In Uganda being gay or transgender is not only punishable by life imprisonment, but you are likely to face extreme violence from your community if they find out. That's why LGBTQI Ugandans flee their homes to find safety within the UNHCR ran refugee camp in Kenya, Kakuma - the only place you can apply for refugee status on the basis of your sexuality. However, Kakuma Refugee Camp is not safe for LGBTQI people. Lucretia, a trans woman who has been in Kakuma since January 2020 made it to the camp after seeing her boyfriend beaten to death back home. The only relative safety she could find in the camp was amongst a community of 56 LGBTQI people and their children, known as Block 13 after the first shelter she was given was surrounded by men at night and she was brutally attacked. However, Block 13 are frequently attacked by other people in the refugee camp. They are spat at, threatened, physically attacked and they have even had their shelter burnt down in an arson attack that resulted in fatal burns for Trinidad, a gay man and poet and friend to Lucretia. The UNHCR and Kenyan Police have failed to provide protection, often ignoring calls for help and even blaming Block 13 for bringing the attacks on themselves. 

To be given a chance at safety and be resettled, all LGBTQI in the camp need to be granted refugee status immediately. This petition is a plea to the Kenyan Government to please start the process to grant refugee status to Block 13 and all the LGBTQI refugees in Kakuma. We can show that they are not forgotten, every signature counts.