WHY WE NEED URGENT HELP:
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ABOVE: UGANDANS MARCHING AGAINST GAYS.
No job, no community, no home, no money… this campaign will provide direct help for food and shelter.
Ugandan lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people are living in exile in their own country, as a direct result of:1. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, effective in March 2014, criminalizes same sex relations, imposing sentences of 14 years to life in prison. It outlaws so called "promotion" of homosexuality - which has already shut down major HIV/AIDS medical clinics;
2. The public outings of LGBTI Ugandans in the Ugandan Tabloids, and police parading of LGBTI people in public, effectively call for lynchings, witch hunts and mob vengeance;
3. A major public march of 10,000 people was led and supported by Ugandan Church leaders, soldiers and police in uniform; even the President of Uganda was there to praise the new law which institutionalizes the persecution of LGBTI Ugandans.;
4. Mothers, fathers, siblings, friends, neighbors and village elders banishing LGBTI Ugandans from their villages, landlords evicting them, employers firing them, universities and schools revoking scholarships and expelling students, threats and assaults, arrests and more....
These are modern day Ann Franks and it is happening on our watch - did we say never again?THE SUCCESS OF THE RESCUE FUNDIn March, I campaigned for a small Rescue Fund and raised $14,025. I used this money to provide shelter, safe-housing, transport, passports and food for over 30 LGBT people in Africa who I vetted carefully. The entire amount, except for the Indiegogo, Paypal and bank transfer fees went directly to those in need.
Many LGBTI Ugandans in hiding or living as refugees in neighboring countries have run out of food and still many others are seeking help. Time is of the essence and this is critical. As money comes in I will send it out immediately. No amount is too small.
In truth we need much more than I am asking for here - however this amount will help us feed those LGBTI who are now dependent and who have literally run out of food and a few people who still need rent.
ABOUT ME: • Melanie Nathan
Excerpt from the BIO via San Francisco Pride- selected by Board of Directors to be a Community Grand Marshall 2014 "COLOR OURWORLD WITH PRIDE"
An attorney, mediator, equality and human rights advocate. Born in South Africa, Nathanreceived her law degree from the University of Witwatersrand. She used her training to assist African workers living under apartheid in the 1980s. After immigrating to the U.S., she founded
Private Courts, Inc., a mediation and human rights advocacy firm in Marin County, California. She has been involved in numerous struggles affecting LGBTI people in the USA and abroad.
She has touched both individual lives and influenced policy affecting thousands. Nathan is a prolific blogger and journalist who uses her writing as a platform for her advocacy work. In addition to reporting on issues impacting LGBTI communities around the world, she writes with a focus on the USA and Africa. Her blog, O-Blog-Dee-O-Blog-Da, serves as a platform for Nathan and her guests to highlight their work in a world where gay, lesbian, transgender, queer, intersex, and gender-free people are the subjects of persecution and discrimination.