Tunisia, Sousse. 03 December, 2016. A posed portrait of 37 year old, gay man Walid (right) (+216 97746228, walidnasrkhlifi@gmail.com, FB: Walid Nasr) and 26 year old, gay man Abdesattar (left) (+216 22560992, abdessattarwasli@gmail.com). They have been together for five years, but because of hostile attitudes towards same sex relationships in the region and laws that make some consensual same sex acts a crime, they have kept their relationship hidden. ÒWe moved from place to place, lied to families and friends. We had to pretend and to be someone else. We love each other and we will never give up on each other, whatever happens.Ó Photo Robin Hammond /NOOR for Witness Change.  The Tunisian Revolution, also known as the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive campaign of civil resistance, including a series of street demonstrations taking place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. It eventually led to a thorough democratization of the country and to free and democratic elections. Tunisian LGBTQI+ community hoped that the revolution would usher in a more open society, and an end to homophobia and transphobia. This has not come to pass. The laws that target LGBTQI+ people remain, most notably article 230 which makes same-sex acts illegal, punishable by up the 3 years in prison. Transgender people are targeted under public decency laws. The general public is no more accepting of LGBTQI+ people than they were before the revolution. Despite the legal and societal discrimination, LGBTQI+ activists are dedicated to campaigning more openly.

Walid & Abdessattar /

“We‘ve been together for almost 5 wonderful years. 5 years of love, and we’ve been through many struggles to survive as well. Our love and relationship was not a coincidence, it’s worth all the sacrifices and risks we took. We’ve moved from place to place, lied to families and friends. We’ve had to pretend and to be some else. We’ve love each other and we will never give up on each other, whatever happens.

We were insulted, blackmailed, rejected, but we are strong, we have each other, we have friends and people like us. We have hope. What’s wrong with being in love. I love him and he loves me. I want to hold his hand in public or kiss him but that’s forbidden here, it’s a crime. We are happy together we want to spend our life together and we will do it despite of everything.

Web just ask why do they hate us, what did we took from them, why this anger, we are here and we exist, we are many in numbers we are alive, we enjoy our life and we don’t care about judgments but this doesn’t mean that we live safely and that we are not aimed by media and government.

We love each other that’s all

 

Have a gay day

Walid & Abdessattar”

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