It is a Saturday morning in the heart of the Marais, Paris’s well-known gay district. A young African man paces nervously in front of the Centre LGBT Paris-Île-de-France, hands in his pockets, staring nervously at the unopened door.
Ibrahim Touré came to France from Ivory Coast in October 2011, on false documents. He says he is gay, and his sexual orientation had become known in his neighbourhood back home. He continued to stay on good terms with his ex-wife and small daughter and to work as an Abidjan taxi driver until civil war broke out in the country in late 2010.
“The new group that has come to power since the electoral crisis are Islamists, and they detest gays,” says Touré, who is himself a Muslim. “There is a threat to my life, and I can’t go back.” Touré lived in metro stations and shopping centres in Paris before an acquaintance told him about a Red Cross shelter. He has been living there for several weeks while he explores other options.
“I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to anyone. I was working and my grandmother called and said the militias had come looking for me. My brother helped me get to the airport. I just left. I decided to claim asylum . . . I couldn’t even call my grandma back.”
Touré is afraid he will be sent back to his home country. It’s a logical fear: according to Philippe Colomb, president of the Association for the Recognition of Rights of Homosexuals and Transsexuals to Immigration and Residence (ARDHIS), France accepts only 11 percent of political asylum seekers, regardless of the reason. On appeal, that number rises to 24 percent. No specific statistics are kept for sexual orientation–based requests.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE @ Xtra.ca
Xtra speaks to 4 Gay asylum seekers HERE
HMMMM
As the French say ” AU REVOIR ET SALUT !” or in the more direct English version ” GOOD BYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH & DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOUR ASS ON THE WAY OUT !!” I prefer the English vesion myself 😉
@MaculineFoothillsMan: That’s a rather cold, uncaring, and un-human response. [well, sadly, it’s a very human response — it just shouldn’t be]
Three out of four posts are about a week old and decent videos have not been available for about two weeks. At first there was something new every day. I appreciate Daily Squirt but can’t understand what has happened to this feature in the last two weeks.
what
Thanks for posting this Coach – even if some people are too sex obsessed or are just plain uncaring and apathetic about things apart from their shallow and meaningless lives – keep ’em coming.
I was wondering – would it be possible for your Squirters to submit some good articles as well?
I’ve come across many good articles and analyses on racism in the queer community. It’d be great if you could post them as well. This is also an important issue that keeps getting ignored or denied by the majority.
Here’s one good article:
http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/how-gay-has-stayed-white-for-over-a-decade/
Here’s another one:
http://www.out.com/news-commentary/2012/01/11/no-asians
And there’s lots more specifically talking about the above topic – sexual racial segregation and how racial preference in sex is based upon racial stereotypes and prejudice.
If you’re interested in such articles and would like to educate your Squirters or create more awareness on the issue, please email me, Coach! Thanks!
Re: the article – commenting about the article itself, this is just one part of the problems facing gay minorities. They try escaping their homeland because their sexuality could get them killed or imprisoned.
But what they don’t realize is that things don’t necessarily better in a new country. I mean it will get better but they will also face challenges in being welcomed and accepted by the mainstream gay/bi community. In the end, if they are repeatedly rejected and ignored by the majority (for example, white gays), they will end up just sticking to others like them – other marginalized minorities or specifically their own racial groups…
@Masculinfoothillsbullshit i notice u have a very closed minded attitude towards anyone that isnt white or blonde…for u to say what u sd is just plain rude…u were fortunate to have such a privileged life being #1 white, #2a white man & #3 a white man in North America…i dont knw what is out there in Calgary whr u are from but i think u need to take ur old wasp ass to some foreign countries and become more cultured…when u say cold negative bs like the shit that i have been seeing u post it is pretty clear to me that someone is a angry bitter old racist queen!!!!!!!!!!
@Azulmelb i agree with all the posts that i have been seeing u post u seem like a well rounded educated person unlike masculinefootshillbullshiter lol…anyway Azul koodoos to u and keep the positive, insightful comments coming!!!!! much love from Canada 🙂