Travel rrponnts Stefan and Sebastien traveled to Sri Lanka December 2014. Sri Lanka is a tropil island natn shaped like a pearl the Indian Ocean jt off the Indian maland. Stefan and Sebastien are origally om London and France, rpectively and Nomadic Boys is their gay travel blog. Funny Boy is a Sri Lankan book Stefan grew up wh and loved (wrten by Shyam Selvadurai and highly remend to any LGBT traveller visg Sri Lanka). It tells the story of a young Ta gay boy lled Arjy growg up 1980s Sri Lanka durg the civil war era, stgglg to e to grips wh his homosexualy a very relig and tradnal fay and society. But g here some 30 years later late 2014, we wonred if much has changed. Gays Sri Lanka are pretty much regard as crimals, like gays India or gays the Maldiv. The dranian laws om the Brish lonial era (sectns 365 of the Sri Lankan Penal Co 1886) crimalizg gay sex (“rnal terurse”) wh up to 10 years prison and a fe are still place . Unfortunately 1995 the Sri Lankan judiciary threw gay Sri Lanka backwards by amendg this law to crimalize acts of "gross cency" wh a fe and up to 2 years prison (sectn 365A). There is no guidance as to what exactly “gross cency” is or isn’t, which leav open to abe by the police to victimize the LGBT muny. Dpe attempts by the UN and var Sri Lankan LGBT prott groups to qutn and repeal the laws, the ernment has not historilly been the most obligg: The recent former Print Rajapaksa, stated gay marriage would the Buddhist herage of the natn. He also opposed Norway's ambassador to Sri Lanka (Grete Lochen) brgg her wife to Sri Lanka, argug that lbian marriag are not legal Sri Lanka, so allowg *them* would enurage Sri Lankan women to want to behave this manner! Grete Lochen, Norway's ambassador to Sri Lanka wh former Print Mahda Rajapaksa - is that a fake se....??!! The recent surprise rult the Sri Lankan electns removed Rajapaksa om power and saw Mahripala Sirisena elected. Whilst this brgs an end to the homophobic ernment of Rajapaksa, remas to be seen if Sirisena’s will be any more welg to the hidn gay Sri Lanka muny than his precsor was. As foreigners Sri Lanka, we had a lovely time, pletely trouble ee and found the lols to be very iendly, kd-hearted people. But as we found the Maldiv, as foreigners, we will always enjoy a different level of treatment, whether straight or gay. Prcs Seby mpg up Nuwara Eliya, hill untry of Sri Lanka So, what's actually like livg there? We met a Shale thor Colombo, Kaluu, who has published var books and poetry, some wh a LGBT theme. He has asked to rema anonymo for fear of reprisal om fay and his work, so we will refer to him jt as - "Kaluu" ( means black Shale, his nickname bee he has darker sk than your average Sri Lankan). Ayubowan Kaluu, wele to our blog! Please troduce yourself: Good afternoon Nomadic Boys. I am Sri Lankan born, 34 years old, livg Colombo. I’m also a son, a iend, a gay, a Buddhist, a wrer, and a poet. Above all, a human. Two Ta boys beg very docile wh each other on the b Nuwara Eliya You’ve asked to keep your name anonymo on our blog, why is this? Sri Lankans do not posss posive attus towards homosexualy. Exposg my sexual inty uld affect my job, embarrass my fay and uld even be life threateng. My iends have faced such bter experience for beg “out”, particularly ral areas. For example, one iend was beaten by his olr brother when he me out to him until he bled. He ran away and now liv alone. Another iend me out to his fay and his father had a heart attack when he found out. He cid to marry and live a “good” heterosexual life to please his parents and cut off all ntact wh his gay iends, cludg me. CONTINUED, AFTER THE JUMP...
Contents:
- GAY PRI EVENTS SRI LANKA
- GAY AND LESBIAN HOTELS IN SRI LANKA
- AMSTERDAM GAY PRI
- HOW BY IS AMSTERDAM DURG THE AUGT GAY PRI EVENT? - AMSTERDAM FOM
- GAY PRI FTIVAL CROWDS - AMSTERDAM FOM
- CANNED CKTAIL ‘GAY WATER’ AIMS TO SH ON BUD LIGHT’S DYLAN MULVANEY DISASTER
- TRAVEL DIARY: A SRI LANKAN TALKS ABOUT GAY LIFE THE ASIAN REPUBLIC
GAY PRI EVENTS SRI LANKA
Answer 1 of 6: I will be visg Amsterdam for the first time om Augt 2 through Augt 5, and I jt learned that there is a large gay pri event held there durg that time. Can anyone scribe this event? I am specifilly terted the size of the... * sri lankan gay pride *
Sri Lanka's laws still nsir homosexualy a crime and a bill is pendg before Parliament to crimalize homosexualy. June is Pri Month, when lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer/qutng, and tersex (LGBTQI+) muni across the world hold events that celebrate and affirm different sexual orientatns, genr inti, and genr exprsns.
GAY AND LESBIAN HOTELS IN SRI LANKA
Flamer-Calra explaed that globally, the pri movement began 1969 wh the Stonewall Rts, a seri of monstratns and protts rponse to a police raid on a gay bar New York Cy, the Stonewall Inn, that saw the Police g vlence agast members of the LGBTIQ+ muny at a time US history where same-sex relatns was still crimalised many parts of the untry. Colombo PRIDE has always been a celebratn of Queer inti, enuragg and spirg the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, Intersex, and Queer/Qutng (LGBTIQ) muny and s Alli Sri Lanka to be proud of who they are. EQUAL GROUND is a non-prof anisatn seekg enomic, social, cultural, civil and polil rights for the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, Intersex and Qutng/Queer (LGBTIQ) muny of Sri Lanka.
AMSTERDAM GAY PRI
Our immediate objective has been to ntribute towards crimalisg homosexualy Sri Lanka. This is signifint as homosexualy is still nsired a crimal offence unr Sri Lanka's Brish lonial era-laws. However, Augt 2022, a bill was submted to the parliament wh the objective of crimalisg homosexualy and safeguardg the rights of LGBTQ+ muni.
The street march by the “Freedom Pri Para” Colombo today me as a private member’s motn was before parliament to crimalise homosexualy a natn that still follows anti-gay laws hered om Brish lonial lers.
Found 2004 by Sri Lankan gay rights activist Rosanna Flamer-Calra, Equal Ground has dited over 15 years to nductg groundwork 50 ci across Sri Lanka. From private rooms and apartments to LGBTQ-iendly hotels, you have the optn to stay the heart of gay districts as well as other neighborhoods the plac you vis.
HOW BY IS AMSTERDAM DURG THE AUGT GAY PRI EVENT? - AMSTERDAM FOM
A loft Soho, a shared room Barcelona or the Castro, a gay-iendly hotel Le Marais or Chelsea, experience misterb&b all gay travel statns! It’s a Saturday afternoon June, which means gay pri celebratns are happeng all over the world, but this one is different than most.
This is Sri Lanka, where homosexualy is illegal. Members of the gay muny were actually the first tractors of Equal Ground, unhappy at the attentn Flamer-Calra was brgg to the group, which had been ntent to live the shadows. Flamer-Calra stat that the first four years of Equal Ground’s existence were actually the easit, spe the hatns of the gay muny.
GAY PRI FTIVAL CROWDS - AMSTERDAM FOM
At the same time, they cled to crimalize homosexualy, which is subject to the same crimal that nailed Osr Wil on charg of “gross cency” back the 1890s, a legacy of the Brish Empire. When the laws were stuted by the Brish 134 years ago, Sri Lanka (then lled Ceylon) was tolerant of homosexualy.
CANNED CKTAIL ‘GAY WATER’ AIMS TO SH ON BUD LIGHT’S DYLAN MULVANEY DISASTER
It is equently noted by supporters of LGBT rights that the early kgs of Sri Lanka openly engaged homosexual relatnships wh the young men of their urts. In practice, no one is ever arrted or brought to trial for homosexualy Sri Lanka, if only bee the charge would be too difficult to prove. However, g out as gay n rult ostracism om one’s fay, discrimatn hog, loss of work, rape, and physil vlence.
Throughout the island, ayurvedic snake oil clics promise an easy five-week “cure” for homosexualy volvg meditn and phystherapy.
Parks and beach known to be popular gay hangouts are equently targeted by police lookg for brib and easy targets for harassment. Many gay people end up marryg a member of the oppose sex jt to keep om beg disowned by their fay.
TRAVEL DIARY: A SRI LANKAN TALKS ABOUT GAY LIFE THE ASIAN REPUBLIC
In that moment, we uld have been on a Mardi Gras float rollg through the French Quarter of New Orleans stead of on an old b, tndlg through the Sri Lankan pal on a qut for gay rights. Chilean lawmakers reject plat agast gay tn mister.