انا كمان بصّوت… القانون لازم يحميني
تحت شعار “انا كمان بصّوت… القانون لازم يحميني”
تنظّم جمعية حلم “اليوم العالمي لمناهضة رهاب المثلية ورهاب المتحولات والمتحولين جنسياً ومتغيّري النوع الاجتماعي” لهذا العام.
بهذه المناسبة، ندعوكم صديقاتنا واصدقاءنا، ناشطين وناشطات، جمعيات وأفراد، للتضامن معنا في هذا اليوم، الذي سيسلط الضوء على جميع أنواع العنف و التمييز والإقصاء الذي يتعرض له المثليون/ات، ثنائيو/ات الميول الجنسية ومتغيرّو النوع الاجتماعي والمتحولون/ات جنسياً في المجتمع اللبناني. المجتمع الذي يُعرف بأنه “منفتح” و “مثقف”.
يقولون أن القانون يجرمنا، عاداتنا وتقاليدنا توصمنا، الدين يُكَفِّرُنا، المجتمع يقصينا ويهمشنا …. ونحن نقول بأن التجريم والوصم والتكفير والإقصاء والتهميش لن يقفوا حاجزاً أمام نضالنا للوصول إلى مجتمع يحترم الإختلاف، والى دولة مبنية على قوانين لا تنتهك حقوق الانسان بل تحافظ عليها.
البرنامج المقرر لهذا النهار
من الساعة 2:00 ولغاية ال2:15
كلمة افتتاحية لجمعية حلم.
من الساعة 2:15 ولغاية ال3:15
جلسة حوار حول العنف الذي يطال المثليين/ات، ثنائيي/ات الميول الجنسية ومتغيريّ النوع الاجتماعي والمتحولين/ات جنسياً وسوف نقوم بتسليط الضوء على واقع النساء عامةً والمثليات منهن خاصةً على الصعيدين الاجتماعي والقانوني.
من الساعة 3:15 ولغاية ال3:30
تكريم الصحفية سحر مندور على مقالاتها الجريئة الداعمة لقضايا المجتمع المدني .
من الساعة 3:45 ولغاية ال4:45
مسرح تفاعلي ارتجالي.
من الساعة 4:45 ولغاية ال5:00
عرض وثائقي تعريفي عن منشور برّة وكلمة للمنسق بمناسبة اطلاق المنشور.
من الساعة 5:00 ولغاية ال6:00
عرض كوميدي منفرد هادف.
يتخلل هذا اليوم معرض للجمعيات الاهلية الناشطة على قضايا حقوق الانسان ومعرض صور للفنانين سمير خوري وجيمس مورغن.
الزمان:الثالث من حزيران 2012 من الساعة الثانية بعد الظهر الى السادسة مساءً
المكان: مسرح ميتروبوليس، صوفيل الأشرفية
ملاحظة: مرفق ملصق الدعوة والبرنامج
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Social Worker and Membership Coordinator
Helem – Lebanese Protection for LGBT
Zico House, Yamout Bldg, 1st floor
174 Spears Street
Zarif 2040 3005
Beirut, Lebanon
Tel/Fax: 00961-1-745092
Helpline:00961-70 123687
Email: socialwork.helem@gmail.com
Website: www.helem.net
Australian invitation to Lebanese LGBT community and allies
Al salam alikum & marhaba!
My name is Paul. My mother is from Hasroun, Lebanon. I sing with Sydney Gay & Lesbian Choir (SGLC) in Australia.
SGLC invites all our Lebanese LGBT friends and straight allies to sing with us in our virtual choir project, as OutPostChoir goes live. Please join us singing “You Make Me Proud” with our LGBT friends around the globe.
Anyone can now visit the website at www.outpostchoir.com, follow the video instructions to learn the song, record themselves on their personal webcam and then submit their video. Each voice will then be mixed into the virtual choir performance on the website which will become an ever expanding mosaic of faces (optional) and voices as more and more people participate over the life of the project.
The original idea for OutPostChoir was to give isolated LGBTIQ people in regional Australia and less tolerant countries around the world, the same opportunity that we have, of being part of a supportive gay and lesbian choir. However, in the context of IDAHO Day, the project has developed into a powerful symbol of the world’s ongoing fight against homophobia. We invite all people, including our straight allies, to add their voice. The project culminates on World Aids Day, on December 1st, 2012.
“You Make Me Proud” was selected as the official OutPostChoir song following a recent international song competition. The song is really all about recognising and celebrating the wonderful people in the community around us who help to give us the strength to be who we really are and to be the best that we can be. Sometimes those people have had to deal with huge challenges themselves and have overcome them, and become an inspiration to us in that way. But often it is just the incredible love and support of our extended family and friends which gives us the courage to really overcome our own personal struggles and to follow our own dreams. The song really serves as a reminder that we are all there for each other and that no-one should feel afraid or alone in the challenges they face.
Paul Moore
Homophobia continues to lurk in Lebanese laws, attitudes
May 17, 2012 01:39 AM By Emma Gatten The Daily Star
| Photo by Hasan Shaaban: The Daily Star |
 |
| Posters put up in Beirut by advocacy group Raynbow play on the idea that homosexuality is censored in society. (The Daily Star/Hasan Shaaban) |
BEIRUT: For the most part, Karim has a good relationship with his father. His father loves him, he says, but only the version of him that he knows. He doesn’t know his son is gay, and Karim doesn’t intend to tell him anytime soon.
“When the topic of homosexuality comes up in a family lunch, he cannot stop talking about how I disgust him,” the 17-year-old says. “Without realizing it, he calls me a sinner, a monster, a pedophile, a freak of nature.”
Homosexuality is illegal in Lebanon, and views like those of Karim’s father aren’t uncommon. Article 534 of the Penal Code, which outlaws “unnatural sexual acts,” means being openly homosexual is risky, although the law is used infrequently.
A homophobic opinion piece in the American University of Beirut’s student newspaper Outlook published earlier this month was an example of the extent to which such views remain in the mainstream.
Despite this, homosexuality is becoming more visible in Lebanon, particularly in Beirut, with groups such as the nonprofit Raynbow following in the footsteps of Lebanese NGO Helem, the first gay rights group in the Middle East, to bring issues into the spotlight and lobby against homophobia.
To mark International Day Against Homophobia Thursday, a group of activists and bloggers with Raynbow put up posters around the capital city, with slogans decrying the censorship they felt Lebanon imposes on homosexuality, in tandem with a website that allows people to share their experiences of homophobia.
“The thought behind it was to allow a space for people to share their own stories in order to make the effect of homophobia on people more personal,” says Hasan, the founder of Raynbow and the manager of website Lebanese LGBT Media Monitor.
He believes that raising awareness, particularly in changing the media’s representation of homosexuality, is vital in changing attitudes, and Raynbow is currently raising funds to erect a billboard in Beirut with a pro-gay message.
Hamed Sinno, the lead singer in rock band Mashrou Leila, and a rare openly gay public figure in Lebanon, says raising visibility of homosexuality is important, and not only to change the opinions of those who might oppose it.
“I think it’s important for there to be more ‘out’ public figures,” he says. “When you’re young and you’re gay and you live in Lebanon, there’s not a lot to identify with and that’s a really important part of growing up and discovering your sexuality.”
Despite this, he also believes that a change in attitudes to homosexuality is tangible. “I’ve seen my direct surroundings over the past seven years change so much, [largely] because of the Internet,” he says. “I look at young gay men now and people in their teens and the way they live and there’s so much more gay life than when I was that age.”
Change may be happening, but for Karim it’s not enough to persuade him to tell his parents the truth.
“I hope that one day I will have the courage to break this silence, but I depend too much on my family to take this risk right now,” he says.
There’s also a feeling that real change will only come when the law gives equal protection to homosexuals and heterosexuals.
“I don’t think there’s going to be much drastic social change before there’s political and legal change,” says Sinno.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on May 17, 2012, on page 4.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/May-17/173652-homophobia-continues-to-lurk-in-lebanese-laws-attitudes.ashx#ixzz1v7pUQBr9
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
Barra magazine back on track
BEIRUT: After years of patience, Barra is going to be launched again on IDAHO. The Lebanese LGBT Media Monitor conducted an interview with editors in chief Ahmad Saleh and Jean Salim to get all the details about the re-launching of this magazine.
The Monitor: What drove you to re-launch Barra and what made you succeed after many years?
Barra: The project of re-launching Barra has been a topic talked about in Helem for years with many attempts that failed. This year one of Helem’s founders George Azzi reunited a group of people who were determined to re-launch Barra. What really helped us is that IDAHO was two and a half months away from when the idea came out, so we set that date as a deadline.
The Monitor: What are the topics that the magazine will have?
Barra: There are many sections:
- Theme Section and Feature Article: each issue will have a different theme with a feature article.
- Interview with someone related to the theme or with someone who marked the LGBT community
- News section: including local, regional, international news plus news from Civil Society groups and Law cases. Avoiding any that the Lebanese LGBT community can’t identify with.
- Arts and Lifestyle: a section that will have an LGBT perspective, not necessarily by LGBT, not necessarily about LGBT
- Opinion piece: a platform for anyone regarding any topic
- Health: Sexual and Reproductive Health but also any topic the LGBT community can identify with more than any other Non LGBTs
- Fun section: Comic Strip, Horoscope, Games, Jokes, etc…
The Monitor: We heard that the magazine is going to be open to articles by the public. Why did you choose that instead of handling the magazine to a group of professional writers?
Barra: We will have staff writers who are responsible for editing and translating articles as well as writing in every issue. At the same time Barra was first issued for a purpose: publishing articles about LGBTs that were not accepted in the common media. That’s why we decided to make it open to the public.
To be accepted, the articles should be: non offensive, constructive, non-pinkwashing, and not resembling tabloids.
The Monitor: What do you think will distinguish Barra from other LGBT media outlets and Blogs?
Barra: We think the more outlets there are in the public the more discourse and more diversity the community will have. We will be the only media outlet that is in print. Our printed issues will include both Arabic and English articles (80% Arabic). And our online issue will have all articles translated into both languages.
The Monitor: What to expect from the first issue?
Barra: It will be very different. It will have the crowd shocked that something like this is happening in Lebanon.
It will include both issues targeting activists and non activists (LGBT 101)
The Monitor: Are you afraid of any obstacles (legally, financially…) hitting your way?
Barra: Our only fear is any lack of involvement from the LGBT community. We are also scared from their reaction towards this magazine: will they consider increasing the visibility to the LGBT community is a negative step?
We’re not afraid of having any Legal problems since we are sure that Barra is completely Legal as long as we don’t sell it, in which case it will need a special license.
The Monitor: Where will you distribute Barra?
Barra: Barra will be at LGBT friendly venues (pubs, gathering places), AUB Jafet Library, partner organizations. We are also talking with other universities and libraries. We are trying to reach contacts from outside of Beirut to help in this but this is much harder.
The Monitor: Anything else you want to add?
Barra: We hope people will identify with the articles in Barra. We want to clarify that it’s going to be a free magazine. We encourage everyone to send us anything (opinion pieces, stories, pictures, games, memes…) under a real name or an alias at: info@barramag.com. All articles will be edited for grammar and language structure with the agreement of the writer.
The Monitor: Thank you Helem for this great initiative and we all wait in anticipation to read this unique and important publication.
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#LebIDAHO fundraiser on May 24th
Celebrating the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia tomorrow May 17th , the #LebIDAHO initiative is planning a fundraiser on Thursday May 24th 2012. The group of bloggers, with support from Raynbow, The Lebanese LGBT Media Monitor, and in collaboration with TAG events, is hoping to raise some funds to support their street awareness campaign that they plan for the second year in a row.
The event will include a photo installation from 9 to 11 PM by researcher Samir Khoury and photographer James Ian Morgan. “OUT: Portraits of a proud community” coming all the way from Montreal, Canada with photos of Lebanese and Arab LGBT individuals living abroad.
For a donation of $20 you will get admission to the club at 11 PM and 2 free drinks (age 18+) and your ticket number will be entered in a draw with a chance to win $150 gift voucher donated by Ranbow store. The winning number will be announced on May 25 on the Lebanese LGBT Media Monitor.
Come join us for a fun night of solidarity and fun.
Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/428796723805044
MTV’s Joe Maalouf Shoots “Pornography” in Tripoli Cinema
Another outrageous report by MTV, the Lebanese TV station now popular for its bigotry, racism, homophobia, and hate-incitement was aired on May 8, 2012.
How we view MTV’s chosen slogan. Discrimination and treating people with double standard
The Anta Hurr (أنت حر Arabic for “You are free”) episode included using a hidden camera inside an adult all-men movie theater in Lebanon’s second largest city, Tripoli. The video shows shadows of men masturbating and a short sexual chat with one of them. Joe Maalouf called on officials to close the theater permanently. The next day, Cinema Hamra in Tripoli was shut down without any official or public response by any politician or leader. Read the Assafir report here.
In my opinion, what MTV has done is wrong on many levels:
The faces of the people filmed were not blurred. Just imagine what has happened to the lives of these men the next day when their faces were shown nationwide. MTV did not think about the men’s safety and security in a society where honor crimes are still protected by the law and where social stigma can lead marginalized people to destructive behavior or self-harm.
Did Joe Maalouf already judge the men present there as criminals and less human than the rest of us and thus exposing their identity to the public without their consent was ruled legitimate?
Why did MTV go all the way to Tripoli, to that one unique place, and ignore the countless adult clubs in Hamra and other areas in Beirut? That cinema charges 5,000 L.L. per entrance, so it is likely that they make less money than the “elite” clubs elsewhere. They thus have less money to bribe the system. Is that why MTV chose the Tripoli-based Cinema Hamra? Was it an easier target to attack and ensure that the closure would happen and score a “victory” for their TV show?
Or did MTV choose Cinema Hamra because it caters for men only? And sex among adult consenting men is abnormal in their eyes so they had to stop that “scandal!” Joe Maalouf presented the topic as if this place is a danger to the homes and families in the city. He acted as if the pornography screened there can be seen from the balconies of neighboring buildings or that all the ejaculates of masturbation are splashing on the rooftops of Tripoli’s houses.
The documentary only showed adult men. However, at the end of the episode, Joe Maalouf made it sound like such places are there to lure teenagers and drug them.
And to make sure that you agitated everyone, if people did not care about what was happening between the walls of that cinema, MTV brings in religion to make the subject sound more alarming. MTV brought in religion by using a cheesy statement about having to cut out the “Adhan” from the background. Then Maalouf called on Sheikhs to condemn the behavior.
I am not advocating for the presence of such places nor am I condemning them. I am only commenting on the fact that MTV treated the men there as nonhumans where it violated their basic human right for privacy and carelessly put their safety at stake. MTV filmed them without their permission and shared the video on national TV without their permission. I hold MTV accountable for any wrong-doing or harm that is inflicted upon these men whether by their own hands or somebody else’s.
The only problem that will remain in Lebanon, even if no one will hear about any suffering the men experienced, is that you definitely labeled them as less human than we all are.
The only argument that I would have understood and sympathized with is if you had mentioned that the place is not monitored by health authorities to ensure safety and public health by confidential counseling and STD testing. I see that you were more concerned about the “scandalous” nature of your reporting which ensure attracting more viewers.
For more on how you’ve acted in a completely unprofessional manner, please read Jean Salim’s take on the issue.
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Mazen Abdallah’s Take on Outlook’s Response to the Controversy
Summary of Outlook AUB’s response to the recent controversy:
a) Our jobs are really hard
b) We’re not exactly the New York Times, but that makes us special and unique
c) Freedom of Speech
d) We’re only human
e) Freedom of Speech
f) If you think we’re doing such a lousy job, why don’t you try it for a change?
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