Support stctur for gay, lbian, bisexual or transgenr refuge often rely on -person meetgs. That’s one of the reasons why measur to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have h queer refuge particularly hard. We spoke to LGBT+ refugee advot Germany about the suatn, and where people n still get help.
Contents:
- LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANS, AND INTERSEX (LGBTI) REFUGE
- "CONSTANT FEAR" FOR GAY REFUGE EUROPE'S SHELTERS
LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANS, AND INTERSEX (LGBTI) REFUGE
*Trigger warng for homophobic slurs and scriptns of vlence. LGBT+ refuge experience challeng durg their asylum procr like homophobia and transphobia om their assigned asylum officers or se translators which end up sendg them right back to danger.
Thankfully, I was ntacted by Homosexuelle Selbsthilfe (HS), an LGBT+ rights anizatn that helps refuge like me Germany. We were able to prove ont of a judge that I was sabotaged by a homophobic translator and an officer who actively didn’t believe me and that my applitn was valid. So many LGBT+ refuge face homophobia and transphobia their asylum procs.
But is illegal to be gay or lbian Ethpia and eventually we were “ught” by our boss.
"CONSTANT FEAR" FOR GAY REFUGE EUROPE'S SHELTERS
But throughout my asylum procs, I enuntered homophobia and racism om the thori here. Not only was I forced to re-live the trma I had been through, but my plea for help was met wh blatant homophobic disapproval om asylum officers and my assigned translator. Queer refuge and queer refugee-led anisatns are key actors supportg other queer refuge and asylum seekers Germany, offerg hospaly and solidary and challengg homophobia, transphobia and anti-refugee attus.
Queer muni have mobilised material and polil support ci like Berl and Cologne to addrs the diverse needs of queer refuge the asylum system, and to challenge homophobia, transphobia and anti-refugee sentiments more generally. Cas of homophobic discrimatn at var refugee mps were often reported.
In 2017, the centre-right Christlich Demokratische Unn Dtschlands (CDU) polician Jens Spahn argued that homophobic abe refugee acmodatn centr monstrated that the moral valu of refuge differ signifintly to those of Germans. Whilst no evince exists to suggt homophobia acmodatn centr is more or ls prevalent than German society at large, such arguments stmentalise queer victimhood to further dog-whistle, anti-refugee sentiments.