Whilst the plight of asylum seekers has been well documented in recent months, specific demographics within the overwhelming numbers of people escaping Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria face specific advantages and disadvantages from the general population of people fleeing violence and repression.
One such group is the LGBT community, who are primarily seeking refuge in Europe and North America.
A 2012 report by ORAM (the Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration), says that protection for LGBT individuals seeking asylum is particularly poor in so called “transit” countries.
This protection appears to be greatly needed however.
“Despite many advances, the widespread violence and discrimination against LGBTI refugees often means that these individuals face severe obstacles to protection and long-term safety in countries of first asylum,” The report reads. “These individuals commonly undergo regular and often violent harassment from the local communities and refugee populations”.
The Washington Post recently reported on just such an instance that took place in Dresden, Germany.
When a young Syrian man revealed to another the meaning of his rainbow flag, he was subject to verbal and physical abuse from fellow asylum seekers. In an even more severe case, a transgender woman and her friends were raped and tortured by Jordanian police.
In response to the particularly vulnerable condition of LGBT asylum seekers, and calls from the UN, the Canadian government announced that it will consider gay men a priority for resettlement, due to the high likelihood of their safety being compromised by ISIS, the Assad regime, and fellow refugees.
This may result in single heterosexual men being much lower priority than other asylum seekers, as suggested by Amnesty International.
A similar move was made in the United States, when the State Department expanded its protections for LGBT couples by allowing already qualified refugees to bring their same sex partner, even if they are not legally married.
Despite these and other moves by governments and NGOs, the sheer volume of asylum seekers from the ongoing violence in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria all but guarantee that minority groups, including the LGBT community, will continue to bear a particularly heavy burden.
Cover Photo Credit: vl04 /Flickr (CC by 2.0)
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Please Stop Sharing Photos Like These On Social Media. You Are Making Things Worse
We here at RISE NEWS came across the photo below on social media a day before the tragic slaying of five police officers in Dallas.
We found it absolutely repugnant at the time but did not say anything.
We were wrong not to.
We all need to take a stand when we see people post horrific images because sometimes they can inspire people to do horrific things.
Here is the image in question:
We will not be “outing” the person that posted the image because they are a private citizen and we hope they will learn from this mistake without their reputation being damaged in the process.
From the post:
“This photo may offend some individuals and I clearly don’t give AF! America needs to realize that it’s not about BLACK OR WHITE PEOPLE. It’s more about these crooked ass so called law enforcement officers. Now, there are some good ones and I applaud you for standing in unity and going against negativity and protecting this country but some of you abuse your authority when you in a little position of power. #RIP #AltonSterling”
No one posted arguing that the image was terrible.
In fact, some people egged it on.
One person wrote:
“There are good cops out the there. But there are too many bad ones too. Racism is strong in this country. A lot of the problems with these deaths is because of a racist society. I’ve been here long enough to see a lot of it. Just think what our parents and there parents have seen.”
Another said:
“I take issue with the so called good ones too because most of them allow this shit to go on and don’t say anything.”
We agree that Black Lives Matter.
There is no question that police violence and systemic racism in our justice system are real issues that we have not done a good enough job in weeding out as a country.
There are racist cops. There are dirty cops. There are bad cops.
But there are also really great cops who take their jobs seriously and work everyday to protect the people of this country. Without them, we will have no peace. Without them, we will have no democracy.
While the Black Lives Matter fight must continue to go on as the deaths of young black men in this country will undoubtedly continue as this summer grows hotter, we must all do our part in lowering the rhetoric.
Posting a photo to social media depicting a police officer having his throat slashed by a ISIS like figure with American flag colored gun straps is not helping.
It is not good social commentary. It is not interesting. It is only vile.
Of course this does go both ways.
All of us have seen countless racist memes pop up on our feeds from time to time or the words All Lives Matter as a substitute for real conversation about what is needed to make things better.
We are wrong when we don’t confront people who post those images as well.
We can make things better in this country. We can create a better future where the relationship between the police and people of color can be strong and respected.
But we can certainly not have this future if we don’t trust each other. And we certainly can’t bring about that future if we hate each other.
Love and respect is the only answer.
And it is time that we all do our part.
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1ne Bullet: The BLM Inspired Non-Profit Working To Prevent Others From Becoming A Hashtag
A Miami-based nonprofit foundation is working to raise awareness about police brutality and anti-black racism through affordable t-shirts.
“Truth is, we’re all one bullet away from being a #hashtag,” is a quote that’s been making its rounds on social media ever since 2014.
It can be seen written on cardboard signs at #BlackLivesMatter protests across the country.
It’s also the quote that inspired Marcus Spady and Paul “JoJo” Ghartey to call their foundation “1ne Bullet” when they established it in July of 2016.
The name is the perfect way to emphasis how quickly black lives seem to end.
If the name isn’t enough to generate interest, then the website certainly will be.The first thing you notice when you visit www.1nebullet.org is the black and white protest photos, most of which are pretty famous on social media.
You can click through and see photographs of a protester with a chain around his wrist.
Another photo shows a woman holding a sign reading, “Who do you call when cops murder?”The second thing you’ll notice is that Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us” is on auto play, and starts blasting after a few seconds on the home page.
“We are at a time where we must unite in order to bring changes to a system that targets and systemically oppresses Black people in America,” the about us page reads. “America has never been a safe place for Black people and due to recent events, we are at a time of necessary action and a consciousness shift.”
The plan is to unite people through the #ItCouldveBeenMe (ICBM) shirts. The shirts are black and have a very simple design: the wearers’ name on the front with a hashtag next to it and the phrase “It could’ve been me” on the back.
Each shirt is customized to who purchases it: you have to specify a name when you place the order. They are available in sizes small-3XL.
The shirts are $15 flat.
Since 1ne Bullet is a non-profit, the price only covers the cost of manufacture and shipping. According to the 1ne bullet website, any proceeds that could be gained will be donated to charities and families of those who have been affected by police brutality.
Spady and Ghartey, the two men who are guiding the one-month-old foundation, are pretty young themselves.
They are both recent graduates of the University of Miami.
They are also both members of the black Greek organization Kappa Alpha Psi, also commonly referred as the Nupes.
They are two black men in their 20s—a demographic category that is often highlighted in discussions surrounding police brutality and its victims.
“Outraged with the tragedies surrounding the murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of the police, we saw these tragedies as something that we could easily become a victim to, and we wanted a way to give the community a platform in order to reflect on what it means to be Black in America,” the site reads.
The two are common features of the University of Miami’s Kappa Instagram page, and have been photographed alongside members of the University of Miami administration, including university president Julio Frenk.
Spady even has a picture with Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin.
He met her at the Back to School Extravaganza hosted by the Trayvon Martin Foundation.
“Ms. Sybrina loves the idea!” the photo’s caption reads.Although 1ne Bullet’s social media accounts are still pretty new, it is the main way the word is getting out about the shirts.
The Instagram accounts features a photo of a young woman who had purchased the shirt and customized it with her full name, a sign that the 1ne Bullet team is taking the right steps forward.
There’s also word-of-mouth: another way for Spady and Ghartey to tell as many as possible about their mission.
And if their mission statement rings true, they will be telling the world about 1ne bullet.
“We cannot stand and let one of us become another #hashtag,” the last line reads. “The time is now.”
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
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Meet Miami’s “Cuban Confederate”
Chris Cedano is a lighting rod on the streets of Miami.
He is openly racist and believes that bringing back segregation is the right way to improve society.
We have run into him a few times at various protest events around the area. (He is a constant presence at protests.)
While he considers himself a Confederate sympathizer, he is also a Cuban-American.
That reality has caused many people to call him out on social media as a “Cuban Clayton Bigsby.”
Only in Miami.
We also ran into him at a prior event earlier in the Spring.
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