the country.

I talked with a friend of mine, who is a famous Nigerian talkshow host, about challenging this opinion. Nobody had come out publicly before. So, in October 2004, I appeared on her breakfast show, New Dawn with Funmi Iyanda". I talked about my sexuality, the burden of the HIV epidemic in the gay community.

The reaction was immediate and violent. I was subjected to brutality from the police and the community. I was disowned by my family and lost many friends, including in the gay community. They were afraid to know me. I was isolated, with no support and no job. The TV show was taken off the air by the government. It led to the introduction of the Same Sex Prohibition bill of 2006. All I had done was say who I was. Three years later I appeared on the BBC World Service. I repeated what I had said on television in Nigeria and suggested my government was using attacks on homosexuality to help cover up its own corruption.

On my arrival back to Nigeria, I was arrested, detained and beaten by the police. For a month, until I fled back to the UK in April 2007, my life was in constant danger.

Nassr, from Iraq

I was working for the Americans as a translator. When I got back to Iraq, I found that my house had been confiscated by the Mahdi militia. They are Shia, I am Christian. When I knocked on the door, I said: "This is my house." They said: "This is not your house. Either you go or we kill you." They beat me. They hit me on my head with their guns. I ran away, so they went after my sons instead. I heard they had asked my neighbours about me, and the neighbours had told them I am gay. I was now in real danger.

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Video: New documentary on Arab Spring features Lebanese lesbian activist

Source: Ahram

Rebecca Saade

A new documentary about the Arab Spring has had its debut screening in Sweden, adding to the growing number of films about the region’s revolutions.

Zero Silence, a Swedish production, takes us on a journey through Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon beginning in 2009, over a year before the revolutions began.

Alexandra Sandels, one of the filmmakers, has been a journalist in the Arab region for over five years and speaks Arabic. Her colleagues, Jonny von Wallström and Javeria Rizvi Kabanihave have also worked in the region before, particularly in Egypt.

The film gives an insight into the lives of activists in the three countries but offers little new material for a regular Arab viewer.

“When we started the project we felt that voices from the MENA region were missing internationally,” Sandels told Ahram Online. “Media often portrays violence and what we were interested in documenting were the ordinary people and members of the young generation pushing for change in their home countries...This might be obvious to an Egyptian but not necessarily for the rest of the world.”

Despite the intensity of the topic, the documentary has poetic undertones and an unhurried pace that gives the subjects moments of reflection. The soundtrack and the composition of shots give the film many picturesque sequences and the editing helps maintain a consistent flow.

Sandels had known her subjects before shooting began and it’s evident that most of them were at ease during the filming.

 “It was important for us that the audience would feel as if they were 'hanging out' with the subjects,” she explained.

The film focuses on Egyptian activists Wael Abbas and Hossam El-Hamalawy, Rebecca Saade from Lebanon and Lilia Wesalty from Tunisia.

In pre-revolution footage of Abbas and Hamalawy they talk about the immediacy of an uprising (Hamalawy says that the best solution is a general strike).

Wesalty in Tunisia relays the events of the Tunisian uprising and talks about the newfound ownership of public space, something missing during the Ben Ali regime.

Saade’s story is more personal, talking about her life as a lesbian in Lebanon and her LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) activism.

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In Middle East and North Africa, UNAIDS supports step up for gay/MSM services

Image via Wikipedia

Source: UNAIDS

Men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgendered people are amongst the most stigmatized populations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In spite of social tension and sensitivities, most countries in the region have recognized the importance of programming for, and working with, MSM to strengthen effective national AIDS responses. Nevertheless, existing prevention programmes have remained limited in scope and scale, highlighting limitations in coverage and quality.

In this context, UNAIDS brought together representatives from civil society, governments, national AIDS programmes and regional and international partners to a workshop in Lebanon to discuss ways to scale up interventions that focus on the needs of MSM in the region.

The workshop was organized in collaboration with Helem-Lebanese Protection for LGBT association, the International AIDS Alliance (AA) and the Regional Arab Network Against AIDS (RANAA). It focused on the outcomes of a policy research project entitled “Enabling Access to HIV Services for Men Who Have Sex with Men - Situational analysis and Partnership Development”. The main purpose of the research, conducted in Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia, was to identify ways to enable and facilitate this access to HIV services.

Existing repressive laws and policies deter MSM from seeking HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.  Currently 18 of the 21 countries that form the MENA region criminalize male to male sex behaviour — and four enforce capital punishment.

Participants at the meeting highlighted the importance of creating enabling environments that allow unrestricted dissemination of prevention messages and services, appropriate provision of HIV treatment, care and support services, and the empowerment of MSM and transgender population in planning, implementing and evaluating programme strategies.

Participants also reviewed a handbook developed by UNAIDS, based on field experiences and lessons learnt, to inform effective, expanded and culturally sensitive programmatic interventions among MSM and transgender people.

“Most programmes in MENA are still at a pilot stage. We need to scale up current programs using the extensive experience over the last years. This handbook, adapted to the region’s context, will hopefully inform interventions among MSM and transgender people,” said Ms Nicole Massoud, Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor for the UNAIDS regional support team.

There are no reliable estimates of the number of men who have sex with men in the region. However, there is documented evidence of increased HIV spread and risk among MSM and transgender people, which may result in concentrated HIV epidemics over the next decade.

Related articles

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Four ways the EU can stop migrants drowning as they flee North Africa

Bodies washed up after a migrant boat sank off Lampedusa

Source: EU observer
 
By Judith Sunderland

A man named Mohammed posted this plea on the Migrants at Sea website three days after a rickety boat capsized on 6 April in rough seas just 39 miles from Lampedusa:

"i wont to know if my brother is there with the eritreans died in the sea his name is sebah tahir nuru." 

The long-expected exodus by sea from war-torn Libya has begun, and with it the tragic and avoidable loss of life.

Leading EU member states such as France and the UK are active players in the UN Security-Council-mandated Nato air operations to protect Libya's civilian population. Yet when it comes to civilians fleeing Libya by boat, EU states seem more concerned with domestic politics than saving lives.

More than 200 people, including children, are presumed dead in the 6 April tragedy. Two young women died on 13 April when the small boat that held them and over 200 others smashed into rocks off Sicily. As many as 800 more people who have left Libya by boat in the following days are unaccounted for.

A survivor of an unsuccessful crossing told me there were 72 people in his boat when it left Libya. When the boat was already in distress, what appeared to be a military helicopter hovered above and dropped some water and biscuits. The captain of the boat decided to remain in the area, believing the helicopter would send a rescue team. None came. As the boat, now out of fuel, drifted, the occupants saw what looked like an aircraft carrier and tried to convey that they were in distress, but received no help. The boat drifted for two weeks before the currents pushed it back to Libya. Only nine out of the 72 people on board survived.

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Will the "New Middle East" be a welcoming place for gays and lesbians?

Image by marcovdz via Flickr

Source: Trustlaw

By Hossein Alizadeh

Karim is a 27-year-old medical professional who until recently was doing everything possible to remain under the radar of former President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali’s secret service, while trying his best to help other gay men in Tunisia.  This included organizing support groups, teaching about sexually transmitted diseases, and arranging counseling — all while  avoiding politics.

The popular uprising in late December changed all of this. He began posting images of demonstrations and victims of government crackdowns on Facebook and toward the end, even caricatures of the dictator himself. Karim is one of many gay Tunisians who overcame his fear and joined millions at the barricades to overthrow a corrupt and dictatorial regime.

Like all other citizens, Arab lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals suffered through decades of injustice and oppression from despotic rulers and their regimes. In the headiness of the current moment, there is an expectation that the “new wave of freedom” will benefit LGBT people. But will they equally enjoy the fruits of this struggle? Is it time for LGBT Arabs to step out of the closet and demand basic human rights?

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Can Tunisian gays be optimistic about the 'Jasmine Revolution'?

Source: TÊTU

By Sébastien Letard

[Google translation]

INTERVIEW. After 23 years of dictatorship, the revolution of Jasmine and the departure of President Ben Ali gave hope a wind of freedom in Tunisia. The Tunisian director Mehdi Ben Attia gives his point of view.

As in most Arab countries, homosexuality is banned in Tunisia. Since 1913, the Tunisian Criminal Code punishes "sodomy between consenting adults" three years in prison, although in fact the gay community enjoys relative freedom. The Revolution Will it improve things? TÊTU asked the Tunisian director Mehdi Ben Attia if he believes this wind of freedom will also benefit gays and lesbians in Tunisia. Entretien. Maintenance.

TÊTU: In your film, The Edge, released in May 2010, wanted to show you a happy homosexual. Do you consider that homosexuality is more accepted in Tunisia than in other Arab or Muslim?

Mehdi Ben Attia: Yes, it is a social fact relatively more visible and more accepted in Tunisia. However, there are laws. They are little used but they exist. And it is mostly the company is conservative. For 7 or 8 years, I feel that is emerging gay scene. There are pockets of tolerance, first in the arts and culture and in some cities. But for the rest of society, they are very frowned upon practice.

TÊTU: But then, what is tolerated? What is frowned upon?

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Facebook, a refuge for homosexuals in Tunisia?

Image via Wikipedia  

Source: Gay Maroc

By MBH (Tekiano)

[Google translation]



Tunisian groups dedicated to homosexuality abound on facebook. And if gay men find refuge in Tunisia in the social network is not quite by chance: Facebook works because actively with the U.S. Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

The gay community seems Tunisian particularly active on Facebook. In countries where homosexuality is considered taboo and a hot topic, the web can defy the bans. Recall that in Tunisia, Article 230 of the Penal Code considers the act of sodomy as wrong. It is even punishable by imprisonment for three years. Also a practice condemned by the Islamic religion. Il n'empêche. Young, old, men, women, from all social classes in the Tunisia find themselves on the social network to discuss, and most importantly, build relationships.

Several Tunisian groups openly dedicated to homosexuality abound on Facebook. Groups that bear titles like "Gay Tunisia (754membres)," Gay Tunisian "," I'm gay and I assume Tunisian "... The list is not exhaustive but illustrates the trend. The pages dedicated to lesbians Tunisian social network are just as explicit.

The gay community seems to enjoy this virtual space free and open to all for posting ads for naughty rendezvous, exchange of phone numbers, links to specialized blogs, articles .... Some groups have turned into outright dating sites like "Meet gay bi Tunisia" and its some 888 members. Engaging in intimate conversations, sometimes very hot, the members (who come from all regions of Tunisia) take their ease for making contacts.

"Hi everyone I am a young man I want a romantic relationship with a faithful and serious man for a relationship lasting two. I am looking for someone else I do not want a cycle or a bi so if you are this person please leave a message "Some launches LS, did not really scared, go straight into the heart of the matter by referring to clearly their "measurements". Others seek pragmatic "partners in El Menzah, El Manar or Ennasr.

However, comments stigmatizing (and insulting) gays also bloom on these pages. But it's not really by chance that Facebook, with its 500 million members, is a haven for the gay community in Tunisia. The social network is working, in fact, actively with the U.S. Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which specializes in defending the rights of homosexuals.

In an official note published October 19, 2010, officials point out that Facebook's first social network in the world is "in touch with organizations that can provide help if you or someone you know is in danger."

Groundbreaking new report on the legal situation of homosexuals in Arab countries.

Mr. Nizar Saghieh and Dr. Wahid El Ferchichi

Source: bekhsoos.com

Lebanon-based LGBT organization Helem launched on Monday, December 21, 2009 in Beirut a groundbreaking report on the legal situation of homosexuals in Arab countries.

Funded by the Ford Foundation, the publication, titled “Homosexual Relations in Penal Codes: General Study on Laws in Arab Countries with Reports on Lebanon and Tunisia”, is part of a series of thematic researches that address the effect of Article 534 on the political, civil, economical, social and cultural rights of gays and lesbians and other individuals who wish to express their sexual orientation and needs.

“The report is the result of a year and a half of work,” said Helem’s Charbel Maydaa. “We hope it will promote a calm and democratic discussion on sexual and gay rights as well as private liberties, and our right as citizens of this country and this world to lead a full life that is not oppressed on the basis of our sexual needs.”

He added: “It will serve as the basis of Helem’s future planning and advocacy work.”

The report was prepared by Dr. Wahid El Ferchichi, law professor at the Tunisian University, and Mr. Nizar Saghiyeh, Lebanese attorney at law and independent legal researcher.

Dr. El Ferchichi presented an overview of the comparative study on laws related to homosexuality in the Arab World, with a focus on the situation in Tunisia.

“This legal study covers laws and legislation in 20 Arab countries, which almost all penalize homosexual acts, whether they expressly mention them or not.” he said. “In spite of the differences in the penalties, homosexual acts, and the overall framework, sanctions are absolute violations of human rights, not just gay rights.”

Dr. El Ferchichi stressed that the “most vulnerable groups to the control of the law in Arab countries are women and homosexuals.”

Paths to reconciliation revolve around the “promotion of human rights and the decriminalization of the homosexual act in the laws,” Dr. El Ferchichi said. However he warned that decriminalization doesn’t necessarily mean acceptance or the legalization of this act. “It only means ridding our Arab legislations of all unjustified aspects,” he said.


Mr. Saghiyeh introduced the results of the research on the implementation of Article 534 of the Lebanese Penal Code, which penalizes “sexual acts against nature” with up to one year in prison.

“I thought Article 534 wasn’t implemented,” he said. “But it is with both men and women. And I was surprised to find there was a number of prosecutions on the basis of 534.”

Mr. Saghiyeh said that there was a kind of “social schism” between the general discourse on gay rights found in Beirut, for example, and the courts, where people are being arrested and prosecuted. “There are no arguments that say the Article violates private liberties,” he said. “There is no hint whatsoever to that [discourse] or the possibility of finding a similar legitimacy.”

He saw the report as a means to bridge the gap between the discourse in the public sphere in Beirut and the judges’ verdicts in the hopes of repealing the Article through the judiciary instead of politicians.

His research covered roughly 50 verdicts over the last five years in Beirut, Baabda and Tripoli.

“We analyzed proofs, pursuits, penalties, and the concept of Article 534 as well as its elements to understand how it’s being implemented,” Mr. Saghiyeh explained, stressing that the entire implementation process is a grave violation of privacy.

At the end of his presentation, Mr. Saghiyeh recommended that documentation of court proceedings continues, that a model court of the prosecution of a homosexual, based on judicial precedents be prepared to train lawyers, and that audiences be held with lawyers and judges to introduce the rights discourse to courts.

Then came the most gratifying moment of the press conference.

Mr. Saghiyeh announced that after completing his part of the report in mid-November, a verdict came out of the court in Batroun in relation to Article 534, in which the judge discussed nature, negating the application of the Article on homosexuals.

“I think the verdict warrants no comment,” he said, reading parts of it out loud.

One Day, One Struggle: A Campaign for Human Rights in Muslim Societies

Source: Bitch

By Mandy Van Deven,

November 9 over twenty organizations in eleven countries held "simultaneous events and public demonstrations on topics like protesting customary practices such as honor killings and FGM/C, overturning discriminatory and life threatening laws like stoning or lashing of women, and calling for LGBT rights, the right to sexuality education and the right to bodily and sexual integrity of all people."

The One Day, One Struggle campaign is a joint effort organized by the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR), a solidarity network comprised of NGOs and academic institutions in the Middle East, North Africa, and South and Southeast Asia that work to promote sexual and bodily rights as human rights in Muslim societies. The CSBR emerged in 2001 from the “Women, Sexuality and Social Change in the Middle East and Mediterranean Symposium” organized by Turkey's Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR), a global nongovernmental organization (NGO) interested in gaining legal reforms in Muslim societies worldwide.

On the eve of the campaign initiation, I spoke to WWHR campaign coordinators Pinar Ilkkaracan and Irazca Geray about the goals of the premiere advocacy event.

What is the purpose of One Day, One Struggle?

Issues around sexuality and sexual and reproductive rights display a huge variety in different Muslim societies. For instance, so-called honor crimes continue to be a widespread violation of women’s sexual and bodily rights in the Middle East, but it is almost unheard of in Southeast Asia or the Sub-Saharan Africa. And homosexuality, for instance, is punished as a criminal offence in many countries of the Middle East, but it is widely accepted in Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. Despite all these differences, there is a common fact shared by all participants of this campaign: the attacks on sexual and reproductive rights are escalating, which is a result of rising conservatism that is fueled by militarism, increasing inequalities, the politicization of religion, and Islamophobia in the post-9/11 context. All this has strengthened the patriarchal and extremist religious ideologies that use sexuality, especially women’s sexuality, as a tool of oppression.

Our efforts to reverse this tide constitute the basis of the One Day, One Struggle campaign, which aims to make the struggles of sexual and reproductive rights advocates in Muslim societies visible at the international level.

Why is it important to have a coalition of people organizing for human rights across Muslim societies?

Coalition building across various regions and between NGOs and academic institutions on various themes related to sexuality has been extremely useful for our struggles. We have been able to inform and update each other on how human rights violations in the domain of sexuality are being legitimized in different countries. This gives us the information and experience needed to build the necessary strategies against the misuse of religion as an instrument of control and sexual oppression in our individual contexts and regions. We have been able to support each others' work by producing and disseminating reports and publications on the legal reforms in our own countries and by holding the very first high-level, international meetings on sexual and reproductive rights in countries like Lebanon and Tunisia, where previously sexuality had been a taboo.

The CSBR is not a coalition working for the rights of only Muslim women, it is not a religious or faith-based network, and we are not working only in Islamic countries. The coalition also does not just have Muslim members. It includes people who are Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, and other religious minorities from Muslim-majority countries, as they are also affected by various practices that violate human rights related to sexuality. The CSBR includes both women and men and has a very diverse membership ranging from women’s human rights NGOs to LGBTQ organizations to groups that work on HIV/AIDS to academic institutions and departments.

What do you hope to achieve with this event?

We hope to show that even if we are in different countries and even on different continents, when working on issues related to sexuality, we are united in our struggle to realize sexual and bodily rights in Muslim societies. The One Day, One Struggle campaign aims to raise public awareness on sexuality and sexual rights in our national contexts and to draw international public attention to issues around sexual and bodily rights in our regions. In each host country, the CSBR members are focusing on the pertinent issues within their own context.

For instance, CSBR member organizations in Tunisia are focusing on the urgent need for sexuality education, while in Indonesia they have come together to make the public, media, and health care providers aware of the fact that the practice of female circumcision is a form of violence against women. Another CSBR organization in Indonesia is trying to mobilize against the recently passed law on stoning as a punishment for adultery in Aceh. In Palestine CSBR members are holding a week-long campaign against femicide and the impact of the Apartheid Wall and house demolitions on women. In the Sudan they are coming together with public figures and Ministry of Health representatives to discuss how to work towards women’s empowerment and also contribute to campaigns to end female genital mutilation. In Malaysia they will call a press conference to abolish Section 498 of the Malaysian Penal Code. Campaign activities are also varied, ranging from conferences to artistic performances to book launches.

What challenges have you faced organizing One Day, One Struggle?

Getting the press not to interpret “Muslim societies” simply as “Islamic countries.” Stereotyping of Muslim women has been a big challenge as well, but this is also why we are doing this campaign: to show that even though it is not covered as such in the Western media, there is not one single definition of what it means to be a “Muslim society.” Practices and issues are very diverse and a lot of courageous work is being undertaken by the sexual and reproductive rights advocates in Muslim societies.

Logistically, it was not easy to organize this campaign in eleven countries spread across such a wide geography. Things that may seem like small details--such as time differences and the fact that all organizations have different capacities to access internet--can be very problematic. It was definitely very encouraging to create such a link across boundaries, languages, and themes.


Will this be a one-time event or do you plan to repeat it annually?

We wish we could say this will be a one-time event that will help achieve all our aims, but obviously the likelihood of that happening is slim. Depending on the outcomes of this campaign, the CSBR will decide if and how to turn this collective effort into an annual campaign.

Film explores being gay in Tunisia

Source: Behind the mask

By Jerina Messie(BTM French reporter/translator)

A film, set to be released on the 7 April 2010, has brought the topic of homosexuality back in the agenda in Tunisia.

The first feature film by Tunisia’s Mehdi ben Attia titled “Le Fil”, tackles the issue of homosexuality between men within a male chauvinistic society where men are supposed to be men and ancient traditions still rule.

Entirely shot in Tunisia, “Le Fil” was presented under the Tunisian National Selection, during the Festival du Film Francophone d’Angouleme (South West of France), on 26 to the 30 August 2009.

The film is about Malik, a young man from a rich Tunisian family who has spent many years overseas. As the only son, the death of his father brings him back in his home country. During his years overseas, he discovered his sexual orientation.

Now that he is back home, living with his mother, he wants to “get out of the closet” and tell her that he loves men. But unable to do so, he lies and just gets himself into deeper and deeper water until he falls in love with Bilal.

With his young lover, everything becomes possible; Malik breaks taboos, comes clean about his homosexuality and in the heat of Tunisian summer finds the happiness he has always desired.

The rest of the film contains all the ingredients that go with the discovery of ones homosexuality, attraction, love and revelations and what subsequently follow, arguments, social hypocrisies and lies.

Critics paid tribute to the performance of the main characters, the absence of modesty in sex scenes, which they said are very realistic and filmed with sensuality and concluded that it is a good story well put together and filmed.

However, they deplored the fact that like in many gay films homosexuality is presented as an “issue” affecting only middle and upper class people and is reduced to a complex relationship with one of the two parents or even both.

The Middle East – The New Gay Frontier?

Image via Wikipedia

Source: The New Gay

By Kareem

The Middle East gets a really bad wrap. A product of backwards colonial policies and a general ignorance on the part of many people in the world, most associate this region with wars, terrorists, conservative fundamentalists, Muslim extremists, and close-minded societies. Some people only know the area for its connections with the two Gulf wars and the War on Terror in Afghanistan (which is not even actually part of the Middle East). To many Americans, the Middle East and North Africa regions are characterized by oppressed women in veils, turbaned and bearded jihadist fighters sitting in caves plotting world domination and destruction, and, in general, societies that despise Western civilization and America in particular. This romanticizing of the “Evil Arab/Muslim” has reached a height of such massive naivete that there are now movements out there to quell this spreading unintelligence, especially in America. These have taken the form of various films, documentaries, and books such as Reel Bad Arabs by Jack Shaheen and various publications by Edward Said. Simply browsing through these works, it is astounding to see how negative stereotypes of Arabs and the Middle East have been hammered into our minds. From Disney characters to basic education surrounding current events in the Middle East, America’s perspective on the region, via the media and popular culture, has been cast in shadow, suspicion, and fear. Most Americans can’t find Iraq on a map and many have either never heard of Palestine or think it is a legitimate part of Israel. This callowness is disgraceful and exceptionally embarrassing. For a country that claims to be at the pinnacle of education in the world, this is unacceptable.

It was a result of this general incomprehension that I become interested in the Middle East. When I left for college, I had initially set out to learn Chinese. After experiencing the overcrowded Chinese language classrooms at my alma mater, I went back to my academic adviser with a different idea. I would enroll in their new Middle East program and learn Arabic. I had never been to the Middle East, but as a kid, I had had a huge crush on Disney’s Aladdin (one I would later regret). I even had Aladdin bedsheets, with Aladdin’s beautifully drawn pectoral muscles showcased on the pillowcases (and my parents wondered why I never wanted to get out of bed!). I had grown up in a small town, in a Christian family, and with little knowledge of Middle Eastern or Muslim society or culture. I had never been to a mosque, never eaten hummus, and had dressed as Jafar for Halloween in fifth grade. It was with this limited, narrow view of anything Middle Eastern that I started learning a language that would come to define my personal, academic, and professional interests.

And yet, while my desire to learn more about the region grew and my linguistic ability to speak Arabic continued to develop, I found more and more people were confused as to why I wanted to learn the language of such a negatively perceived part of the world. My parents would plead with me to take up French or Italian instead. What could I possibly see in a region that was becoming labeled as the place where those terrorists came from that blew up the World Trade Center and the Pentagon? Even after the novelty of learning a new language and culture wore off, I was determined to prove that the Middle East was nothing like everyone made it out to be. Not even a year into language training, I had met some of the most incredible individuals I had ever met before, all hailing from the Middle East. It was with this spirit of curiosity and stereotypes-be-damned attitude that I sought out any way to get myself over to the Middle East. It was the first time I can ever say I had a calling for something.

But my friends and family were still confused. Wouldn’t it be easier, especially for a young gay man, to study somewhere more “open,” such as Europe? Wouldn’t it be dangerous as a gay man to travel and live in the war-torn sandy hinterlands of Africa and southwest Asia? Even as I boarded the plane for my first trip to the region, a slight sense of hesitation crept into my consciousness. What was I really doing? And what did I really expect, as a homosexual westerner, to get out of traveling, studying, and living in the Middle East?

Little did I know that the experiences that I had in several of the countries of the Middle East would defy expectation. I soon found out that, much like all other parts of Arab/Muslim/Middle Eastern society, homosexuality has been stigmatized in Western culture and extremely misconstrued. As the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was claiming that there were no gays in Iran, I was enjoying an amazing drag show at a club in Hammamet, Tunisia, on one of the most holy days in Islam: Eid El-Fitr, the holiday that ends the month of Ramadan. While various religious clerics and governments blasted homosexuality as an unforgivable sin of society, the real Middle East, the everyday people that make up some of the most culturally vibrant societies in the world, were embracing my sexuality, yet in their own in way.

This isn’t to say that the Middle East isn’t a sexuality repressed and oppressed region: there are various factors that I’ll point out in following articles that prove otherwise. If anything, though, I found that the definitions westerners use for sexuality and cultural expression are not applicable to the Middle East. To understand the situation of gays and lesbians in the region (and I don’t presume to having such an understanding), one must throw out the traditional western views on homosexuality and sexual expression. Forget tops. Forget bottoms. In a region where sexuality, for the most part, is so utterly taboo that it is kept behind closed doors, it is important to take a fresh view in order to try and understand how Middle Eastern sexuality works. In many cases, it can be argued that, like most of the world, sexual expression varies country to country and not by region. I will be utilizing this view in my coming posts. It is also important to remember that, much like the rest of the world, despite what the media decides to show, this region is modernizing and at an incredible rate.

Please know that you will not find a city in the Middle East without an exploding cellphone and internet culture. You will not find a city in the Middle East with a skyline that isn’t peppered with aging satellite dishes atop every building. And you will not find a city in the Middle East without homosexuals. Through my next posts, I hope to shed more light on homosexuality in the Middle East, on being a western gay man in the Middle East, and what Americans and American homosexuals can learn from their brothers and sisters in this intensely rich and historic part of the world.

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.