What would you feel if you had to flee your country because you are gay? Anger? Helplessness? Sadness? In Orgullo de Valientes (Pride of the Brave ones), the new exhibition of Axel Hotel Madrid you can look in the eye some LGBTQ+ refugees and realize how they felt. The photographic exhibition, organized by La Merced […]
What would you feel if you had to flee your country because you are gay? Anger? Helplessness? Sadness? In Orgullo de Valientes (Pride of the Brave ones), the new exhibition of Axel Hotel Madrid you can look in the eye some LGBTQ+ refugees and realize how they felt.
The photographic exhibition, organized by La Merced Migraciones, shows persons who asked for asylum in Spain, because they were being persecuted in their countries. The motivations and expectations in the way out and the reality they found out in Spain as asylum seeker, is the thread of this exhibit.
The exhibition shows the desperation and defenselessness that produces the “red card”, a temporary document authorizing asylum seekers to stay in Spain while they wait for the application to be resolved.
The provisionality and lack of awareness of this card complicates the integration and closes many doors to find a job or a house. “I thought that when I had the red card everything will start again, but the card only starts an unpredictable countdown”, says Manuel, an activist from Venezuela.
Según un informe de la Agencia Española de Cooperación, #Honduras y #ElSalvador son los lugares más peligrosos para las personas del colectivo LGTB en Centroamérica donde el machismo y la homofobia es letal. La información es de @montserratboix pic.twitter.com/2O6NEKeVHm
— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) October 28, 2018
There are 72 countries in the world criminalizing LGBTQ+ people. But this people are not only persecuted by their own nations, they are often repudiated by their friends and family. For lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, the risk is higher, due to gender inequality.
Spain, as signatory of Geneva Convention and other Human Rights treaties, has an obligation to protect these people.
You may think “how can I help?”. It’s easy: donate and/or volunteer your time to associations like La Merced Migraciones. They attend persons fleeing from violence, war and inequality. You can also come and raise awareness in our exhibition Orgullo de Valientes. You have time until de 10th of January 2019.