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Pride in the Line of Fire

Pride in the Line of Fire

LGBT-activist Riamoni Christy won’t be celebrating Pride this year. He, along with other members of the movement in Bangladesh, are now underground. His friend edited the first and only LGBT publication there and is one of two men recently killed — hacked to death with machetes — for being gay. Riamoni is not alone. While we celebrate with parades and parties, hundreds of thousands of people around the world remain at ground zero.

Pride for them is not a party; it’s a political act. Often a dangerous one.

Riamoni and his friends organized a “rainbow rally” in 2009. This make-shift Pride was small and largely unnoticed. Still, he says “supporters of the ruling party and its leaders attacked the rally and injured some of my fellow activists.” Riamoni recently fled to Germany where he tells Deutsche Well, a German publication, that after the rally “locals flagged me as a gay activist.” This, he says, led to several attacks including one where Islamic militants tried to cut off his fingers so he couldn’t write about gay rights. Before it was over, extremists beat, kidnapped, and raped him.

New research by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA) finds same-sex sexual contact is illegal in 74 countries. In 13 of them, it’s punishable by death. ILGA Executive Director Renato Sabbadini says that while discrimination laws remain on the books, attitudes appear to be changing. “We are witnessing a global shift in consciousness away from discrimination,” he says. “Even in countries known for anti-LGBTI laws.”

Reading survey results is one thing, standing in the line of fire is another.

Lebanon, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, and Russia are among the nations holding Pride this year, despite laws against it. Every year, a handful of activists unfurl a rainbow flag in Moscow, determined to mark the event. They are usually surrounded by thugs who beat them while police stand and watch. At times, the activists themselves are taken to jail for breaking Russia’s anti-gay propaganda laws.

Beirut is the only Arab city to host Pride. In 2006, the first parade took place under heavy security. Over the years, people became afraid to participate publicly. Seminars, workshops, and exhibitions now comprise Pride in Lebanon. In Istanbul, the parade will go on as planned in late June. Last year, Turkish police fired water cannons and rubber pellets on participants. Turkish volunteers set up a fundraising page to ensure Pride continues this year. The page reads: “We are not leaving the streets and letting fear rule our bodies.”

While gay men can get up to two years in prison for sexual contact in Singapore, nearly 30,000 people gather every year to turn their only legal gathering place into a sea of pink. The Pink Dot celebration is the country’s equivalent to Pride and it’s become so popular that other countries — and states like Alaska and Utah — are adopting similar gatherings. Participants wear pink, then gather to form a pink dot in support of inclusiveness, diversity, and the freedom to love.

“Singapore is gradually evolving,” says one Singapore Pride activist who tells OUT FRONT he prefers to remain anonymous for safety reasons. “It is only a matter of time before anti-gay laws are abolished here and same-sex marriage is legalized.” As for Riamoni, he is hopeful the same will someday be true in Bangladesh. He intends to finish school in Germany, then work toward LGBT rights in his homeland.

With its roots in the Stonewall riots that ignited the entire LGBT rights movement in the United States, Pride remains a political force for many. World Pride month is June because that’s the month Stonewall took place.

In Colorado, it’s a time for friends and family to celebrate how far the movement has come. For others around the world, it’s a time to mark how far the movement has to go.

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