ABOLA AND THE DREAM OF BEING FREE

?

Abola Sunday is a 27-year-old refugee in the “Kakuma camp refugee” located in Kenya, an African country, where being a QUEER person is not as favorable as we imagined it could be.

Abola is a Ugandan of the “LUO” ethnicity, he is originally from Kampala from the city of Gulu. Our friend comes from a very different reality than other “gay” boys in Western countries and more democratic politics. The news is fast and direct, LGBTQIA+ people in Africa need protection and attention, things are always ugly there when it comes to the QUEER community. Our friend Sunday has a routine that still keeps him alive to dream of better days. As we read through this text, we will get to know our new Ugandan friend a little more. His routine in “block 13” where LGBTQIA+ people are located in “Kakuma Camp Refugee” is to help with budgets when necessary and also venture into cooking, we know that in these circumstances "helping" is one of the best ways for those who live in an unpredictable place. The LGBTQIA+ community of the “kakuma camp refugee” is already becoming known worldwide and it is not because of lovely news but because of the abandonment it suffers. However, even with so much difficulty, our friend SUNDAY has strength and hope, dreaming of a great turnaround in his life.

"I am currently facing difficulties such as keeping a low profile and having to stay at home for fear of showing the community who I am, for fear of being attacked by homophobes.” Abola Sunday refugee from Kakuma Camp Refugee

“Poor medical care, it is very difficult for an LGBTI+ person to get good medical care in UNHCR health facilities, as we are discriminated against in accessing help in most UNHCR facilities.” Abola Sunday refugee from Kakuma Camp Refugee.

Description is extremely important when you live in a nation that does not accept that you are different. But I ask what it really means to be different. My main question is aren't we born free? If we are born free according to the laws of men and God, then we have the right to be who we really are. The fact that an African man does not follow a standard that was imposed during colonialism does not mean that he will stop being a man. Everything we see about violence against African LGBTQIA+ people is extremely real and inhumane, this problem only gets worse over the years and large organizations remain silent or pretend that it doesn't exist, but the problem is real and is affecting many lives innocent.

"Although this has been difficult to QUEER activists being a target, I stand strong with QUEER persons amid all challenges including daily attacks, discrimination, hate speeches and rising levels of poverty due to an employment of queer persons and increasing lack of coverage in health care". Abola Sunday refugee from Kakuma Camp Refugee.

“It is difficult for me to support myself financially, since I am denied work for years in the refugee camp, hence the difficulty in purchasing what I need to sustain my survival in this place”. Abola Sunday refugee from Kakuma Camp Refugee.

When every QUEER refugee arrives at a Refuge Camp they hope that their problems can be alleviated, but not in this place we are talking about, KAKUMA. I strongly believe that large organizations have a huge deficiency in dealing with the LGBTQIA+ refugee community. I'm not just talking about a lack of empathy, I'm talking about a lack of commitment to these human lives. The UN has a constitution that guides all Human Rights organizations to follow so that they can do a decent job, however the policies of these often ignorant nations do not allow the work to be carried out with safety and commitment to the truth. Meanwhile, many lives are lost, many QUEER people do not have the right to eat, live, work, love, their only destiny is death.

“We are mistreated by “UNHCR” officials, I was forcibly told several times to change my sexual orientation to fit in with the community, but I refused. As a human being, I have the right to be who I am.” Abola Sunday refugee from Kakuma Camp Refugee.

Our friend Abola is not the only one to mention that he needs to conform to the common standards of local society in order to have access to basic rights. The failure is big and dangerous, I realize that these organizations need to go through an updating process urgently, the problem is not money, it is the way of acting in situations that are not welcome in an often ignorant society.? We cannot change who we are, this text is not to attack anyone, or attack the way a large institution can act, this material is a real story and we need to reflect on what the QUEER? refugee community actually wants and needs now.? The problem is happening and there is no one who really wants to change these realities and we don't even need to write that, we are seeing it.? Kakuma shows us what it's really like for QUEER refugees. So we can imagine that the other camps are also similar with the same inhumane attitudes. Our friend ABOLA arrived in Kakuma with the help of the Kitale Kenya Red Cross, after receiving him, he stayed a few more days and with their help they took him to the Kakuma refugee camp. Abola informs his journey to his current state, like many LGBTQA+ refugees he had a journey to follow and this needs to be observed carefully. In almost all cases we can say in fact that a refugee does not have enough information about where to go, be it a city, country or refuge camp, the only thought is to save their life.

“I received rejection from my community and my family after they found out I was gay, I ran back into the street and after years I found myself in this refugee camp. I don’t keep in touch with my family, they were the first people to reject my gender identity and they are among the people who want me dead.” Abola Sunday refugee from Kakuma Camp Refugee.

“I was born in northern Uganda, where the region was at war for almost 25 years. I was already a victim and was also kidnapped by the Lord Resistance Army (L.R.A.) I was in the bush for a year and a half, I was forced to kill and do a lot of bad things not because I wanted to and I was a child. This also delayed my studies, my parents were killed in the war, I had no stable guardian until I arrived, stigma pressure as a result, many bad things I did in that bush made me run away from home to the streets of Kampala city when I was just 14 years old, I had to do ceramics work to survive until when I had the chance to finish my primary school, normally later I had that plan to return home in 2015, that's when I met an organization called AVSI and they were looking for victims of war that they could still continue with school, I had the chance and they took me to an agricultural school for two years”. Abola Sunday refugee from Kakuma Camp Refugee.

Judgments often change our way of seeing the world, there is no manual on how to learn to be a human being, that doesn't exist, but the lack of family support is so cruel when it comes to LGBTQIA+ people, if in fact one support existed perhaps the world could be different. I want to believe that Abola was chosen by God so that we can see that no matter where we come from, or what we have become, if we have a dream we have every right to live and fight for it to be realized.

“Being evacuated from this homophobic and hostile environment to a safer place, I think this is the only lasting solution to my situation. Until the day when I must continue to ask for help in the form of advocacy and financial support to support my survival in this field.” Abola Sunday refugee from Kakuma Camp Refugee.

“My biggest dream in life is to live in a community where my gender is acc“My biggest dream in life is to live in a community where my gender is acceptable, not be afraid of my gender identity, followed by pursuing my studies to fulfill my dream of becoming a veterinarian.” Abola Sunday refugee from Kakuma Camp Refugee.

We often think that because we live comfortably in our Western society where “democracy” is favorable for creating more humanized policies, we believe that our reality is the main source of prosperity, it is difficult to talk about restricted and conservative cultures and religions, which It also often impedes the advancement of a nation, major authorities and organizations have a fundamental role in maintaining a healthy dialogue where ways and means can be found to resolve these problems that affect all refuge camps, where the LGBTQIA+ community is simply ignored.

ABOLA is an example of how, since his youth, he was forced to do “things” that we consider “wrong” in our Western cultures in order to survive. I believe that everyone has the right to have a second chance, especially when even weak human beings have the ability to dream for a better world.

The SUNDAY considers itself an LGBTQIA+ leader in its community, two years ago it had the idea of forming a collective of QUEER people called “Seven Color Spectrum” which started with 5 members but now has 19, they even have an Instagram page: @sevencolorspectrum.

“Having a general certificate in agriculture gave me a lot of ideas in both the animal and agricultural areas. I still want to further my studies and one day become a veterinarian.” Abola Sunday refugee from Kakuma Camp Refugee.eptable, not be afraid of my gender identity, followed by pursuing my studies to fulfill my dream of becoming a veterinarian.” Abola Sunday refugee from Kakuma Camp Refugee.

We often think that because we live comfortably in our Western society where “democracy” is favorable for creating more humanized policies, we believe that our reality is the main source of prosperity, it is difficult to talk about restricted and conservative cultures and religions, which It also often impedes the advancement of a nation, major authorities and organizations have a fundamental role in maintaining a healthy dialogue where ways and means can be found to resolve these problems that affect all refuge camps, where the LGBTQIA+ community is simply ignored.

ABOLA is an example of how, since his youth, he was forced to do “things” that we consider “wrong” in our Western cultures in order to survive. I believe that everyone has the right to have a second chance, especially when even weak human beings have the ability to dream for a better world.

The SUNDAY considers itself an LGBTQIA+ leader in its community, two years ago it had the idea of forming a collective of QUEER people called “Seven Color Spectrum” which started with 5 members but now has 19, they even have an Instagram page: @sevencolorspectrum.

“Having a general certificate in agriculture gave me a lot of ideas in both the animal and agricultural areas. I still want to further my studies and one day become a veterinarian.” Abola Sunday refugee from Kakuma Camp Refugee.

One thing is certain, the LGBTQIA+ community at Kakuma Camp Refugee struggles every day to find a way to survive, many QUEER brothers and sisters from various African countries such as: CONGO, SUDAN, SOUTH SUDAN, SOMALIA, RWANDA, BURUNDI, UGANDA, dream of being free, dreaming in being who they really are, dreaming of no longer being afraid of living their truth, dreaming of being loved, welcomed, dreaming of living in a place with protection, dreaming of working, loving, studying and having a good life, mainly they all dream of being accepted for being an LGBTQIA+ person.

ABOLA SUNDAY has a beautiful dream of being able to go back to school and go to veterinary medicine school, even with all the difficulties that surround him, he still has hope that one day the sun will shine towards him.