Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill

[Guest]

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[JiminTexas]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/12/08/uganda.anti.gay.bill/index.html

This bill is designed to ban homosexuality from Uganda in the most inhumane, ignorant, and cruel ways imaginable:

• Gays and lesbians convicted of having gay sex would be sentenced, at minimum, to life in prison
• People who test positive for HIV may be executed
• Homosexuals who have sex with a minor, or engage in homosexual sex more than once, may also receive the death penalty
• The bill forbids the "promotion of homosexuality," which in effect bans organizations working in HIV and AIDS prevention
• Anyone who knows of homosexual activity taking place but does not report it would risk up to three years in prison

Thanks to support from religious (Christian and Muslim alike) leaders, the bill has huge support and will very likely pass.  The only thing that could stop it is that 40% of Uganda's budget comes from international aid, and many of those have already threatened to withhold that aid if the bill passes.  I hope Kiva is among those.

Jim

[Jill]

Thanks, Jim, for posting this, though I'm certain that you and I and just about everyone else here reading at KivaFriends wishes that the article and the sad reality that it bespeaks never would have been there in the first instance for you to be able to post about it.

What a crazy, totally upside-down world it sometimes feels as though we live in.  One thought, a bit more of a positive thought, though, that did occur to me, was that you've just provided us with but one more reason why we can feel good about supporting Florence's School in Uganda, the fundraising for which began here, yesterday, thanks to Diane and her efforts.  It seems to me that the only chance we have of eradicating ignorance like this, just as, I believe, the only chance we have of really eradicating terrorism and poverty, is by supporting and encouraging EDUCATION.

I am so sorry for all the people in Uganda who, now, will have to be feeling even additional fear and prejudice on top of what they, undoubtedly, had had to experience before.

Here's to a better, more equitable life for all....
Jill

[Peter S]

Jim - thanks for bringing that to attention.

There's an interesting and evidently well researched recent piece on politicsdaily.com by David Gibson, "If Uganda Executes Gays, Will American Christians be Complicit?" which concludes:

American Christians who help sow such sentiments may be held liable -- at least morally -- for the results. A Nov. 18 report, "Globalizing the Culture Wars: U.S. Conservatives, African Churches, and Homophobia," from the liberal think tank Political Research Associates (PRA), documents how extensive -- and influential -- those contacts are.

    "Just as the United States and other northern societies routinely dump our outlawed or expired chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, and cultural detritus on African and other Third World countries, we now export a political discourse and public policies our own society has discarded as outdated and dangerous," Tarso Luís Ramos, head of the PRA, says in the foreword to the report. "Africa's anti-gay campaigns are to a substantial degree made in the U.S.A."

Whether those campaigns will succeed is still an open question. Despite wide support for the bill in parliament, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni may seek to stall the legislation for fear of losing international support.

But many Ugandan church leaders have also signaled their support for the broader bill if the death-penalty provision is removed. "I think the death penalty is not acceptable," Anglican Bishop Stanley Ntagali of Masindi-Kitara diocese has said. "I think taking someone to jail for a period of time would be sufficient."

With an estimated 500,000 gays and lesbians among Uganda's 31 million residents, they better start building prisons fast.

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/12/02/if-uganda-executes-gays-will-american-christians-be-complicit/

- nice to hear from that "moderate" Anglican bishop that jail would be sufficient....

. . . The only thing that could stop it is that 40% of Uganda's budget comes from international aid, and many of those have already threatened to withhold that aid if the bill passes.  I hope Kiva is among those.

Jim

In relation to your expressed hope that Kiva would withdraw from Uganda in solidarity if the Bill becomes law, I believe that would never happen.  We've seen in relation to other issues that Kiva is reluctant to express principled opposition to anything, whether it's cockfighting loans or its partner Chevron's continuing complicity in serious environmental and human rights abuses in Nigeria and Ecuador.  Kiva's position I believe would be that it is opposed to poverty, and to alleviate poverty it provides a (theoretically) neutral and value-free platform for microlending - and nothing that would require it to express abhorrence of this or any other outrage.

Peter

[greg3912]

Countries that have outlawed the death penalty and taken principled stands against its practice in the US, still maintain economic, cultural and educational ties. Even though I find this Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill to be totally abhorrent, I also think it would be a meaningless gesture to demand that Kiva sanction Uganda. The only thing accomplished would be a reduction in potential economic well being and educational opportunities in a country that desperately needs to come into the 21st century.

Greg

[Diane R]

The bill forbids the "promotion of homosexuality," which in effect bans organizations working in HIV and AIDS prevention

So putting aside for a moment that this is an unspeakable and appalling legislation on its face, it seems it will also spell further possible tragedy for generations to come.  The CNN article includes the chilling comment:
"Who will go to HIV testing if he knows that he will suffer the death sentence?" Elizabeth Mataka, the U.N. Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa, told reporters last week.

Although Uganda was one of the first African countries to register an AIDS epidemic, there has been great success in reducing infection rates.  From the WHO (World Health Organization) website:

Same-day results for HIV tests and social marketing of condoms and self-treatment kits for sexually transmitted infections, backed up by sex education programmes, have helped reduce very high HIV infection rates.

http://www.who.int/inf-new/aids2.htm
We look hopefully at programs to halt the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa, and then we are faced with developments like this legislation?


I found it interesting that even Exodus International, which claims to offer "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ", is condemning the proposed legislation to the Ugandan President.

Moody Bible Institute and the Clinical Advisory Board of the American Association of Christian Counselors joined Exodus in sending a letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni decrying the proposed law.  "While we do not believe that homosexual behavior is what God intended for individuals, we believe that deprivation of life and liberty is not an appropriate or helpful response to this issue," the letter stated.
. . .
"If homosexual behavior and knowledge of such behavior is criminalized and prosecuted, as proposed in this bill, church and ministry leaders will be unable to assist hurting men, women and youth who might otherwise seek help in addressing this personal issue."

http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/news/25477-ministry-fights-for-homosexual-freedoms-

I hasten to add that while I don't agree with the reasoning behind the above, I would like to think perhaps faith groups will be able to exert some influence in the country before the Parliamentary vote, especially if any powerful churches in Uganda itself would speak against it.  But it's not looking very likely.


So.  What can we do, we meddlesome foreigners who are seen as interfering in a culture we don't understand.  We can certainly support Florence's students at Mirembe School, and hope as so many remind us again and again, that educating the women is a start at changing the nation and the world.  But I won't be able to live with myself if I tsk-tsk when I could have been acting: is there something else we can do?


--Diane, heart heavy.

[Mona]

So.  What can we do, we meddlesome foreigners who are seen as interfering in a culture we don't understand.  We can certainly support Florence's students at Mirembe School, and hope as so many remind us again and again, that educating the women is a start at changing the nation and the world.  But I won't be able to live with myself if I tsk-tsk when I could have been acting: is there something else we can do?

--Diane, heart heavy.

Here are links to two petitions where you can add your voice against this bill:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Uganda_Christians/index.html
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/rick-warren-please-denounce-anti-gay-bill-in-uganda

[Eli]

There's an interesting and evidently well researched recent piece on politicsdaily.com by David Gibson, "If Uganda Executes Gays, Will American Christians be Complicit?" . . . :
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/12/02/if-uganda-executes-gays-will-american-christians-be-complicit/

I have always agreed with that sentiment, silence implies complicity.

In relation to your expressed hope that Kiva would withdraw from Uganda in solidarity if the Bill becomes law, I believe that would never happen.  We've seen in relation to other issues that Kiva is reluctant to express principled opposition to anything, whether it's cockfighting loans or its partner Chevron's continuing complicity in serious environmental and human rights abuses in Nigeria and Ecuador.  Kiva's position I believe would be that it is opposed to poverty, and to alleviate poverty it provides a (theoretically) neutral and value-free platform for microlending - and nothing that would require it to express abhorrence of this or any other outrage.

Agreed, Kiva, will maintain their 'turning a blind eye'.

[Diane R]

Some of you may want to spend time with two recent media reports which offer more depth to this issue, along with some speculation.


Last week, Jeff Sharlett was on NPR's "Fresh Air", speaking with Terry Gross in a program called, "The Secret Political Reach of 'The Family'".  As a former visitor to the Wash. DC communal residence of the fundamentalist political group 'The Family' and having conducted years of research and writing since, Sharlett has a unique perspective on its history, methods, and goals.  Those of you with interest in going deeper into how such abominations as the currently-proposed Ugandan legislation came to be may want to read the transcript of that interview, filled with details on 'The Family' and much about its involvement in African politics.  The NPR page on the interview provides background on Sharlett, and offers an audio version of the 38-minute piece.  A related background article on 'The Family' was published by the Christian WORLD Magazine in August 2009.
 

And Rachel Maddow yesterday aired a short piece including a video clip showing speaker Stephen Langa at March's "Pray Away The Gay" conference in Uganda explicitly lauding Richard Cohen's theories about "curing" homosexuality.  Workshops following this conference led to drafting of the legislation we are horrified by today.  Maddow concluded by saying, "... [Cohen insists he] can cure them if they want to be cured, and thereby directly inspiring legislation to kill or imprison anyone who doesn't take advantage of the miraculous curative opportunities he offers... like cuddling, or beating a pillow with a tennis racket."  Cohen was interviewed on Maddow's program live tonight (Tues.); the video of that very strong, hard-hitting 18-minute interview can be found here.  In that interview, Cohen decries the legislation, but his work, theories, and principles have been cited in justifying the steps being proposed in Uganda now.


--Diane, still heart-sick.
(Edited: added link to tonight's interview video.)

[Jan & John]

Some days there are items in the news that make it difficult to call myself a Christian... and one of my Jewish heroes, Rabbi Rami, always manages to put me back on track just when I need help the most.   I  *must* share this with you Kiva Friends.

This manifesto was written by Rabbi Rami (www.rabbirami.com)

An Open Letter to Peoples of Faith
WE BELIEVE God transcends theology; that no idea about God can adequately encompass the reality of God.
WE BELIEVE that revelation is not given to a people, but through a people to the world.
WE BELIEVE that the truth in each scripture is common to all scriptures, calling us toward justice, compassion, humility, dignity, respect, love for both person and planet, and the transcending of self through service to others.
WE RECOGNIZE that filtering divine revelation through human hands allows fear, greed, anger, ignorance, and violence to masquerade as truth.
WE RECOGNIZE that much if not most of the evil plaguing our world is rooted in this masquerade, and the violent image of god that comes from it.
WE COMMIT ourselves to ending this evil by rejecting religious violence and the false god who sanctions it.
WE COMMIT ourselves to separating timeless truth from time bound bias in our respective scriptures; affirming the former and moving beyond the latter.
WE COMMIT ourselves to teaching the God of justice, compassion, love, and respect Who speaks to us through all scriptures, and Who calls us to free ourselves from fear, greed, anger, ignorance, and violence.
WE CALL upon peoples of every faith to liberate the wisdom of God from the xenophobia of tribe and ego, and to free religion from fear and violence by distinguishing the holy from the merely sacred.
WE CALL upon peoples of every faith to share their wisdom with the world, to fearlessly speak out when their faith is kidnapped by evil, and to remind us all that there is no god but God, and that justice and compassion are the way of God for all time and for all people.

Neti Neti (Sanskrit, “Not this. Not that,” )
refers to the ineffable nature of Ultimate Reality.
The NetiNeti Project is Rabbi Rami’s effort to free
religion from the false and violent images of
God that sanction evil in the Name of God.
To participate in this project please copy
this manifesto and pass it on.

-jan-

[Diane R]

Thank you for posting that, Jan.  This is troubling -- beyond troubling -- for so many of us, and it's good to know that you've found a thoughtful teacher who can offer compassionate guidance in times of confusion and pain.


(And I somehow feel it wouldn't be out of place here to note that a calling toward "...justice, compassion, humility, dignity, respect, love for both person and planet, and the transcending of self through service to others" is not something that has religious or faith-based prerequisites.)


--Diane.