Beirut seems to be the destination of choice for Gay Iraqis escaping the violence back home, and there’s help on the way:
A group of San Francisco philanthropists have raised $7,500 to aid gay Iraqi refugees in Beirut, reports blogger and activist Michael Petrelis.
In related news, with the new parliament selected, the Gay-Straight Alliance is pushing forth with their petition to have Article 534 overturned:
Our new parliament has arrived. And now we will get ready to mail them all – all 128 of them – our petition with the signatures which are now at 2250. That is really cool. I honestly didn’t expect us to cross 2000, I just put 10,000 min rassi [from the top of my head], but we have enough to make an impact! Yes, we do.
So we have one more week to go as we allow the MPs to settle into their new offices. Let’s rally everyone we know who still hasn’t signed to get the sigs up to 2500. I’m guessing every pack will be around 50-70 pages long.
Voila, le link one last time, and thank you all for your amazing work. It shall not stop here. We shall together come up with creative new ways of battling the infamous 534: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/abolish-article-534-of-the-lebanese-penal-code
Best,
Nadz
If you haven’t signed the petition, there isn’t much time left. Make you voice heard and support equal rights for all.
I almost signed the petition, but then I wasn’t sure if a signature from Israel would be welcome.
I would think Beirut would be a magnet for gay people from all over the Middle East (with the obvious exception of Israel). I keep telling people about the gay association in Lebanon and IMO it’s another example of how the sane parts of Israel and Lebanon (aka Tel Aviv and Beirut 😉 )really are.
I was actually thinking the same thing while I was writing the post: “I wonder if there is a signatory from Israel on the list”. Though I have a feeling the petition organizers are going to review the list to ensure nothing causes any issues with the MPs.