"We recognize that if we don't do politics, politics will do us."
~ Aleksei Korolyov, one of the first openly gay Russians to run for public office
None of us are free until all of us are free.
"None of us are free until all of us are free. And make no mistake about it! The ruling today was just the first step. It continues. The struggle continues."
~ Senior Counselor Lisa Shoman who represented plaintiff Caleb Orozco in his complaint that the law criminalizing homosexuality in Belize was unconstitutional. In a landmark ruling, Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin struck down the law.
We value some lives more than others
"The real reason we haven’t beaten the epidemic boils down to one simple fact: We value some lives more than others.
We value men more than women. Straight love more than gay love. White skin more than black skin. The rich more than the poor. And adults more than adolescents. I know this because AIDS does not discriminate on its own. It has no biological preference... it doesn't single out the vulnerable, the oppressed or the abused. We single out the vulnerable, the oppressed and the abused. We ignore them, we let them suffer and then we let them die."
~ actress Charlize Theron, addressing the 21st International AIDS Conference in South Africa
We are not tired, and we are not going to give up
"There is nothing more beautiful than looking out into the world and seeing nothing but support and generosity from our community of brothers. And I can tell you one thing, we are not tired, and we are not going to give up."
~Yuli Rustinawati, co-founder of the Indonesian LGBTIQ rights group Arus Pelangi, accepting an award for her work at an OutRight International gala.
Profoundly and unimaginably wrong...
“There was a time in our history when we turned thousands of ordinary young men into criminals. And it was profoundly and unimaginably wrong."
~ Victorian State Premier, Daniel Andrews MP in a formal apology to Australians who suffered under the criminalization of homosexuality in the country.
...such people...
…[R]eaching the counseling room I found a lady seated there and she asked for my history and I told them how I love and sleep with boys and the lady looked at me and she said, “we don't offer services to such people.”
And I was like “I’m a human being who is dying soon, can you please give me drugs and I go?” She told me to move out of the center and go somewhere else. Meanwhile she started calling people to come and see “this rotten person,” so I had to walk out the center and went back home.
I felt like committing suicide — so lost and confused.
~Adroa, a 26 year-old Ugandan who was denied access to HIV treatment because of his sexual orientation. via 'And That's How I Survived Being Killed'
...we need to embrace them...
“Ke nako ya gore re amogele gore re na le batho ba mohuta oo mo Botswana. Go thola re ganetsa selo se re se itseng kgotsana re se bone ga gona go re thusa ka sepe.
[It is time we accept that we have these people in our lives. To continuously deny these facts would not help us in any way. We live with these people in our societies, we need to embrace them and create enabling and welcoming environment in our society and health facilities]"
~ City councillor Sesupo Jacobs from Bostwana as the Gaborone City Council urged the national government to decriminalise same-sex sexual relationships
...sickening and ridiculous...
“It is absolutely sickening and ridiculous that in the 21st century a homosexual act gets a person in Cameroon six months to five years imprisonment.”
Barrister Walter Atoh
We can’t have one group benefitting while another is suffering
‘We can’t have one group benefitting while another is suffering. We [The Ministry] do not share the view that the rights of citizens are good for one but not the others.’
~ Guyana Minister of Social Protection, Hon. Volda Lawrence
I'm just tired of speaking up
"I've become disillusioned and even passive since the Supreme Court's 2013 ruling on Section 377. I'm just tired of speaking up. People don't realise how the law fuels social prejudice."
~ Onir, Indian filmmaker as the Supreme Court reconsiders Section 377 of the penal code that criminalizes homosexuality.
who am I going to be?
“I have been going to the mountain to pray about [how to stop being gay], fasting and I came to the point that I was just starving myself…it’s something that I have tried and I have come to the point where I am saying: this is me and if I try to run away from myself, then who am I going to be?”
~ Eric Sambisa, from Malawi
...God created me fabulous...
If God wanted just another heterosexual, God could have created one, but instead God created me fabulous. My sexual orientation is something I cannot change.”
~ Johann De Joodt, after his years spent engaged in ‘conversion therapy’ in Australia
...human beings who love, who work, who pay taxes...
"While the criminal laws exist, people will feel shame, and the hypocrisy will continue. Hypocrites often look at gay men purely in terms of a sex act, not human beings who love, who work, who pay taxes."
~Eric Gitari, Kenyan lawyer who was outed by tabloids
Homosexuals are around us, like it or not...
“Homosexuals are around us, like it or not, this is a fact that has been true since long ago and it is still true today. They might be those closest to us, our children, our siblings, our grandchildren, or our best friends, but sometimes we have no empathy for this issue. They are not people who have invaded from the West but rather they are part of us."
~ Hartoyo, an LGBT activist from Jakarta in an open letter to a newly-elected politician
...he has broken barriers many of us on the continent can only dream
We remember Joel Gustave Nana Ngongang, who passed away at the age of 33. A leading African LGBT and HIV activist born in Cameroon, Joel was the founding Executive Director of the African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHeR), chief executive officer at Partners for Rights and Development (Paridev), and co-founder of Alternatives Cameroun.
"Joel has changed face of HIV and MSM in Africa through his work with Amsher and he has broken barriers many of us on the continent can only dream. Today is a very sad day in Africa and West Africa in particular." ~ Nigerian activist Bisi Alimi
...there are places all over the county where young people are hurting...
"I believe that my school isn't special. I believe that there are places like Hillsboro all over the county where young people are hurting, feeling alone, and being discriminated against because of who they are. And I believe it's important, now that I've been put in this position, for me to stay strong for all of those young people and for my community"
~ Trans teen Lila Perry on the controversy stirred in her town around her use of the girl's locker room.
I just want to start living
“All I want now is to be in a safe place, unreachable by my dad or anyone with extremist thoughts. I want to be safe, to be free, and to be myself - to get my degree and start living… I just want to start living.”
~ Taim, who escaped Iraq after ISIS members told his father Taim is gay
We were seen, we were counted...
"We were seen, we were counted...and in the end we were valued."
~ Jensen Byrne, UN volunteer on the importance of Ireland's National Referendum on marriage equality.
Will I prioritize [rights] over finding money for food?
Will I prioritize [rights] over finding money for food? Labor issues, issues of the workforce are issues of LGBT people. And the sooner we recognize that, then the sooner we can provide responses to the needs of members of our community who need proper attention”
~ Claire, a transgender woman, on the striking workforce at Tanduay Distillers Inc in the Philippines
...there can be no justification for attempts to ‘eliminate’ LGBTI from society...
"As variation in sexual identities and orientations has always been part of a normal society, there can be no justification for attempts to ‘eliminate’ LGBTI from society. Efforts should rather be focused on countering the belief systems that create hostile and even violent environments for those who are made to feel alienated within societies...
The study suggests that African health professionals and their associations should adopt affirmative stances towards LGBTI individuals."
excerpt from The Academy of Science South Africa report "Diversity in Human Sexuality: Implications for Policy in Africa"