![A posed portrait of Jonah, an LGBTI Ugandan refugee, who lives in Nairobi and is supported by Nature Network. After Jonah’s uncle, who he lived with, discovered Jonah is gay, he attacked him. “My uncle came to our room, dragged me from the bed. On top of his voice, saying I'm a disgrace, I'm a curse, I'm a criminal that needed to be killed. He went to the kitchen, and got a big wood, and started beating me with it. I bled. He campaigned other people to beat me up, and here, some neighbors came to rescue me, 'cause they wouldn't let me be killed in the neighborhood.” Like many refugees in Nairobi, Jonah relies on financial and medical support to survive, however he cannot survive on the amount given by the UNHCR. “The challenges I face here in Kenya , we happen to be given the 4500KSH [about 45USD] every month which happen to be not enough, 'cause the life of living in Kenya is a bit expensive, so people tend to engage in sex work as a way of generating income to supplement on the money being given. We have a problem of health. When someone falls sick, and the way the UN guys respond to it, it's on a slow pace, 'cause you have to email to them, go to the UN offices a couple of times, and you know all during that time, you're in pain, and they keep on giving the appointments, so if it's not amongst your friends to mobilize and get you money, and you be treated, some of our friends have died. I have a couple of friends who are passed on, and then, my other problems are, since so many people have been engaging in sex work, so many of them have been infected, and a number of them have died of AIDS.” Kenya, October 2017.
Nature Network is a Nairobi based organization providing LGBTQI+ refugees in Kenya with support through safe temporary housing, health services, food and security. Nature Network has advocated to police over 50 times, responding to hate crimes, and runs a WhatsApp group of safety tips. Refugees supported have come from Uganda, Somalia, Burundi, Rwanda and Sudan.
Stigma, discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation means that access to HIV services is yet another challenge for this community. As a result, LGBTQI+ people in Africa are 19 times more likely to be living with HIV, with prevalence rates in many countries exceeding 10-20%. To respond to this, the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) built a quick, nimble, and easily accessible $10m fund which can get money to the most effective grassroots organisations doing some of the most important work among the most-at-risk LGBT groups in Sub-Saharan Africa. A Rapid Response mechanism administered by the International HIV / AIDS Alliance quickly disburses smaller sums to respond to emergencies where LGBT people are in jeopardy. The fund is active in 30 countries and Nature Network in Kenya is one project that has received the fund.
Robin Hammond/NOOR for Witness Change](https://whereloveisillegal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/LGB20171101P_KEN_001.jpg)
James / Uganda
“I’m James. Actually not my real name. For my safety and security, I prefer not to use real name, because people who are trying to kill me are still looking for me. I’m an LGBTI Ugandan refugee living in Nairobi. I’m here ’cause I was outed by my cousin, whom we happened to have a secret affair. When my parents passed on, when I was 10 years, my uncle took me in. While I was there, I shared a bed with my cousin. We used to sleep on top of each other, and rub our dicks against each other. This happened for a couple of years, until one day, my cousin, confidently, one night, in the middle of the night, he went to his dad, my uncle, and told him I have tried to sodomize him, and I also threatened to kill him if he told anyone.
My uncle came to our room, dragged me from the bed. On top of his voice, saying I’m a disgrace, I’m a curse, I’m a criminal that needed to be killed. He went to the kitchen, and got a big wood, and started beating me with it. I bled. He campaigned other people to beat me up, and here, some neighbors came to rescue me, ’cause they wouldn’t let me be killed in the neighborhood. I was taken to the mosque all bleeding, ’cause my uncle was imam in the area. They performed rituals, prayed for me. Then, the following day, I was paraded in front of my relative to decide my destiny, ’cause my uncle couldn’t house me anymore.
While they were discussing my fate, I was took back home to shower, because I was covered in blood. I sneak out of the bathroom to a friend’s place, in some other area in Uganda, who helped me to escape Uganda. Being in Nairobi for one year, and a couple of months, and I faced a lot of police brutality. I’ve been chased from houses, because the citizens think every Ugandan refugee here is a homosexual, and they don’t want us to teach our evil habits to their community.
I stay mostly indoors, ’cause I’m afraid what the community could do to me, if they happen to know I’m from Uganda, and I’m a refugee. I still receive numerous threats from home. My uncle still threatening to get rid of me, and I pray one day I could feel normal just like the rest of the people. Be treated nicely, accepted who I am, get married to my boyfriend, and hold hands in the street, just like the rest. That’s it.”
