Tariq (not his real name) is a gay Ugandan who resettled last year in Toronto. Several weeks ago, he was forced to return to Kenya to face bogus charges of human trafficking. In fact, he had helped gay men flee to Kenya to escape honor killings.
The hearing on those charges went well for him. He is no more a human trafficker than Harriet Tubman was. But the Canadians told him he had to find his own way back to Canada, including raising the money. They should have put him on a plane back home after forcing him to return to Kenya for the hearing. The behavior of the Canadian officials in this case is truly appalling.
After some time, the Canadians started being a bit more helpful. But they told him that he was no longer a refugee and could not simply be put on a plane back to Canada with refugees. That sounds like bureaucratic excuse-making to me rather than a good reason. There he was, stranded in Nairobi struggling to find a place to sleep. What would you call him? In any case, for reasons I do not understand, they told him he had to go first to Ethiopia, where they would put him on a flight to Canada.
As an advocate for LGBTQ+ refugees in Africa, I raised funds to provide help to Tariq for his lodging in Nairobi while he waited, his transport to the airport, his ticket to Ethiopia, and money for taxis and a two-night hotel stay once he reached Addis Ababa.
Once he arrived in Ethiopia, he told me the officials had changed their story and now he had to come up with the money for his airfare to Canada himself.
Luckily for Tariq, unlike refugees still waiting for their resettlement flights, he doesn’t have to wait for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration; he can fly home to Canada as soon as he has the airfare.
So I’m sure I made the right decision to prioritize him over the refugees still waiting. Like a nurse in a busy intensive care unit, it is sometimes necessary to do triage. But it’s hard to steel oneself against so much suffering that one cannot assuage. I know it’s unreasonable to feel guilt simply because of my human limitations. We all have to fulfill our responsibilities and engage in basic self-care.
We are effectively living in wartime. We cannot give up our need for joy until the struggle and the persecution are over. Of course, we must honor and mourn the fallen and the suffering, do what we can, and encourage others to do likewise.
Yet we must also remind ourselves of the many reasons we have to affirm life. We light our lights in defiance of the darkness. It is fitting that we dance with the gifts we are given, not hobble ourselves in despair.
The situation for LGBTQ+ people in eastern Africa is awful and getting worse. At least the Biden administration has been friendly toward our concerns. The Trump administration will not be.
The bigotry, cruelty, and greed in the world can defeat us if we give in to them. Sometimes, all we can do is keep our little flame of hope lit and carry on as best we can.
Tariq, after a meeting at the Canadian Embassy where he was told he was on his own, was punched so violently by the guard outside that he vomited blood and broke a bone to his sternum. He also developed typhoid and pneumonia from living in the streets for four days.
I was able to find additional money for more extended lodging and medical care. If he makes it to the end of January, I can send him airfare to return to Canada.
Beyond dealing with his immediate situation, there is a need to demand accountability for the Canadian officials’ cruelty and bureaucratic rigidity. There is also a desperate need for more non-governmental organizations with the funding, staffing, expertise and goodwill to deal with the crisis of displaced LGBTQ+ people in Africa.
In the meantime, I am inspired by one man’s courage and fortitude amid hardships in a hostile land. Tariq sent a note of appreciation for my help, then put down the phone to get some sleep.
Rest, my warrior. In your brave spirit live the hopes of those we have lost, and of those who still dare to dream of a more decent world.