Camera has started recording, and the light is perfectly adjusted. There is dim lighting in the tiny room. We want to hide her identity, and at the same time hear what she has to say. From the dark silhouette come pitch-dark life stories. What “Susan” tells is so brutal that I start to think about how she finds the motivation to keep going. And as soon as I’ve thought it, she comes up with the story of the time she actually didn’t want to keep it going any longer. Then she stretched her arms out in front of her and lowered her body horizontally into the river. Knowing full well that she can’t sew at all. “Everything’s going to be okay?” We chose to call her “Susan” when we talked about the lesbian bucollective in Uganda. “Susan” never drowned. She lives, but not the way she wants. She tells about her dream: To find a kind, beautiful lady who loves her back. But Susan’s dream has so far only been a nightmare. She has gone back into the closet. When she told the truth about herself, several in the family replied that they would like to see her dead. “Susan” cannot show her face. She has promised her mother to live celibate for the rest of her life. Photo: Vegard Tjørhom I really want to say: “Everything will be fine in the end”. This is what I say to young homosexuals in Norway who are struggling to find their place in adolescence. I remember those words were also a comfort to me in my youth. But I can’t say those words to Susan. There are no signs that all will be well. Because with the Bible and the Koran in their hands, Uganda’s most powerful have made the lives of people like her a living hell. Hard debts to Uganda’s gays Me and “Susan” are part of the same rainbow family, and we live on the same continent, but the similarities between us are still very few. In all seriousness, Uganda’s homosexuals are pointed out as threats to both children and the traditional Ugandan family model. Yes, some even believe that Uganda’s homosexuals are agents of the West and therefore a threat to the kingdom’s security. Uganda has this year new anti-gay laws. Now, in the worst case, homosexuality can result in the death penalty, and in some other cases lead to years in prison. As a journalist, I always try to see both sides and further formulate different views of an issue. But Uganda’s gay policy is so full of double standards that I struggle to find any kind of balance in the coverage. Bølgeblikk and corruption Take, for example, several of the members of parliament who were central to the decision on the new strict homosexuality laws. They can hardly have read Bible verses about casting the first stone or seeing the beam in their own eye. Because at the same time as they use their power to condemn homosexual sins, they also use their power to break the seventh commandment: Thou shalt not steal. Because a number of the politicians were involved in a corruption scandal at the same time as they ensured that the gay debate was in full swing and attracted a lot of attention. Leader of Uganda’s parliament, Anita Among, was central to both the wave ink scandal and the work to get anti-gay laws in place. Photo: Reuters This time it was wave ink that was at the center of the corruption. Sheets of ink that were supposed to serve as roofs for earth huts in Uganda’s poorest region, Karamoja, had mysteriously ended up in places owned by Ugandan politicians. The wave ink scandal created anger, and the whole thing was an embarrassing affair where the rich took from the poor. Among gay activists, it has been discussed whether it is this and other corruption scandals that caused the politicians to initiate new rounds of populist anti-gay debates. And if Uganda’s politicians are first to function as the “supervision for high morals”, then it would have been far more useful to put a stop to men running away from their newborn child. Many Ugandan women are single mothers after the children’s father has run away. This creates problems both for the mother, the child and Ugandan society. A bukollektive for lesbians is, for the most part, a safe place to be for the women news met in Kampala. Photo: news Literal interpretation and American missionaries But it is the homosexuals that stricter laws must be introduced against. Why that? There are several reasons. There are many prejudices, while at the same time it is a foreign thought that homosexuality can also include compulsory cohabitation beyond the sexual. Homosexuality and pedophilia can quickly be referred to as two sides of the same coin, and thus homosexuals are seen as dangerous for children. In addition, religion is very important to many in Uganda, and it is most common to interpret the Bible literally. At the center of the anti-gay debate are several religious leaders, and several of them are supported by wealthy American missionaries who have seen momentum in the gay debate in Uganda after losing several battles at home. The opposition to homosexuality in Uganda is an extreme case, but at the same time not unique in Africa. Only a few of the 54 countries on the continent recognize homosexuality as a form of cohabitation. I myself live in Kenya, where homosexuality can result in a prison sentence. Laws dating from the colonial era are admittedly rarely practiced. However, that does not mean that it is free. Best to keep silent Because the social gap stick can be so tough. In Kenya, too, open homosexuals face a lot of opposition from family, friends or the workplace. Therefore, homosexuality is something that is kept secret. As long as you don’t talk about it, it usually goes well. My experience is that a European can get away with a lot, while an African is usually assessed based on other expectations. In the comments section on the internet, many people believe that homosexuality is a kind of import of ruined sexual morality from Europe and the USA. It may seem that they think that standing up against homosexuality is the same as standing up for African values, and that one must therefore prevent homosexuality from spreading to Africa. But homosexuality has long since spread to Africa. No one has been able to prove that African genes are gay-free. And I keep meeting people who hit the radar. It is sad to know that they often have to restrain their feelings for fear of what the consequences might be. Anti-LGBT demonstrations in Nairobi in September this year, after the Kenyan Supreme Court ruled that queer organizations should be allowed to exist. Photo: Reuters There is also a bright spot If one is to look at the whole thing more optimistically, there are also several African voices who believe that people should be allowed to decide for themselves how they want to live their lives, as long as it is not to the detriment of others. And there are African countries where the debate is far less prejudiced than in Uganda. And also in Uganda you can find homosexuals here and there, but it is not without risk that they try to live outside the closet. And those who have the least network and empty wallet are the most vulnerable. African homosexuals have demonstrated several times to get better rights. Here from Nairobi in 2014. Photo: Ap If I go back a few generations in Norway, the similarities with today’s Uganda would be many more. Homosexuals exist and they create their own underground environment. But society looks down on them, and punishes them. If I had grown up in Norway in Kim Friele’s time, I am far from sure if I would have been as tough as “Susan” was when she tried to live as she is. Right now, Uganda’s versions of Kim Friele are fighting the battle of their lives, on behalf of themselves and future generations of Ugandans. Perhaps they too will one day have streets and statues named after them. Perhaps they will be able to use rainbow colors without risking violence and incitement. And perhaps it will soon be possible to say also to young queer Ugandans that: “Everything will be fine in the end”.
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“Susan” and life on the rainbow’s shadow side – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
