As LGBTIQ+, we will not be safe until we are evacuated and relocated from KENYA, specifically free from the homophobic Kakuma Refugee Camp. 

My name is Paul Canary Kanyamu. In 2018, my parents discovered that I was gay. I was brutally assaulted and they threatened to kill me. I had to escape my home and country, Uganda, where being gay is illegal. I narrowly survived death.

Upon reaching Kenya, I was brought to Kakuma Refugee Camp and promised protection. Once I arrived, attacks against my life and the lives of other LGBTIQ refugees started and have continued increasing in severity and brutality. Despite our expression of fear and reporting to authorities, nothing was and has been done to date. 

Content warning: descriptions of violence and assault below that may be disturbing to some individuals

Our lives are constantly in danger due to violent attacks from other refugees - including burnt shelters, rape, and murder.

Towards the end of 2022, a fellow gay refugee was brutally assaulted, stabbed multiple times with machetes, and his eye plucked out by a group of homophobic refugees. They accused him and other LGBTIQ+ refugees of spreading homosexuality. I have personally had knives held to my throat and my legs broken by other refugees. We fear for our lives and sleep in shifts, afraid that we may be attacked in the night. 

 

 

The Kenyan government, law enforcement, and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Kenya/ Kakuma have failed us. They tell us there are no immediate protections or solutions for queer refugees facing persecutions in Kakuma, but our lives are in imminent danger! 

We are calling on YOU to help us now. Sign this petition and urge the Biden Administration, European Union, and Human Rights Organizations to demand for LGBTIQ+ evacuation and safe relocation away from Kakuma Refugee Camp. 

I dream of one day becoming a doctor and helping others in a country that celebrates me and who I love. I hold onto that hope everyday. Adding your signature to this PETITION not only will save my life and others’ lives, but pushes us closer to the freedom to live those dreams. 

In addition to signing this petition, you can also click here and DONATE to LGBTIQ+ refugees in Kakuma. This fundraiser was organized by myself and others for food, medical supplies, and other community aid.

Recent News

• Reuters: Lesbians, gays live in fear of attacks in Kenyan refugee camp
• Gay City News: LGBTQ Refugees Report Rampant Violence at Kenyan Camp
• Tagg Magazine: Kakuma Refugee Camp: Love May Have to Hide, but it Never Dies Pt. II

 

This petition was published with the collaboration and consent of Paul Canary Kanyamu in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya.