Project Report

Statement

The root of the deep-seated homophobia and Intolerance within the African migrant community is contributed in part by
the African religious leaders!

Activity Details

1 Project Name SEXUALITY AND CHRISTIANITY IN AN AFRICAN MIGRANT SETTING

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2 Date & Time 4 February 2011 From 19:00 to 21:30

3 Location Groeneveen 94, 1103 EG Amsterdam Zuidoost

4 Contact Toni La Tegola, Stichting African Gay Youth Foundation

5 Collaborating Contact Rev. Dr. Msizi Dube, The African Methodist Episcopal Church

6 Funding Contact Ms. Natalia Walenkamp / Mr. Chris Bouwer Stichting Malaica / The Dialoog

Brief Introduction

On 14 February 2011, 24 individuals met at The African Methodist Episcopal Church on Groeneveen 94, 1103 EG Amsterdam
Zuidoost to engage in a dialogue between the migrant African religious community and the African LGBT individuals. The
make up of this group consisted of 18 Ethnic LGBT individuals mobilized by the African Gay Youth Foundation, 3 members of
The African Methodist Episcopal Church and 3 other observers (Gemeente Amsterdam & GNP+)

The reason was to address homophobia within the African migrant community in the Netherlands and also as a response to
the hostile homophobic environment in the African continent manifested by the death of David Kato in Uganda a gay rights
activist and One of the founders of SMUG (Sexual Minorities Uganda. The dialogue’s goal was to explore and understand the
issues surrounding the (perceived) intolerance of homosexuals by the migrant African community, with an aim of finding a
solution / work plan that addresses the problem.

Organization

The activity was a collaboration effort between the Stichting African Gay Youth Foundation,( a Hague based non-profit
community organization that provides support to the LGBT Community of African origin living not only in the Netherlands but
in the Diaspora (worldwide).) and The African Methodist Episcopal Church in Amsterdam.

The activity was financially made possible by Stichting Malaica (http://www.malaica.nl/) and De Dialoog
(http://www.dedialoog.nu/)
The Discussion

The Dialogue started with a requiem prayer for the Late David Kato conducted by the Pastor. He requested everybody to
introduce himself or herself and state their sexual orientation, which immediately led to the first topic:-

Identity

Pastor: “It would be nice to introduce so we can differentiate who is gay and who is not”

There was an immediate heated debate on why there was a need to put people in boxes and applying labels to them. The
majority of the group thought that by differentiating themselves as Gay, they automatically attracted discrimination.
“Straight people don’t introduce themselves as Straight, so why should we?” was a sentiment made by one of the members.

There was a counter argument that it was because of the lack of visibility in our communities that it was so easy for
homophobia to flourish. It was noted that while living in the closet was an individual choice, the fact that many straight
people had never interacted with a gay person from their own community made the myth that homosexuality was Un-
African seem true.

It was finally agreed that positive visibility would go a long way towards acceptance and social inclusion. The Pastor was
challenged to invite the LGBT group to a regular mass service with the condition of ensuring the groups physical safety.

There was also an issue of self-identity. One of the group members objected to the Pastor continuously saying “you
homosexuals” He said that he preferred to be called Queer and not homosexual or gay. The pastor said that it was important
to educate the mainstream society on what was offensive or not as they did not know. There was a discussion what was the
proper term of self-identity (Gay, homosexual, Queer etc). The majority were happy with the term Gay.

Religion

The Pastor inquired if among the group there were any religious individuals. It turned out that there were several practicing
Christians, Muslims and a Buddhist. The group felt that the religious leaders (Priests & Imams) were (mis)using the Bible or
the Koran to justify homophobia and intolerance. The group felt that individual interpretations of the Holy books led to a lot
of problems. It was observed that the Holy books were a source of dissention and a question was asked if the religious
leaders could function without the Bible / Koran. The Pastor said that it was not possible but said that religious leaders need
to teach and not preach. The Pastor challenged other ethnic religious leaders to discuss homosexuality within their
communities.

Conclusion

It was agreed that there was a need for religious leaders and LGBT individuals to collaborate in raising awareness on
homophobia and in the creation of an environment that enables dialogue to combat stigma and discrimination.

It was also agreed that visibility and public participation by the migrant LGBT community was a start on the road to change,
social inclusion and acceptance.