This is a special post for quick takes by David D. Only they can create top-level comments. Comments here also appear on the Quick Takes page and All Posts page.
I’m here posting about Trans Rescue again because I think the price of life and safety in Uganda for LGBT+ people is about to get horrifyingly low. For the past several months, a proposed crackdown on gay Ugandans has caused sudden evictions and mob violence to a level that many LGBT+ Ugandans fled the country. Uganda’s president has just signed the new laws, criminalizing merely identifying as gay or renting a home to a gay person, and instituting the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”. Trans Rescue anticipates an even greater wave of violence in the wake of this news.
Trans Rescue’s past experience helping transgender Africans move to safety in neighboring Kenya has positioned them as the organization best able to help. They have local contacts and are used to working in the area, and they’re already practiced at differentiating between scammers and people who really need help. They were one of the first organizations to get involved in this situation, and I believe they are still the best positioned to help Ugandans evacuate.
Trans Rescue has run almost completely out of funds. They don’t have the funds to do anything beyond keeping the current residents of their safe house fed and housed, and they’re receiving calls from LGBT+ Ugandans who’ve been attacked by their neighbors already and desperately need to leave, and in some cases already have a friend or family member they can stay with in a safer place, all they need is a $30 bus ticket.
Any small donation Trans Rescue receives right now will go towards helping these people who just need one small thing to get to a safe place. I believe that Trans Rescue’s normal operations (which include assistance with housing and starting a business at a higher cost per person) are also cost effective. Right now, the worsening crisis and Trans Rescue’s current lack of funds make the cost to save a life abnormally low for any intervention to help currently living humans.
Trans Rescue has a nasty habit of shipping trans people to countries that are more dangerous than the ones they left. This has been documented by the Trans Rescue Papers, when they tried to ship a Lebanese trans woman from Lebanon (where things are moderately dangerous) to Kenya where being LGBTIQA+ is a felony. This also led to the raid on Eden House, which was caused by Trans Rescue staff doxing the location of their own "safe house." I use quotes here as a real safe house will never dox its location (nor faces) of those who live there to the public internet.
If you see an org that publishes faces and pictures of safe houses, STAY AWAY.
If you have any questions or disagree, I would be more than happy to answer them. If you want to help LGBTQIA+ people, that means listening to what we have to say. Even if you disagree.
I’m here posting about Trans Rescue again because I think the price of life and safety in Uganda for LGBT+ people is about to get horrifyingly low. For the past several months, a proposed crackdown on gay Ugandans has caused sudden evictions and mob violence to a level that many LGBT+ Ugandans fled the country. Uganda’s president has just signed the new laws, criminalizing merely identifying as gay or renting a home to a gay person, and instituting the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”. Trans Rescue anticipates an even greater wave of violence in the wake of this news.
Trans Rescue’s past experience helping transgender Africans move to safety in neighboring Kenya has positioned them as the organization best able to help. They have local contacts and are used to working in the area, and they’re already practiced at differentiating between scammers and people who really need help. They were one of the first organizations to get involved in this situation, and I believe they are still the best positioned to help Ugandans evacuate.
Trans Rescue has run almost completely out of funds. They don’t have the funds to do anything beyond keeping the current residents of their safe house fed and housed, and they’re receiving calls from LGBT+ Ugandans who’ve been attacked by their neighbors already and desperately need to leave, and in some cases already have a friend or family member they can stay with in a safer place, all they need is a $30 bus ticket.
Any small donation Trans Rescue receives right now will go towards helping these people who just need one small thing to get to a safe place. I believe that Trans Rescue’s normal operations (which include assistance with housing and starting a business at a higher cost per person) are also cost effective. Right now, the worsening crisis and Trans Rescue’s current lack of funds make the cost to save a life abnormally low for any intervention to help currently living humans.
Trans Rescue has a nasty habit of shipping trans people to countries that are more dangerous than the ones they left. This has been documented by the Trans Rescue Papers, when they tried to ship a Lebanese trans woman from Lebanon (where things are moderately dangerous) to Kenya where being LGBTIQA+ is a felony. This also led to the raid on Eden House, which was caused by Trans Rescue staff doxing the location of their own "safe house." I use quotes here as a real safe house will never dox its location (nor faces) of those who live there to the public internet.
If you see an org that publishes faces and pictures of safe houses, STAY AWAY.
I suggest you should fully read this:
https://transrescuewatch.medium.com/the-trans-rescue-papers-when-help-looks-more-like-human-trafficking-exploitation-4e3d7886bfbc
If you have any questions or disagree, I would be more than happy to answer them. If you want to help LGBTQIA+ people, that means listening to what we have to say. Even if you disagree.
Thank you for the contributions you have giving to this Forum, David.
I have some questions:
Did your previous post appeared on the Forum's E-mail Digest?
Have you contacted non-EA trans organizations in the Global North to share this NGO and to ask for funds? If yes, did you have some success?
Has Trans Rescue and/or yourself contacted any trans rights advocate or a trans rights influencer?
Have you tried to reach out to some individual EAs to better help you evaluating this NGO?
What is the current funding gap for Trans Rescue?