LGBTQIA REFUGEES IN KAKUMA REFUGEE CAMP

Hi there,

We're a queer community of refugees living in a refugee camp in Kenya. Most of us are originally from Uganda, where we had to flee violence. After fleeing violence from our own families, we thought it would be safe here, but it is not. Now we’ve been facing violent homophobic and transphobic attacks from fellow refugees and from locals here in Kenya.

Many of us queer refugees are nursing wounds and trauma as a result of the constant attacks. We have lost 3 queer lives due to homophobia in a period of one year.

There are over 300 LGBT+ refugees here in the camp, hoping for asylum.

The money from donations would go towards our medical bills, food, firstaid materials.

There are also children here who desperately need special attention. We need blankets. We sleep outside in the cold and having a blanket helps a lot. Our main meal is usually rice/maize meal and beans.

Other items this fund will help purchase: firewood, charcoal, stove, condiments, mosquito nets firewood and matches, toothpaste, toiletries, transportation, solar panels for light, doctors appointments, emergency hospital visits, menstrual hygiene products for the women, panels to build fences for safety, mental health services, soap, books and school supplies for the children to create a school, scissors for hair trimming, eyeglasses, wound care items, prenatal items, baby food and items to care for the children, special food items for diabetics, medicine for HIV+ community members, shavers, cooking pans.

Content warning: violence.

We are living in extremely hostile, violent and homophobic conditions. We are being persecuted, beaten, stabbed and cut with machetes, gang raped, and burned alive by homophobic groups of men. We have fled our countries of origin from homophobic persecution, murder, and imprisonment. We’ve literally ran for our lives into the refugee camp seeking asylum. In the camp we’ve found the violent homophobic living conditions more dangerous than the countries we’ve fled from. we are living in substandard inhumane living conditions. we are forced to pay high medical costs from private hospitals to manage diseases and injuries from horrific violent attacks. We are forced to take turns staying up all night standing guard against violent attacks in which we are stoned with rocks, fire bombed, burned alive, beaten, slashed and raped. These are not isolated incidents, this is the reality of our daily life. We receive no counseling services for the trauma we are suffering.

Our lives are at risk every second of every day in the refugee camp. We are lacking medical treatment and are living in extreme poverty.

Please consider donating. Thank you.

Mwebase Emmanuel

Fundraiser set up by Emily Bland on Emmanuel's behalf.