David Kato was a school teacher who lived in the bustling center of Uganda’s largest city.
He was also an outspoken defender of gay rights in a country where being homosexual is illegal and homophobia is rampant. David was constantly harassed and bombarded with death threats. Every day he lived in fear for his life.
Now, David’s friends and colleagues who dedicate their lives to fighting hate and intolerance have fled the country or are being forced into hiding inside Uganda.
We can provide these courageous people with emergency protection. If 15,000 of us donate in the next 3 days, we can set up secure housing and security training for gay rights activists across Uganda so that they can continue their struggle for respect and dignity. David lost his life for this.
Let's now show these vulnerable but determined activists that they are not alone. Click below to donate:
Last year, we supported the struggle for equality in Uganda. Hundreds of thousands of us from across the world stood with David and his colleagues to oppose a law which would have executed gays - and it was shelved. When a hate tabloid published the photos, names and addresses of these activists, we provided funds to support their legal case to shut the newspaper down -and they won !
As David's tragic death shows, we now need to urgently ramp up our support.
Today, the first round of national elections are underway and the drumbeat of hatred is only likely to get louder, as those who seek political gains from whipping the public into a frenzy turn up the heat. Things for our friends on the ground are increasingly fraught - we cannot allow more gay rights activists to suffer David’s fate.
In the world we all want people like David will be safe from persecution, violence and hate. As our community continues to strive towards that vision, let’s all take a moment to be thankful for the David Kato’s of our world - people who risk their lives for their beliefs, and in doing so inspire millions more to act.
With hope,
Emma, Iain, Alice, Stephanie, Luis, David and the rest of the Avaaz team
Links:
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti