Emergency Relief For the Fires at Block 13
PLEASE HELP SAVE LIVES OF LGBTIQ+ REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS IN KAKUMA REFUGEE CAMP
LGBTIQ+ refugees and asylum seekers, under the care of the Global Humanitarian agency, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), are being brutally attacked daily. There have been hundreds of attacks – over 50 major life-threatening attacks reported in just over the past year. The UNHCR and the government of Kenya are not only neglecting their duties to provide safety, protection, and humanitarian aid to these people, but they are aiding and abetting their murders and attacks.
The latest brutal attack occurred this Monday August 16th in the wee hours. The folks located on Block 13 were awakened from their sleep to the sounds of gun shots. They rose to the strong smell of petrol and discovered that petrol had been poured around their shelters, especially badly around where the children sleep. They called the police, who refused to come to investigate until daylight. Residents of Block 13 went back to sleep, fortunately the stress made it a light sleep because an hour later they were awakened by the flames that surrounded them. Their entire compound was on fire! Women ushered the children in terror off to a hiding place elsewhere in the camp and the rest watched in horror as what was left of their shelters and all of their possessions burned to the ground. From the time of the report until the time that police actually bothered to come around to investigate, more than 2.5 hours had passed and everything was destroyed.
When the sun came up the members purveyed the wreckage. Realizing that they had nowhere to go and no shelter or protection while the criminals still roamed free, they decided unanimously with 25 children in tow, to all make the 3-hour trek to the police station to ask for protection until they could figure out what else could be done. The police had somehow been tipped off that they were coming and were waiting ready for them, armed with their guns and tear gas. They were rounded up at gun-point and loaded onto over-crowded trucks like cattle, driven back to their burnt-out compound and dumped liketrash and left there. Police stayed a while, not to protect them mind you, but rather to make sure that nobody could leave the compound again.
Lost in the fires (this time):
To make matters worse, today, August 17, the authoritiessummoned 4 of the victims, citing the need for a meeting with the UNHCR. This was a trick. When they arrived, they were arrested and jailed. Jail for an LGBTQIA+ person in Kenya means certain physical and mental torture. Also a security guard who was pressured to lie and say that he witnessed the 4 setting the fires, refused to lie. For that, he too was imprisoned. The best-case scenario for these young men is to hear that they will be let out with a bribe without very serious injury and trauma.
At this time, we are faced with approximately 170 (25 of whom are little children) people without shelter, clothing, or food and water, and very little funds, we have no way to help to save this many lives in danger as well as the 5 wrongfully accused whose lives are also at stake. Won’t you please help us to help them to stay alive? Funds are needed to get them back on their feet again, but also, we need support in the form of human rights defence. Please donate what you can. Every single dollar will help. If you are able to be involved in other ways; such as legal, letter writing, enlisting global human rights agencies and government members in your own country, please reach out to us and we’ll point you in the right direction!
Thank you so much for your love and care!