A HUMAN EMERGENCY IS BREWING IN EAST AFRICA

Nov. 15 — While the world’s focus is on Israel-Palestine, another tragedy is unfolding in East Africa where Gay, Lesbian and Trans individuals are faced with government-sanctioned persecution and violence daily.

“I have spoken with people who were imprisoned by their own families, forced to flee from angry mobs and, ultimately, became refugees for no other reason than who they are.”

Kenya, Uganda and Sudan have long been aggressive toward the LGBTQ community, criminalizing gayness with laws that threaten up to 14 years in prison and, in some cases, death. Citizens are fed anti-gay propaganda, labeling them “devils” and fear-mongering that they intend to “turn” children to their “lifestyle”, making LGBTQ individuals unemployable and unable to secure housing. A recent Ugandan law that creates even stricter penalties for anyone exhibiting non-normative sexuality has, according to researchers, resulted in 306 human rights violations, mostly perpetrated by private citizens, who are allowed to brutalize “offenders” with impunity.

Most of these persecuted individuals end up in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. Unfortunately, the United Nations camp has not been the haven they’d hoped for. In Kakuma, LGBTQ individuals have been subject to further human rights abuses — facing daily threats of violence, arson attacks on their shelters and even death — as they are targeted by fellow refugees.

“Most Westerners — even those of us who know what it’s like to be discriminated against because of our skin color, gender or sexuality — have no conception of what these brave individuals continue to endure. They have confronted the worst of what humanity has to offer and, yet, stand strong in their truth. They inspire me daily with their beauty, resilience and strength in the face of danger.”

I am calling on the United Nations to take notice and act with urgency to alleviate the suffering by expediting the relocation and resettlement of all LGBTQ individuals out of Kakuma Refugee Camp. The International Community must come together to protect this vulnerable group before the situation becomes untenable.

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