While we wait for the United Nations and the U.S. State Department and Hillary Clinton to respond to requests to investigate the torture and murder of gay Iraqis — something Reps. Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin tried getting President Bush’s Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to do back in 2007 — the media (along with aid groups like Amnesty International) is picking up some of the slack. The Times has weighed in. CNN too. NBC News hits this week.
So where are these attacks happening?
Most of the attacks have happened in Baghdad’s Shia neighborhoods, and many believe that religious leaders have used Friday sermons in Sadr City as a platform to incite hatred and violence toward homosexuals. The bodies of three gay men were reported to have been found in Sadr City in April with pieces of paper bearing the word for “pervert” attached to them. Posters and leaflets have been distributed in the Baghdad neighborhoods of al-Shola, al-Hurya and Sadr City with orders to, “Cleanse Iraq from the crime of homosexuality.”
And how do they go down?
Moyad [a 38-year-old Baghdad resident] described a recent crusade by vigilantes in which young men were tortured with hoses and shot. “For some time I never went out of my house,” he said. “I also had the feeling that they would break in and get me.”
Noor, a 24-year-old lesbian who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said it is easier for her to conceal her sexuality, but she is still frightened about the possibility of being exposed – especially knowing that some of her friends were killed by the militias. “They were burned in Kadhimiya, Hurriya Al-Olaa, Hurriya Al-Thaniya, Dolaai and Dabaash.”
Moyad believes that many have been killed by their own families in an effort to preserve their honor. “My friend Ahmed, from the neighborhood of Zafaraniya, was killed by his family for looking like a female. Those commandos tell the families to kill them or else they will kill them. I expect that my own brother might lead those guys to kill me.”
Are the police any help in investigating the situation?
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Baghdad police didn’t respond to inquiries from NBC News about the attacks, but the surge in violence has gained attention by the international media.
Lee
Ya think Iraqi gays swoon over Anderson Cooper as much as American queens do?
tom
@Lee: Gays in Iraq have important things to worry about, Lee. They can’t spend their every waking moment fixating on Anderson Cooper like you do. I’m sure it’s a real relief to them to know a concerned person like yourself is sitting on your fat ass and bitching about some innocuous American TV personality they’ve never heard of in reaction to their plight.
AlanInSLC
@tom:
I so agree with you on this.
Scott
@Lee: considering the gravity of the story, that was a very insensitive thing to leave as a comment.
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
@Scott:
He was trying to be reactive.
Poor things.
glen
The link to the next story says it all “Bishop Gene Robinson: Religion Responsible for 95% of Oppression”
Having trouble in your own life? Is all the murderous rage around you every day getting you down? Hey, let’s blame the gays!
shelby84
Well, just when I thought it was rough being black and gay in this country(US)… I mean this $hit is ridiculous. Sometimes I’m literally in awe by the sheer magnitude of human cruelty. And thank you Hillary, step it up and do something about that. At this point I’m ready to marry an Iraqi lesbian just to do something…
alan brickman
Don’t ask, don’t tell should definately be repealed…so gay soldiers to kick some homophobic butt…
Scotty
@alan brickman: Amen on that!! I’m retired military as of late and would love to go over there and work it!! 🙂 Really scary believe me!
Lee
Gee, and I was so hoping I wouldn’t have to explain it.
Ya see, kids, I’m sorry if no one ever told you that “everything’s connected” but they are. If you roll up in a ball and try to recall nappy time in Kindegarten, maybe you’ll remember Miss Ding Dong’s mentioning the colloquial application of the “butterfly effect,” or as MIT’s Edward Lorenz famously asked, “Does the Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?”
In point of fact, his own and other shows like this one that Anderson haunts ARE seen around the world, even in Iraq. But even if they weren’t, how often are celebrity closets discussed here and everywhere in gay media, and more and more in mainstream media?
In the heyday of “Confidential” magazine, and still helping sell millions of copies of “The Inquirer” et al., the focus was/is on simply scandal and gossip.
But, post Stonewall, for those who care about gay equality, it’s mostly about how closet queens hurt our acceptance and progress. [The difference here is that there’s a double standard among many gay commentators: “unattractive” closet cases like Clay Aiken are crucified until they come out; priviliged pretty boys like Cooper are given a pass.] We’ve made considerable progress, particularly in the last year, but the distance we still have to go dwarfs how far we’ve traveled.
One of the greatest obstacles is how rarely mainstream media [the influencer of the majority of American voters, parents, classmates, etc.] takes us seriously, when they cover us at all. Much time and space here and across other gay media has been spent on analyzing Obama’s first 100 days in terms of LGBT issues. Give me ONE example of that being included by anyone straight in mainstream media discussion.
By being known/believed to be gay by their colleagues, publicly closeted “news” figures like Anderson send the message that being gay is something to be ashamed of. That reinforces existing homophobia and shapes the way those insitutions make decisions about whether and how to cover gay issues. This topic is one of them…to the best of my knowledge straight media is ignoring it entirely, IF they’ve even noticed.
So, yes, there IS a relationship, even a causal relationship between the message Cooper’s cowardice sends and the slaughtering of gays with impunity in other places in the world. Is homophobia in Muslim countries that much more visceral than racism was in South Africa where centuries of Apartheid [which often included killing blacks with impunity] was finally turned upside down by pressure from other countries?
John
Lee I don’t know what your problem with gay people and some of them being attracted to Anderson Cooper, but as a person who lives his life with his head OUTSIDE of his ass I can tell you that gay Iraqis have more important things to think about, you should try pulling YOUR head out of your ass once in awhile and have some campassion. People are dying Lee, while you sit and attack gay guys who have crushes on Anderson Cooper. what a small world you live in.
John
Lee you go to great lengths to explain why you are such an asshole. Now rest those fingers Lee, I’m sure there are other stories you can shit all over.
Oaklander
Lee lacks elegance, but I agree with his point.
back to the subject at hand: How do we help?
Tony
And no help or comment from homophobe Obama. What a douche.
Alan
“Don’t ask, don’t tell should definately [sic] be repealed…so gay soldiers to kick some homophobic butt…”
Brilliant, ramp up the slaughter. I’m sure having foreign invaders terrorize the population in their name that will do a lot to help LGBT Iraqis raise awareness in their communities.
I don’t see how it would be helpful for the US State Department to single out Iraq’s beleaguered LGBTs considering the many other minority groups that have been decimated in the course of the war. Do we think unctuous posturing and condescension from Hillary Clinton will cause chastened Shi’a death squads to admit they were wrong and cease their gay pogroms or will it motivate them to increase the carnage?
Do I need to point out how twisted it would be for Clinton to take up the mantle of LGBT rights considering she is one of those responsible for their plight by voting for the war? And does no one recall her husband’s deadly embargo and habitual bombing of the country in the 1990s?
Melissa Jane
@Tony:
You may not have noticed, but Obama supports civil unions and, I believe, is trying to move forward on the issues at hand without having an all out battle (or more of one) between the supporters and opposers. He has several close gay friends that he has known for years and shows no signs of homophobia other than his reluctance to support same-sex marriage.
Further, evidence suggests he is not in favor of civil unions at all, but rather full fledged same-sex marriage. A survey done several years ago in the Senate shows, in his own hand, a few sentences about his support for same-sex marriage. He probably isn’t open about that because he worries about the reaction from the conservative side, which he should. I do think he’s trying to work forward towards a point where civil unions are perfectly normal, and the idea of same-sex marriage wouldn’t be so unimaginable to people. It’s going to be a slow process; people need to be eased into it.