New Guide for Local
Churches: A Response to LGBT Refugee Crisis
By Rev. Harry Knox
Interim Executive Director
Integrity USA
It was her quiet determination to live that made a lasting
impression on me. She was a refugee of
LGBT hatred in Uganda. I had the
opportunity to meet her in New York City at a meeting called to discuss the
growing crisis of systemic violence toward LGBT people in many countries in
parts of Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe.
She spoke of her experience being raped by men who claimed
they did so in order to “cure” her of her lesbian orientation. She told us about the beatings she had
endured by thugs in her neighborhood tied to local authorities. And she related her fear for the safety of
her family now that she has escaped the horror that was her life in a country
ruled by hate.
The cry of my heart was “what can I do?” I chafed against the powerlessness I felt in
the face of this growing problem.
Now ORAM (Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration) has provided a user-friendly resource to help local congregations
put away that sense of powerlessness and act to help save the lives of LGBT
refugees in the United States. Rainbow Bridges is available at: http://oraminternational.com/publications.
“There are immediate ways those of us in the U.S. can
support members of our LGBT community facing persecution overseas,” said Neil
Grungras, Executive Director of ORAM. “Uniting in support of queer asylum
seekers and refugees is a powerful way of building community and reversing
homophobia.”
Sometimes I hear folks say that the movement for LGBT
justice is over…then I think of the face of that indomitable woman from Uganda.
Our work is not done – in the US, or overseas.
If Holy Spirit is calling you to do something, ORAM’s new resource can help.
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