Holocaust Memorial Berlin

Undoing Human Wrongs

Set-up on Saturday, June 2, 2007, this site has been established to address human rights issues. I have always been disturbed, concerned, and saddened by humanity's preoccupation with fearing difference. Ethnic conflict, criminalizing sexuality, exclusionary processes, political and religious frameworks guaranteeing division; these are ever-present topics taking place in all parts of the world. On the other hand I have always been inspired by communities and states that have moved forward in a quest to guarantee universal rights for all, creating laws which include rather than exclude certain groups. I have also been inspired by individuals who challenge others to think about prejudice, racism- discrimination at all levels. My challenge to friends, family, and the bloggers reading this is to become aware of new places with human rights abuses, learn about inspirational people, send stories, and make people aware. You can send messages out through your own sites, in emails to friends, or to the comments section of my blog. If you have links, videos, literature, etc, that you would like added send me a note (email in my full profile below). Terry

Monday, September 17, 2007

"Out" and About!

I officially came-out to my colleagues and to much of the NGO community in Colombo, Sri Lanka, through an article I wrote on being a gay ex-pat. This country still has laws against homosexuality; so does that also make me officially "illegal"?


I was hesitant to come-out because of those laws and because of my fear of an aggressive reaction, but it was really quite easy. My workmates listened to me intently, asked to read my article, and then asked me questions about gay issues that I thought were only known to a "secret" community. My rights were in tact, I was treated with respect, and I didn't feel in the least bit threatened. I realize that my colleagues are educated, work in the NGO sector, are in positions to uphold humanitarian principles, and represent a miniscule portion of the Sri Lankan population, but this gave me hope that things have the potential for change.


With that being said, however, I had to reflect on other parts of the world that are dealing with the aggression and intolerance that I had feared. Geoff, my partner, read an article about Uganda's regression on GLBT rights, quoting a piece from the Minister of "Ethics and Integrity". With a name like that, it must be in a position to uphold all that is good and righteous in the country. I searched for more information on this and found a couple of other articles that looked at other parts of Africa, namely Nigeria, and Cameroon. Wow, this world really has a long way to go!!! http://direland.typepad.com/direland/


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