وها نحن نقف وقفة عزٍ صامدين
أيادينا متشابكة كحصنٍ لم يشهده التاريخ
قلوبنا مليئةٌ بحبٍ في قلبٍ يسكنه الجنون
وقضيةٌ في عروقنا تسير
والروح قضيتها التغيير
بأملٍ شاسِع نصرُخ
وقوة العزم تشير إلى حلم يعيشه مجتمعٍ جميل
مجتمعٌ له سكنٌ له حلمٌ له حبٌ وتقدير
تحت سقف بيتٍ صغير تجتمع الاف القلوب
وأياديها متشابكه تصرخ نريد التغيير
نريد حق قلبٍ يدق بحبٍ أخر مثيل
وعائلةٌ لها حقٌ بالعيش بلا خوفٍ من التهجير
بالعيش في بلدٍ لا يرفض إختلافاً ضئيل

T.N.T

As we are sitting here, waiting for everyone to sit in their places, excitement is unbelievable. The theater is almost full and you can almost hear all the heartbeats.
And then at 6:12 exactly, total silence. Everyone is watching the book's teaser.
At the end when they say "wisil l bareed... wa akhiran" Everyone claps , nadz on stage, again more clapping that wouldn't allow Nadine to start talking.
One thing is obvious, Nadine can hardly speak.
Why they wrote this book? Because there are programs like "a7mar bl khat l 3areed", because people look at
If you look at elections you will find is stupid, filled with old men that dont look like us! (applause)
Why we want to launch this book? To change the elections, to change the political cast so that they look at us.
The revolution...
The revolution has started through us.
We want to gather all the gay individuals so they become a political force.

And now a word from the Heinrich Boel... What's interesting is that, according to heinrich boell, this is one of the biggest project funded by heinrich boell so far. As a women's rights' project.

And now, to great applause Nadine presents Lina, who has accepted to read the stories in English.
And now... Bareed mista3jil!

A multi-national Baltic Pride organized in Riga, Latvia. The event was organized by Latvian organization Mozaika, the Lithuanian Gay League, and Estonian Gay Youth, in spite of movements to Ban it and a simultaneous anti-gay protest.
>Baltic Pride is a new concept in the world of LGBT activism, whether on the organizational level or the date chosen for the Baltic "pride".The event took place from the 14th to the 17th on May 2009, which coincides with the week of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) whereas Pride weeks usually take place in the month of June.

But the choice of date was not the only unusual thing about the Baltic Pride. The event was not just a national event. It was organized by a result of the cooperation between three Baltic nations - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - the deal being that for the upcoming three years Baltic Pride will be organized in one of the Baltic countries mentioned above.

This year the event was organized in Riga, Latvia. Having acquired permission from Riga City Council – Commission on Meetings, Marches and Demonstrations - on May 8, organizers started preparations, established their website (www.balticpride.eu) and started spreading the word.
On the 13th of May however, a majority of Riga’s City Council members signed an open letter to the Executive Director of the city council to revoke the permission and threatening to overrule the decision through voting.

The European legislation protects individuals' and groups' right to assembly and expression of identity. Human rights and the Lebanese law, in theory fulfill the same role. So building on that right, the organizers refused to give in to the decision and made an injunction to the court and were granted a hearing on Friday at the Municipal Court overturning the decision to ban the march.

In parallel, Baltic Pride mobilized regional and international media and authorities to pressure the Riga City Council. Amnesty International (has covered the event when it was threatened, banned then when it got the green light and finally the event course), Ilga-Europe )Covered the whole event extensively), The Baltic Course (with one article)etc.

Ilke Jaspers is a young Belgian LGBTQ activist that has recently moved to Estonia to dedicate the next couple of years to LGBTQ activism. Building on a friendship that was born on Berlin Pride 2008, I asked Ilke about Baltic Pride and her feelings about it. About the legal victory she said “this could only happen because it was allowed in the end to march”.

But the march itself was a challenge with homophobes rallying for a counter march to, but the Police was deployed in force and prevented any incident. The issue was that the Riga City Council argued that it would not be safe to allow such a demonstration, “it [police protection] was needed, the event and march ended being totally safe but not because there weren’t people around us who were aggressive. The opposite is true, it was full of anti-protesters shouting, giving us the finger, showing those weird signs like “gay =AIDS” and the “more gays, the less Latvians”” said Ilke.

In the end, if we were to take any lesson from the Baltic Pride's success then that lesson would be "networking, lobbying and your rights". Baltic Pride is the little baby of a networking effort between three Baltic countries. It was protected by the strong lobbying with several international human rights and LGBTQ rights organization. And last but not least, Baltic Pride had the right to exist and they refused to give up that right.

As for the future, it seems bright according to Ilke “I am only hopeful for the future, I sincerely believe it will get better every year”. In 2010, Baltic Pride will be in Vilnius, Lithuania and 2011 in Tartu, Estonia. Congratulations to the Baltic Pride organizers.

Pazuzu

Today is IDAHO, the international day against homophobia 2009. Today is the day we commemorate the victims of homophobia, transphobia and xenophobia in general. Today is the day we remember that we are oppressed.
Not that we are ever granted the luxury of forgetting that we are opressed, not that we are ever granted the pleasure of not being a prosecuted minority. No, ya reit. In fact what happens is that we try to ignore it most of the time, we close ourselves up in our community that we forget the pressure, or at least pretend to forget it. But then life bites us in the ass and we are reminded that we are not meant to exist. It is just enough to take a quick look at the world around us to remember where we belong.

Go to California where Harvey Milk was murdered over 2 decades ago, California, the GAY CAPITAL of the world and look at the prop 8. Look at A7mar bl Khat l 3areed. Look at the beautiful initiative of the Baltic Pride and how it was being sabotaged. Look back at Ebru's murder and finally the barbaric attack on gay men in Sassine.

You look at all that and you think to yourself: What the hell are we fighting for? It's feels overwhelming sometimes that we would have to fight this much for the simplest of rights, that on may 2009, homophobia is still the norm and we are still the criminals just because we are true to ourselves. May 2009 and we are still struggling to fight homophobia, shameful don't you think?

But then again, if you look closely at our tiny little world there is so much more than the homophobia, to every act of homophobia there is and will always be even greater acts of LGBT resistance, to every aggression there will be reactions.
Afterall, they killed Harvey Milk but soon Milk will take over the 22nd of May, it will be the "Harvey Milk Day". Prop8 may have passed but there will always people rebels like Melissa Etheridge that will put her money where her mouth is and that knows what she is giving to society. Yimkin there will always be programs like A7mar bil Khat and there will always be violence, because they just don't understand us, but there will always be demonstrations to tell them that we are willing to be peaceful but we will not be passive!

Pazuzu

It is the 28th of April, the Freethought Society at AUB are having a panel discussion about Dispelling Myths and Presenting the Facts of Homosexuality as I write this. Speakers include Ghassan Makarem from Helem, Dr. Tima Al-Jamil from the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Dr. Richard Dean from the Department of Philosophy, Richard Dean from the Philosophy Department, Joshua Anderson from the Philosophy Department and Rita el-Haddad, MA student from the Psychology Department.

Structure: Each speaker will say a few things, then the floor would be open for comments and questions.

Rita el-Haddad

Was a homophobe, till the age of 19, taught that homosexuality was abnormal. She didn't feel she had to right to question authority. Did not know anyone who was gay, only exposed through media. At the age of 19, people she had known had come out to her, thus shattering her previous beliefs. An ethics course shattered the idea that homosexuality is unnatural. In an abnormal psychology course, she learned that homosexuality is not abnormal through the definition of normality. It is important to question authority, it is important to look things up and bother. To dispel myths we may have, we should challenge our beliefs.

Richard Dean

Will contribute through problematic arguments usually used:
- homosexuality is unnatural: it is not clear what "natural" means - it is very vague. Even if turns out to be unnatural it doesn't prove that it is wrong.
- homosexuality is wrong because if everyone were homosexual the human race would become extinct: this isn't a danger, we only got 8 billion left, so it isn't a convincing argument.
- argument associated with religion: if you say, "of course religions are opposed to homosexuality" it is not quite right. Check Hinduism and branches of Christianity who do not think homosexuality is wrong. Some Baptist churches now ordain gay ministers, etc. There's two different views about what religion could give us about morality. God gave humans the power of thinking, so we should be able to come to conclusions. Another view says that God tells us what to do, and maybe there are a few experts that we may listen to. Whatever is revealed should be discussed and interpreted without

Tima Al-Jamil

We must begin to think about these issues and talk about them. It has been discussed for centuries in other places in the world so there is so much diversity when it comes to the discourse ... Having said that, the idea of homosexuality has shifted from being a sin, deviance, pathology, a behavior. There is so much more on homophobia then on homosexuality when it comes to research. People want to understand why homophobes are homophobes rather than why homos are homos.
Facts:
- discussion begins in the 1800s through case studies with patients with pathological backgrounds
- no consistent evidence in pathological patterns that CAUSE homosexuality
- one consistent pattern: homosexuals have recorded since childhood, the age of 10, that they have felt different and have engaged in gender non-conformed behavior
- There are genetic and hormonal influences, neuro-psychologists have noticed a different

Freud by the end of his life said that homosexuality is not a psychological issue. Studies have correlated distress with experiences of stigma, etc. We define abnormality with distress, dysfunction and danger (to self and others)

Treatment has failed to "treat" patients and reverse their sexuality. 88% of a study have recorded no change in patients, for the rest, there's a decrease in homosexual BEHAVIOR but no increase in heterosexual desire.

Ghassan Makarem

Homosexuality in Lebanon:
-myth that there is tolerance
-myth that society is too conservative to accept homosexual acts/identity

in Helem, we noticed that there are different ways in looking at homosexuality. There is a relation with the education, the setting (urban: more likely to have a homosexual lifestyle). We do not know how people percieve homosexuality. There hasnt been any studies. Gays and Lesbians in Lebanon have it better here? Not entirely true. We have obstacles: article 534 criminalizes unnatural sexual intercourse. In some places used exclusively against gay men, less about gay women. At the end of 2002, they wanted to include lesbians in the penal code. It was stopped by a coalition of NGOs.Scientific evidence comes from Europe and the United States and they give false impressions. From the beginning at Helem, we made a decision that we are concerned with civic laws, we are not looking to reform any religion. We try not to deal with religious issues, but any reform should focus on civil law.

We look at how the state looks at homosexuals and whether there is any institutional discrimination against homosexuals. We have been working with various organizations in Lebanon, even though this article exists, Helem is in a coalition with the Ministry of Health and works with the Ministry of Public Affairs. We also work with the police on how gays and lesbians are treated.

Joshua Andresen

In the spirit of AUB's mission statement on diversity, tolerance and dialogue, we will take questions now.

question one: There is nothing scientific about homosexuality being okay, it was taken away from the medical ---- because of pressure of the gay lobby + and some animals eat their pheotus, does this mean we should do it?

Dr. Al-Jamil: the decision to remove homosexuality is based on arguments that were strong. Their homosexuality was not causing the three Ds. And thus they cannot "be treated" for being homosexuals. We have done more harm to our patients in trying to change their sexuality, we cause more distress.

Richard Dean: The argument is false, that

question two: if WHO and scientific research think that homosexuality is linked with diseases, do u think that it is acceptable for society to let homosexuals contribute to the decline of our society?

Dr. Al-Jamil: we have to find mediating factors that are mediating that relationship: acts of prejudice, discrimination ... I don't seem to be familiar with the studies that you are familiar with.

Public comment: May I suggest that in the future we may discuss homophobia as a disease

Question three: A friend told me that he doesn't have a problem with homosexuals as long as it's behind closed doors because he wouldn't know how to explain it to his son, that it's for pleasure, not for making babies. It got me thinking, To Helem, [something about sectarianism, her comment falajni]

About secterianism, Helem is a space where people come together ...

Dr. Al-Jamil: [...] studies show that children adopted in homosexual relations do not develop more homosexual tendencies than ones with heterosexual parents

Dr. Dean: [..] you wouldn't want to say if some situations create awkward moments for parents we should outlaw whatever.. we should find a balance...

Starting May 1st, marriage will no longer have genders in Sweden. The law was passed yesterday after 6 hours of discussion. This is not only a positive step for gays and Lesbians but also for transgendered individuals for example. Source: Sweden Legalizes Same Sex Marriage on Advocate.com

Now I won't say that I don't contradicting feelings about this. Marriage is not really what I dream to see in the whole world. I want us to re-think marriage and what it should mean.

But that's not the issue right now. The thing that got me really excited about this decision is that it is gender neutral. It is not a marriage for Gays and Lesbians. It is not a civil union. It is marriage, one, unified marriage, that involves consenting adults. They can be a homosexual, heterosexual, transsexual couple, or anything in between. It's just two people that agreed that they want to get married, to share something, or everything, or anything in between.

Now a friend of mine said something interesting when I told him about this news: They are trying to top the Gay prides and gay image thingies yalli 3am bi seero in other Europ. countries.

And he's right. At a certain moment anything can be used for publicity and competition. To be honest, that is the least of my worries. Our struggle for human dignity and unconditional respect is not commercial, it's a struggle for survival and basic human rights. We are proud people and no one should have the right to insult our pride. We are normal, with or without a paper, that allows us to be perceived as normal. We exist whether or not we have the right to live. We are a productive part of society, equally smart and equally productive to anyone else. That is why, we have a lot to give to this world, the more they give us the more society will improve, that is the message that some countries and companies are starting to pick up, and this is why homosexuality is so cool in some places. Simply because we have been marginalized for too long, we have always been cool they just never realized it before ;)

A story of love, activism, and polyester suits



It is 2:43 AM and the credits of the movie “Milk” are rolling up on my TV screen. I’m still recovering from the emotional typhoon that just hit me. The movie is both inspiring and enlightening. Director Gus Van Sant gives us a touching glimpse into the life of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), ex insurance agent, legendary gay rights activist, who was a pioneer in the gay rights movement that began in the US in the 70’s. Sean Penn’s performance was breathtaking. He didn’t play Harvey Milk, he was Harvey Milk. Did anyone else get teary when he won the Oscar for Best Actor? I felt like we all won that day.
What’s interesting about this film is that it’s more than a historical narrative; it’s a human story showing the people behind the movement. Real people. Real lives.

The movie opens with real footage from the 60’s of brutal police crackdowns on gay nightclubs, with police beating people with their batons and hoarding them into vans like common criminals, many hiding their faces in shame. The scene could have easily been set in Beirut when police conducted “random” searches and arrests in Acid and BO. The only difference is that the scene in the movie was set in 1967, not 2001. So I figure we are only behind by about 30 years. Although watching the first Gay Pride parade of San Francisco did remind me of the anti-violence sit-in that took place last month in Sodeco Square, which I hope is the first of many. Is it too soon to start buying hers & hers wedding gifts (aka matching wrist cuffs)?

The year is 1970 and Harvey is on the New York subway platform stairs when he meets Scott Smith (James Franco) and after sharing that it was his 40th birthday he proceeds to makes out with Scott, a complete(ly cute) stranger. Well, in his defense, it was the 70’s and people were still buzzed from all the pot smoke still hovering in the air from the 60’s. So after Harvey and Scott enjoy Biblical birthday celebrations, they decide to move to San Francisco.

“40 years old and I haven’t done a thing that I’m proud of.” says Harvey to Scott. Apparently, the pioneer of the gay rights movement had a late start (really late). This just goes to show you, it is never too late to make a difference in this world.
Our heroes move to San Francisco where Milk opens a camera store in Castro Street, Castro Camera. Who knew that from that little camera shop in Castro Street, an unstoppable force would explode?
Besides Milk, the Castro was a very important character in the movie. It was a Mecca for gays and lesbians from all of the US to find acceptance, especially after Milk began his work there. The Castro was a working-class Irish neighborhood until the mid-1960s. It’s rumored that many gay servicemen from World War II settled in the Castro after they were discharged for being homosexuals the U.S. where they magically multiplied and took over San Francisco.

Just like Milk was the face of the male gay movement at the time, his new campaign manager Anne Kronenberg (Alison Pill), represented the women in the movement. Its funny how even gay men, who are marginalized themselves would turn around and do the same to the women fighting for equal rights. Even though Anne was ridiculed at first by Milk’s boy’s club campaign team, she definitely proved herself and accomplished things that none of them ever could. She was a driving force behind Milk’s win of that particular election.

My knowledge of historical movements is superficial at best but what MILK brought home for me was that anyone can fight for change, if they have enough conviction and passion for a cause. I mean this middle-aged guy came out of nowhere and created something out of nothing. Harvey Milk only began his activism at the age of 40, and lost the election for city supervisor like 3 times before he won, and lost the love of his life because of it. That really got me thinking the power of movements.

The movie established the importance of what movements like Helem and Meem are doing to make change. I mean, I always thought that our society would come around eventually. That there will come a time when all men and women will have equal civil rights, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or faith. That one day we will stop asking each other “min wein min Lebnen?” which translates to tell me where you are from so I can know which religious/political faith/platform you follow. But that’s another story for another post.

So going back to my previous calculation of 30 years, I predict that in 2038, the Muslim and Christian religious right of Lebanon will put forth a proposition to ban gay marriage (which was made legal in 2035). The proposition (let’s call it Prop 8) will pass bringing us all back to square one. I don’t mean to sound morbid or pessimistic, it’s just that it breaks my heart to see my own society turning against people who just want to love and live. I do see change happening, and not on its own. It’s happening because we are making it happen.

I believe we are the lucky ones. We have our work cut out for us and we have a base to build on, and we have unstoppable weapons in our arsenal. Young, passionate, beautiful, intelligent forces to reckoned with.

“I am not a candidate; I am part of a movement. The movement is the candidate. There is a difference. You don’t see it. But I do.” - Harvey Milk

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