Changing government policy is a relatively easy thing to do; it’s the implementation that seems to cause the most problems. And so, when Theresa May announced last July that the government would end Labour’s shameful and illegal policy of deportation of gay and lesbian asylum seekers to countries where their lives were in danger – even suggesting that they could live happily ever after if they “hid” their true nature – it was rightly applauded. Even those who had previously argued that May’s personal views on homosexuality made her unfit to hold the office were forced to admit that maybe a Tory Home Secretary can change the spots on her leopard skin shoes.
Well, Theresa, it’s crunch time.
An unhappy confluence of events and articles in the last few days have combined to form the first true test of Theresa May’s purported conversion.
Firstly, we had a vile piece in The Daily Mail by Melanie Phillips which raged against the LGBT “rights” agenda, and bemoaned what she perceived to be the continued destruction of “Christian Values”. I won’t post the link here because I think she deserves not one more ounce of that thing she thrives on – publicity. Suffice it to say, if you have ever read anything by Melanie Phillips, I really think she outdid herself with the amount of hate and vitriol she spewed this time.
Today, the BBC reported the death of David Kato, a Ugandan gay rights activists who obviously ruffled one too many feathers in Uganda. He was beaten to death in his own home. This is the same Uganda that wanted to pass a law allowing for the death penalty for gay and lesbians.
Also widely reported today is the plight of Brenda Namigadde, a lesbian from Uganda, due for deportation from the UK on Friday after failing in her bid to convince the UK Border Agency that she was worthy of asylum protection. Why? They did not believe she was a lesbian.
However, the Ugandan politician David Bahati – the man behind the bill to allow execution of LGBT Ugandans – obviously believes her to be gay. He said:
“Brenda is welcome in Uganda if she will abandon or repent her behaviour. Here in Uganda, homosexuality is not a human right. It is behaviour that is learned and it can be unlearned. We wouldn’t want Brenda to be painting a wrong picture of Uganda, that we are harassing homosexuals.”
In Uganda, homosexuality is not a human right – yes, that’s what he said. That’s the kind of world Melanie Phillips and her ilk want to live in. A world where gay and lesbian citizens are NOT free, nor equal. A world where beating someone to death for being gay is a normal occurrence. A world where the government condones the death penalty for LGBT people. As Melanie puts it, a world with “Christian values”.
Thankfully, the law on asylum is clear – a person has the right to asylum basically if they have a “well-founded fear of persecution” in their home country. That’s not some airy-fairy socialist EU-imposed law (take note, Tory right wingers and Melanie Phillips) – that’s the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Big stuff.
Now, I don’t know if she is or she isn’t gay: all we know is the position of the UK Border Agency is that there is “insufficient evidence to support” that claim. Although how one proves one is a lesbian is not exactly clear, especially if (for example) gay and lesbian people have been effectively forced into heterosexual relationships in oppressive countries to hide their sexuality – or face death. So, whether or not she actually IS a lesbian or not is not really the issue here – it is clear from the statement by Bahati that he believes her to be so, and it is this perception that truly matters in this case. Is the UK government honestly suggesting that, even if she is not a lesbian, that she will not be persecuted – and end up beaten to death like David Kato – if she returns to Uganda?
LibDem equalities minister, Lynne Featherstone, has spoken in the past of her belief in the rights of LGBT people and much was made during the formation of the coalition of having a LibDem in the Home Office. I have met Lynne on several occasions and I know her to be nothing but absolutely and utterly committed to moving the equality agenda forward as best she can. She said one time that her and Theresa did not always see eye to eye, but there was at least a discussion about things rather than just stonewalling (pardon the pun!).
Well, Lynne – perhaps now is the time to have that word with Theresa about this issue?
Given the events of the last few days, it would be proof of May’s and the government’s commitment to protecting LGBT asylum seekers and evidence of the coalition’s greater protection of LGBT rights if immediate action was taken on Namigadde’s case.
The Home Secretary has discretion is ALL asylum cases. She can stop this right now. And she should.
If half of young Americans can’t even find New York, what hope for finding Egypt on a map?
31 01 2011When I posted this map – a screen grab from Fox News – a few days ago on Twitter, I had no idea it was going to go viral.
Just two days later, it has had over 170,000 views, my Twitter inbox has gone ballistic and I’ve been inundated with crazy, right-wing rhetoric from those in the US defending Fox and calling me a “liberal” (well,duh!) and suggesting that I had faked it -of course, Fox News can do no wrong in their eyes! But I’m afraid to say it’s genuine.
As for the suggestion of “liberal bias” – I would not hesitate to ridicule the BBC were they to make such an elementary mistake, too. In fact, the BBC should know a LOT better than Fox, so in a way the crime would be worse should they do it.
Many actually misread my post and thought I had said “most Americans can’t find their own country on a map” and insisted they could find it. Well, I actually said “a lot of Americans” – not “most” – and I stand by that characterisation. (Please, if you’re American and CAN find the US, good for you. But I don’t want an email about it. Just accept you’re cleverer than many in your country and feel happy!)
It seems that I have caused a bit of an international incident!
To the intelligent, thinking Americans: I unreservedly apologise. But I do feel sorry for you – after all, study after study does actually show that your fellow countrymen actually are NOT aware of the rest of the world, and your country’s place in it.
A study by National Geographic of young Americans found that half – that’s right – could not even find New York on a map. Other notable data reveals:
But it’s not just the youngsters who appear to be so unaware – the US government’s OWN statistics show that just 37% of the population as a whole currently hold a passport. (Add up the last ten years stats for “passports issued” HERE.). That means that just under two-thirds – a whopping majority – cannot even visit Canada (unless they have certain WHTI other documents instead: but a passport of required for air travel) and Mexico, two countries with a land border with the continental United States. This compares with around 80% of the UK population and similar rates in Europe. Sure, Europe is a smaller place and the countries close, so travel is easy, some say. The US is a huge country and it’s expensive to go elsewhere. Well, that doesn’t seem to bother Australians – probably one of the most isolated countries in the world – where close to 70% have passports. That’s almost twice as many as Americans.
But back to the Fox map – I copped a lot of criticism on Twitter by those defending Fox who said that this graphic was from 2009 and therefore had nothing to do with Egypt. Huh? Firstly, I never said the graphic was current – I merely posted it to demonstrate the ideas I’ve developed above, and I”m sure that the error went unnoticed by the vast majority of Fox viewers.
But irrespective of when the graphic was actually broadcast, no matter how the Fox apologists try to spin it – it doesn’t make it correct!
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