I know sometimes it probably gets old reading post after post about Gay/Human Rights issues. I know that maybe it seems like that’s all I care about. Well, it’s definitely not all I care about, but it is extremely important to me. Here’s why:
Murdered Iraqi Gay Men
The following is a translation of a story from Alarabiya [opens to print dialogue], a UAE-based media network, which was published on its Arabic website a few hours ago. While IGLHRC has not verified all of the allegations, many are consistent with patterns of human rights violations being reported from within the country.
“A prominent Iraqi human rights activist says that Iraqi militia have deployed a painful form of torture against homosexuals by closing their anuses using ‘Iranian gum.’ … Yina Mohammad told Alarabiya.net that, ‘Iraqi militias have deployed an unprecedented form of torture against homosexuals by using a very strong glue that will close their anus.’ According to her, the new substance ‘is known as the American hum, which is an Iranian-manufactured glue that if applied to the skin, sticks to it and can only be removed by surgery. After they glue the anuses of homosexuals, they give them a drink that causes diarrhea. Since the anus is closed, the diarrhea causes death.
Videos of this form of torture are being distributed on mobile cellphones in Iraq.’ According to this human rights activist, for the past 3 weeks a crackdown on homosexuals has been going on based on a religious decree that demands their death; dozens have been targeted. She says that the persecution of homosexuals is not confined to the Shiite clerics. Some Sunni leaders have also declared the death penalty for sodomy on satellite channels.”
I firmly believe that every time we allow hate groups like the National Organization for Marriage, American Family Association, Alliance Defense Fund, Concerned Women for America, Focus on the Family, Traditional Values Coalition, or the Family Research Institute to spew their hateful anti-gay rhetoric unopposed, we come one step closer to seeing the kind of persecution and torture detailed in this Al Arabia article occuring here in the United States of America. As I sat in tears after reading this article, I heard the words of Corretta Scott King ringing in my ears:
Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood,” King stated. “This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group.
This is why I fight. This is why I will not be quiet, why I will not be silenced.
Thanks to J.M.G. for the tip.