June 10th 2023.
Pride Month is here, and it's a time for members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies to celebrate their identities, accomplishments, and reflect on the struggle for equality. This year, The Agency is exploring the theme of family, and what it means to the LGBTQ+ community. Sadly, there are still 66 countries around the world where being LGBTQ+ is criminalised, with 12 even carrying the death penalty. It's not surprising that many LGBTQ+ people choose to leave their home countries and seek a better life elsewhere. Most of these people won't have told anyone in their home country that they aren't heterosexual or cisgender - let alone celebrated a Pride event.
This Pride Month, The Agency has heard from people who originally come from countries which criminalise queer identities in different ways. We'd like to introduce you to Jamie Love from a Middle Eastern country and Nazir Uddin from Bangladesh. Since moving to the UK, Jamie and Nazir have been able to flourish and live their lives openly and fully. They've shared why it's so important to celebrate Pride even in more progressive countries.
Jamie Love, 28, said: "Over there it's really not a thing to be LGBT, there are no LGBT rights as such. The great thing about where I was, is there was a small group of us who were LGBT, about five of us and our ages ranged from 14 to 60. Unfortunately there were occasions when some were arrested, some were deported, so there were a lot of scary things I was experiencing at a young, formative age."
Jamie continued: "At school, the main thing in my head was how little protection there was. My MSN got hacked and they could see I was speaking to someone here in Scotland I'd met over summer, and that's how the bullying and the death threats started. I knew the death threats were coming from someone at school, so I reported it and really sadly the headmistress said 'I can't do anything about it, I can't report it because if I do you'll get deported', so what could we do? It was scary from that perspective. If anything was to happen, I would be in the wrong."
Jamie has since set up his own marketing firm and is one of the organisers of Pride Edinburgh. He said: "From the moment I touched down in the UK it was like a huge weight lifting, it was so freeing, it was just amazing. That feeling of liberation is what inspired my desire to get involved with Pride and activism. I think my favourite Pride memory is the second year I hosted Pride Edinburgh, it was much larger than the first, and looking out from the stage there were teens at the front, families in the middle, older people at the back, and I'd never seen that. There were people with toddlers and kids in prams, and it's awesome they're going to be growing up around this level of inclusivity."
Nazir Uddin, who is originally from Bangladesh, said: "In Bangladesh it's illegal to be homosexual by law and there's no LGBT community."
Jamie believes that everyone needs Pride, no matter where they are, saying: "I think everybody needs Pride, no matter where you are, and it should be a reflection of where society is right now and where it needs to be. Maybe some people need it more, but we all need it for different things. It has to reflect the society it's being carried out in."
This Pride Month, let's remember those who don't have the freedom to celebrate their true selves, and celebrate for them.
Pride Month 2023 is well and truly underway, and it's all the more important to celebrate in countries where being LGBTQ+ is not criminalized. Shockingly, there are twelve countries which carry the death penalty for LGBTQ+ people. This leaves many feeling scared to even come out, let alone revel in Pride.
The Agency has heard from many people who have left their home countries to seek a better life elsewhere. Since moving to the UK, these individuals have been able to flourish and live openly and proudly. They have shared why it is so important to celebrate Pride even in more progressive countries.
This year, The Agency is exploring the theme of family, and what it means to the LGBTQ+ community. To discover more of our daily highlights, visit our dedicated Pride page.
Jamie Love is originally from a Middle Eastern country, and moved to the UK at 18 after being outed at school and facing bullying and death threats. Now 28, Jamie helps to organize and promote Pride Edinburgh, and has set up his own marketing firm. Jamie said: "Over there it's really not a thing to be LGBT, there are no LGBT rights as such. The great thing about where I was, is there was a small group of us who were LGBT, about five of us and our ages ranged from 14 to 60. Unfortunately there were occasions when some were arrested, some were deported, so there were a lot of scary things I was experiencing at a young, formative age."
Jamie said that since moving to the UK, he has felt a sense of liberation, which inspired his desire to get involved with Pride and activism. His favourite Pride memory was hosting Pride Edinburgh the second year, and looking out to see teens at the front, families in the middle, and older people at the back. He said, "It's awesome they're going to be growing up around this level of inclusivity."
Despite the progress in more progressive countries, Jamie believes that everyone needs Pride, no matter where they are. He said, "I think everybody needs Pride, no matter where you are, and it should be a reflection of where society is right now and where it needs to be. Maybe some people need it more, but we all need it for different things. It has to reflect the society it's being carried out in."
Nazir Uddin, another voice from The Agency, is originally from Bangladesh, where homosexuality is illegal by law and there is no LGBT community.
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