WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CHECHNYA?
Img: Daily Mirror
Living in western society, it’s pretty unfathomable to think of people in this day and age being persecuted simply because of their sexuality. Yet what we often forget is that active homophobia is still rife in some parts of the world, and affecting many lives. And what’s happening in Chechnya is no exception.
For those of you who don’t know where or what Chechnya is, it’s an independent republic in southern Russia near the border with Georgia. Russia, as many know, doesn’t have the best record with LGBT rights – note the passing of laws in Russia to ban public displays of affection between LGBT couples – however, Chechnya is the latest of several places in Russia where LGBT hate crimes have been taken to new and frightening lows.
According to the UK’s The Independent, the Instagram-famous leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, refuses to accept that LGBT people even exist or need assistance in Chechnya. Around 100 men are alleged to have been rounded up into concentration camps and tortured by official forces simply because of their sexuality, with four reported to have been killed, according to The Independent. And, horrifyingly, a survivor of one of the camps has alleged to France 24 News that official forces in Chechnya are encouraging families to kill their children if they suspect they are gay, referring to it as ‘cleaning your honour with blood’. This homophobia is impacting LGBT youth who aren’t even in concentration camps – several sources have reported that one 17-year old was tossed off a balcony by his uncle for being gay, and Moscow chooses to turn a blind eye to the atrocities taking place at the hand of homophobic individuals.
Living in Australia and having an uber-accepting group of family and friends, this level of acceptance is something I, and many others, take extremely for granted. Though I’ve experienced homophobia before, I can’t even imagine a world where I would be persecuted by authorities and exiled by my friends and family simply for being myself, and living a life that I can’t change. I didn’t choose to be gay, but it’s something I’m proud of every day, and the fact that people in the world are still being persecuted against for living a life they can’t change change (and that won’t be detrimental to society in the slightest) is baffling and scary.
So, what can we do to spread awareness for those LGBT people living in Chechnya? Well, even if you live on the other side of the world like me, there’s actually quite a lot. Amnesty International has formed a petition to Chechnya to stop them from these abuses of rights, which I will add a link to. And even if you are nowhere near Russia, staying informed and being active will help more people realise what’s going on – the atrocities are still very much under-reported on. Many European countries are open to accepting gay refugees from Chechnya, and hopefully Australia does too – the government has openly criticised Chechnya, and hopefully we can do more to support the individuals affected. Otherwise, spread awareness! We might not be able to change ingrained attitudes, but we can sure as hell try and stop this nightmarish situation.
xo Jonah
