Edward MutebiB. A. Organisation and Communication Management, an activist from Uganda who currently lives in Berlin. He is 28 years old and I got him on the line for a telephone interview. As the interview was conducted in English, I translated it into German.
Hello Edward! Thank you for taking the time for this interview. Why don't you tell us about your activities in Uganda?
I don't want to talk so much about myself, but more about us, us, the group of queer refugees. - In Uganda, I was an activist for LGBTIQ rights. We founded the human rights organisation LET'S WALK UGANDA was founded. In 2016, the housing project for LGBTIQ and HIV+ people, the LET'S WALK UGANDA SHELTER, was added. It provides accommodation for people who have had to leave their homes due to their queerness or HIV status. Volunteers ensure that these people have access to medical treatment and care through cooperation with medical care centres. Safer sex education, empowerment and the distribution of condoms, for example, are other activities covered by SHELTER, with a focus on men who have sex with men (MSM). I still support it from Berlin and of course follow the current activities and developments.
How did you experience the coronavirus period this year?
Initially, I was in Munich. A key problem in Munich is the availability of housing for refugees, so we started a campaign. The situation has worsened enormously due to corona, many refugees are living homeless: with friends, on the street or in camps.
Access to medical care has also become more difficult. Doctors became even more impatient than they already were due to the initial uncertainty of the situation. Requests for appointments were either turned down completely or you were offered one in five months for something that can't really wait that long. Also the PrEP was harder to get. I also sympathise with the doctors these days, of course. Many of us are struggling with language barriers; when they encounter exhausted and overstimulated medical staff, it puts even more strain on everyone involved.
In Bavaria, the treatment of refugees has also changed during the coronavirus pandemic: Penalties are now being imposed on people who enter Germany on a tourist visa and then apply for asylum here. This is a new procedure, a new policy that increases the pressure on refugees under coronavirus conditions.
Do you perhaps have an example of this from your activist work?
"Under coronavirus conditions, legal injustice and unequal treatment of refugees have increased."
I would like to tell you the story of a young man who unfortunately fought in vain for fair treatment during his asylum procedure. He entered the country with just such a tourist visa and then applied for asylum in Bavaria. As he was accommodated in a camp where there were many coronavirus cases, he had to go into quarantine for ten days. During this time, he received a letter from the court and when he came out of quarantine, he only had two days to prepare for the hearing! He wanted to explain to the court that he was fresh out of lockdown and ask for more time to organise legal support. But he got a complete rebuff and also had to pay the fine. This is just one example of how legal injustice and unequal treatment of refugees have increased under coronavirus conditions.
For example, many refugees receive delayed asylum decisions, too few appointments with lawyers and stay in the camps for too long. And sometimes with high Covid19 rates. This and the many rapid changes over the last few months can be extremely stressful mentally. Those of us who have a flat often suffer greatly from isolation and loneliness, and the poverty in which many of us live is also more severe; our problems are increasing because support structures have been cancelled during the crisis and lockdown.
It has helped me to get out of my hovel quickly, to offer help to my neighbours, to get back in touch so that I don't go crazy. I helped myself by helping others.
What does queer solidarity mean to you?
Stick together, stand up for each other, work together, care for each other, support each other, forget no one, leave no one behind!
What do you wish for the future?
I would like to see more participation in political decision-making processes and an awareness of the additional risks that queer refugees are exposed to. I have the impression that queer people are viewed in politics as if we were all the same. The differences in our realities are not particularly well reflected. We need support services and structures such as a telephone hotline to provide guidance on how things work in this country, where I have to apply for what and when, and how to do it.
In general, I wish for more queer solidarity, love and that one thing is clear to everyone: no one can survive this alone, it can only be done together!
Is there a project that you think needs particular support?
In these coronavirus times, humanity is quickly being neglected and everyone is looking out for themselves. This is understandable, but this selfishness has also led to a sharp increase in human rights violations. In Uganda, twenty queer refugees were attacked in a supposedly safe house and ended up in prison for fifty days without a trial and without even seeing a lawyer!
Our organisation has saved many in Uganda and it is becoming clear that our safe housing project needs to be larger and that we urgently need resources for an information centre that provides access to the internet and thus to networking. A library is also to be built.
In Munich, we are currently founding "Plus", the first organisation in Bavaria by and for refugees. Because the measures of the existing structures often fail to meet our needs. People sit behind their desks and plan something that we can't do anything with. That's why our first step is to survey the problems and needs of as many queer refugees in Bavaria as possible in order to then develop projects. In any case, we already need a meeting place, i.e. rooms, infrastructure, etc. There should be counselling, the website is in the works, but unfortunately not yet online because we are dependent on the capacities of volunteers and well, you know, it's hard to say when something will be ready! (laughs) We are in the official registration process and if you want to do something, then support this organisation!
All right! That was really exciting, thank you! Please keep us up to date on how things are going with "Plus" - when we can link you here so that as many people as possible can find you who need or want to give support!
Leave no one behind!
The queer scene has also been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, whether through possible loneliness or financial difficulties. Do you want to help or are you looking for help? #WeForQueer lists projects that offer help or are looking for support themselves. Click through and find a suitable aid or solidarity campaign!
