Sunday, May 19, 2024
Islamabad (Urdu Point. DW Urdu. May 19, 2024) Ella Antony was forced to leave her native Nigeria to escape a forced marriage and bitter domestic life. Her relatives threatened her that if she refused the marriage, she would be handed over to the police because she was gay.
When same-sex relationships were decriminalized in Nigeria, Antoni moved with her partner to Libya in 2014, and from there they both arrived in Italy.
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Thousands of people from Africa and the Middle East flee wars and other conflicts to Italy, but according to lawyers, in many countries they face violence related to gender identity and sexuality, and even imprisonment. An increase in the number of people arriving in Europe has also been seen due to
Although there are many obstacles to successful asylum applications based on homosexuality, Antony and his partner, Doris Ezuroecki Chinoso, have proven that they can persevere against all odds and obtain 'Rainbow Asylum'. can be done
"Sure, life is not 100 percent what we wanted, but it's definitely 80 percent better than in our country," says Chinoso, 34.
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Chineso now resides with Antony in a sandy area north of the Italian capital, Rome. He says, "In Nigeria, if you are lucky, you will end up in jail and if you are unlucky, you will be killed." Here you can live the life you want.
European countries do not release statistics on asylum applications based on homosexuality, but according to several non-governmental organizations, asylum seekers from countries with stricter laws on homosexuality are being denied asylum. The number is increasing.
Currently, most countries in the world, mostly in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, have strict laws against homosexuality.
According to Kimahili Powell, chief executive of Rainbow Railroad, an organization that provides financial, legal and other support to asylum seekers in Europe based on homosexuality, "the end result of strict laws is that people live They are leaving their native countries and migrating to safe places for protection.
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According to him, last year his organization received 15,000 applications for assistance, which was more than 9,500 in comparison to the year before. He said that most of these applications were from people from Uganda, whose number was around fifteen hundred. It is important to note that Uganda has recently enacted some of the strictest laws on homosexuality. Homosexuality is now a punishable offense in Uganda and a person can be sentenced to up to fourteen years in prison.
