Junior Mayema

How could one wake up every morning knowing that someone out there and their own country are going to threaten them?  How does one stay strong when one’s own country looks down up on them, disrespect them every single day of their life for just being themselves.  When heterosexuals think of a gay person what comes to mind is a human who is very feminine, weak, and afraid.   However, what they do not see is that it takes a strong human to come out and be proud of whom they are.  Till this they even though gay humans in Africa suffer more then us gays here in the United States we still face numerous of obstacles.  The image of what I think of a family is still not accepted all throughout the United States.  I cannot adopt a child with a male partner because that’s not an image of an American family.  However, like I have said we are ten times much luckier then the gays in Africa because we still have some rights that do protect us were as these African do not people threaten, beat, and even kill gays in Africa.  

            Junior Mayema a 24 year old from Congo Africa had to face countless obstacles for being gay.  His won mother tried to kill him with gasoline after finding out he was gay.  His father and mother sent him to a healing program for gay people, as if gay were a disease.  After coming back his father told every one in their community that his son was gay.  The boys his age would beat him and people would threaten him all throughout his life.  He was kicked out from his house, his mother made sure that no one in his family would take him in. This young adult identifies as gay male he as no house to call home just because he wants to give his love to a male partner.   

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/08/09/comment-a-gay-congolese-man-in-south-africa/ 

Sex Trafficking

Sometimes tears are a sign of unspoken happiness and a smile is a sign of silent pain ~ Unknown

            I chose this quote to represent the article/issue that I will be blogging about this week.  When set free from pain tears run down ones face because that’s an emotion that lets go of all the hurt.  A smile at times does not always represent happiness.  A smile can also be an image of pain for some of us; we just hide our pain with a fake smile.  Young girls from Africa the ones who know the meaning and have lived the life of a sex trafficking would have much connection with this quote.

            In my younger years when thinking of Africa I have always thought of animals, heat, and very cultural people.  However, Africa is an enormous Continent with many countries. From doing research Africa is not what one imagines as it would be, even though some countries might have more improvement then others there are countless issues that many of these countries face.  For example South Africa has a high rate of sex trafficking young girls.  The girls are sex trafficked at the age of 4 years old.  Some of the girls are kidnap. While others girls are sold to sex trafficking by their families.  Family members sell their daughters to receive a little money to survive on.   Groups named Molo Songololo have reported that as of today there are about 38.000 young African girls being sold to South Africans and many other humans from all over the world.  The countries that are involved in this horrible situation are Nigeria, Congo, and Anglo. These humans are trading these African girls to Eastern Europe, Thailand, and China.  This article is hearting breaking making me wish I could go to Africa and save some life’s.   

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1037215.stm

We Suffer in Nigeria

I’ve never given much thought to gay communities outside the United States.  The reason being that us gays in the U.S.A are still fighting for our own rights.  However, having to do research for a blog the most interesting topic and issue that has countless articles from different countries in African is the gay communities.  Africans have very strong morals and values and being gay in Africa is asking to be killed specially in Nigeria.

In Nigeria, just last year a bill was passed allowing the Nigerian government to punish homosexuals and individuals who support the gay community for 14 years. Also if married as a gay couple, the couple will be sentence for 10 years.  Nigeria is extremely anti-gay; many of the Nigerian people will even state that there are no gay people in Nigeria.  They do not support being gay at all so they refuse to have any gay bars or gay clubs in their country.  Just the thought of not being able to be yourself is heart breaking.  No one will ever know the feeling endless you step into our shoes.  Yes, I know what it means to be in the closet and pretending to be something your not.  What hurts the most is lying to yourself, the feeling of wanting to live a different life style then the “normal” human, can make a gay human think and believe that maybe the world is right we are living in a sinful way.  According to the article Nigerian Gay Rights Activists Call for Dignity, Acceptance, states that there are many gay Nigerians going back to the closet because they are afraid to face their own people.  Heterosexuals in Nigeria treat gay people as if they are animals, they do whatever they please to them, beat them to death, fire them from their jobs, and are kicked out of their homes hated by family members. The fear of wanting to come out and no one accepting you can kill you shortly but surely.  The article says, how a 60-year-old gay man was beaten to death because he was an openly gay man.  The article also speaks about why Nigerian people do not accept gays; it has to do with their religion being Christian and Muslim. Religion plays a big affect on why this world sees us as horrible people. When in reality the only thing we are doing is sharing our love with our same sex. How is that something sinful?  Also their political leaders are brain washing their citizens to go against gay people because it is not normal.  This article made me come up with countless questions about the Nigerian life style. For example, being Mexican we use the word Machista that represents a male figure that is against gay people and see themselves superior then females.  Do Nigerian men have the same believe that they are superior then females? And therefore a gay man is a man that wants to be woman? Is that why they are not respected or does it only have to do with religious beliefs?

http://www.voanews.com/content/nigerian-gay_rights_activists_call_for_dignity_acceptance/1441447.html

This class for countless reasons called my attention, however I always try to deeply get interested in the classes I take.  For example, I ask myself questions that I hope to have an answer to by the end of the semester.  When bloging I chose a certain subject that will make me want to research even more.  

            For this blog, I was wondering how the gay community is treated in Africa.  After reading just ONE article about the gay community in Africa, my mind was blown away.  Being a gay young male in the United States, at times I feel as if I don’t have my freedom, but being compared to the young gay males in Africa I’m much well off then they are.  These gay males are kicked out from their homes, get stones thrown at, and many are afraid to come out so they live a lie, being something they are not.  In Ghana Africa, according to the article Ghana’s Secret Gay Community it is illegal to be gay in Ghana. Heart breaking as it sounds but homosexuals in Ghana can not run to not type of higher power for protecting.  Many gay humans in Ghana according to the article do not come out to each other because they fear that they will bring them out to the community as a gay human. It can be fearful because humans who have come out have scars all over their bodies form being attack by others who do not accept it.  I would really love to interview a young gay African male, who was born and raised in Africa.