Alvaro Orozco sure is one lucky Nicaraguan – the Canadian government stepped in on his behalf and issued a temporary ban on his deportation. Orozco seeks asylum in the country, insisting that he’s gay and will therefore be harassed and beaten by his abusive father in the largely Catholic Nicaragua, where homosexuality’s been illegal since 1992. Many fear the repressive laws will be more strongly enforced under conservative President Daniel Ortega.
Last week, an immigration official named Deborah Lamont said Orozco failed to convince her he’s gay and therefore must return to his homeland. She reasoned that since he wasn’t sexually active during his teens, he must not be gay – because, you know, all gay teens are total sluts.
If Lamont needs proof, she should just read Orozco’s website, where he writes:
My father always knew I was different from my brothers. I too knew I was different, from around the age of seven. I was attracted to other boys. I would keep more clean and neat than the other kids. One day I made a garden in our house, and whatever free time I had I used to take care of the plants and flowers.
That’s way gay.
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A number of gay rights activists spoke out against Lamont’s decision and Orozco’s lawyer El-Farouk Khaki urged the Justice Department to step in. Heeding the call, the department has granted Orozco a two-month stay of deportation to reapply for asylum and build a strong case. Of the decision, Khaki said:
We are thankful and relieved. This will allow us time to submit additional medical and psychiatric evidence and perfect the humanitarian application.
He didn’t elaborate, forcing us to wonder what he means by “medical and psychiatric evidence”? There’s no gay test that we know of – or, at least, not one that’ll hold up in court. Maybe he’ll undergo a rectal exam to show that he’s busted his hiney hymen, or something.
Previously: “Homo” Not Gay Enough For Canada’s Liking
noah
It’s probably best to say that Daniel Ortega is a social conservative and political/economic socialist. Remember, he’s the ex-Sandinista leader that got the Reagan Administration caught up in the Iran Contra scandal?
Anyway, Ortega also has misogynistic beliefs that are really creepy.
I do agree with you about the Canadian immigration official who ruled against this guy being an ass. It’s a bit ridiculous to assume that all gay youth have lots of sexual experiences, if any. The young man grew up in Nicaragua, a highly conservative country. How easy would it have been to find a boyfriend? Hell, how difficult is it for many American kids, gay or straight, to find a boyfriend or girlfriend?
expedito
Yes, Daniel Ortega was the darling of the left wing in this country a while back. However, he turned out to be just another Central American fascist just as bad as the former regime. It’a another case of “meet the new boss – same as the old boss.” And it’s a good reminder for people in this country not to think they know what’s best for people in other countries and waste time, money, and effort trying to support some faction they really know very little about. Daniel Ortega is just another fascist pig – along the same lines as Samosa, Batista, Noriega, and so on. Poor Nicaragua – out of the fying pan and into the fire.
mattymatt
“Alvaro Orozco’s website is here, if you’d like to take a look at it.
(PS: Queerty, your Typekey login’s stopped working.)
mattymatt
Uh … okay, somehow I broke something with my link to his site. Lemmie try again:
http://orangehabitat.com/alvaro/
nica libre
while daniel ortega’s social politics are not without reproach (he supported a recently passed abortion ban) and he has a questionable personal history (he molested his step daughter, although they have since reconciled, and he’s certainly corrupt and power hungry) he is by no means a fascist, nor a conservative. And although homosexuality may be illegal in Nicaragua, the law was passed in 1992, after the Sandinista govt. was voted out of power. When i lived in managua in 2002, there was an out gay community, i knew lesbians and gay men living openly, and i went to gay clubs. I was out to my friends there, and faced about the same ammount of prejudice i might in a working class neighborhood in the us. it’s never easy to be out in a developing nation, nor to an abusive religious father, but discribing nicaragua as a whole as homophobic does an enormous disservice to an incredible country.