The hazardous state of LGBT rights in many parts of the world was illustrated last month when Rebecca Kadaga, Uganda’s viciously homophobic Speaker of Parliament, threatened to withdraw from the Inter-Parliamentary Union after some nations tried to amend a declaration on migrants and refugees to include LGBT people.

Edwin Sesange of the African Equality Foundation criticized Kadaga and pointed out “that the west introduced homophobia, not homosexuality, to Africa and Asia.” This is a point that many anti-colonialists refuse to grasp. The criminalization of “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” between two males, as you may surmise from the phrasing, derives not from Ugandan tradition but from the old British Penal Code.

In a desperate situation, the lifesaver, if not careful, can be pulled under. Like intensive care nurses, those of us who wish to help must steel ourselves to avoid being overwhelmed, or we will be of no use to those in need. And the need is certainly there.

I remembered this last week as I was flooded by appeals from gay Ugandan refugees. The Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014 was blocked in court on a technicality, but the campaign for the bill stirred up violence that caused many LGBT people to flee to Nairobi, Kenya for their lives. There they registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. UNHCR works with HIAS, an American nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid to refugees.

The refugees did receive aid. But a growing caseload has forced a cutoff of the monthly stipends many depended on to sustain themselves during a process that can drag on for years. The xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia they face are barriers to employment.

Here are several examples of what the refugees are going through. I have changed their names. Read more via Washington Blade