the connection between racism, nationalism, sexism and hatred against homosexuals

UGANDA

Around the demonstration for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people on the 29th of March 2014 were a lot of discussions about the question how their struggle for their rights is linked with anti racist fight. We therefore publish here the speech, which we gave together with Bruno Watara a refugee activist from Bündnis gegen Lager:

We would like to tell you in a few sentences how we see the connection between racism, nationalism, sexism and hatred against homosexuals and why we believe that we should fight against it, if we want equal rights for all.
No Border! No Nation! Is one of the slogans we use in demonstrations, because we know the borders around the EU are murdering and because we know that the concept of the nation or national interest of the EU member states are the basis of these murdering borders.
Worldwide nations define their territorial borders and they defend them through violence: through wars, border guards or deportations. Behind all this types of violence, the idea is the same: the nation decides on who lives in their territory. We all know how absurd this is and that is why we fight that every human being should decide where to live on their own.
Worldwide nations also try to control their population by influencing them on who gets children, how many children and by whom. The form of influence in which the population policy is having an impact on our lives differs. But they have worldwide almost one thing in common: always the women are denied the right to decide on their own, whether they can have children or not. Almost everywhere, the state mingles with regulations on abortion, birth control or other laws concerning these decisions.
And something else, with the population policy it is almost the same in every nation: the ideal to get kids applies to be the heterosexual patriarchal family. Why is this so? The heterosexual patriarchal family guarantees men to control women’s decisions and thereby indirectly the influence of the nation or state.
Perhaps you are thinking, “but heterosexuality is the normal nature of most people”. No one knows… because this ‘normality’ is worldwide enforced with violence, open hostility or in a manner which is hard to detect : with violence against people who are not heterosexual. When a state passes laws against homosexuals, it is a clear sign warning to all! people: that nobody! Has a right to decide freely.
Maybe some of you are thinking now, “but in my culture, there is no homosexuality”. No one knows… because there is no culture that has not been radically influenced by the colonialism and linked with it the religion dominance. But we know one thing for sure, for example, in Africa the roots of hatred against homosexuals are not however an African cultural background but Christian morality of the colonial era.
Maybe some of you are now thinking, “but my religion”, whether Christianity, Islam or Jewish “says that homosexuality is a sin”… Yes, these Religion are closely connected with the idea of a so called people of God and thus with the idea of a nation. This is due to the history of these religions, but in books of these religions, whether it is the Bible, Torah or Koran the message is: God loves everybody!
Religion and culture are often used as arguments on dominance. For us it is clear that nationalism, racism, hatred and violence against homosexuals and sexism are different forms of the very same system of domination that does not want people to have the freedom to decide on their own lives.

We say “NO”! No to Nationalism! No to Racism! No to sexism! No hatred against homosexuals! Everyone has the right to live where he wants and to love whoever they want to.
Freedom of Movement is everybody’s right! Freedom to love is everybody’s right! We are here and we will fight!

Skip to content