Dear friends,
When I was just 18, I was tormented and beaten by three men for hours in the streets of Vladikavkaz, Ossetia, just for being gay. They stole everything I had, even my shoes.
After the attack, I hid inside for months, paralyzed with fear, until I finally got the courage to leave home and go to the police.
The investigation went on for months. The police exposed my sexual orientation and I was mocked and threatened constantly, especially by my attackers' families.
During the trial, I was almost beaten inside of the courtroom and no one even tried to protect me. That's when I realised I couldn't bear to live in such constant fear anymore.
So I left Ossetia (a territory in Georgia), but everywhere I went, somehow my attackers would contact me, just to taunt me. Finally I landed in a city in Russia where I could stay, undetected… for now, at least.
Russia is hardly a safe place for me to stay. I applied for asylum in safer countries, but I desperately need help getting secure housing while I wait.
There's a group in Russia called Stimul. They help LGBT+ refugees from many different places, like Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Uzbekistan, find temporary safe housing while we wait for our asylum cases to be processed, which can take months and sometimes even years.
Even though it's not illegal to be gay, abuse and discrimination against LGBT+ people are rampant here in Russia. The Russian "Gay Propaganda Law" can get us in trouble for just talking about our identities. Because of this, ordinary life tasks like renting an apartment can be incredibly scary.
I'm so tired of running. I can only hope that I'll get asylum somewhere else. But I need a safe place to stay while I'm stuck here.
Thanks for going All Out,
David*
* I'm not using my real name to make sure I'm safe.
P.S. All Out campaigner Yuri Guaiana will be live on All Out's Facebook page on 30 May at 11:30am EDT/ 3:30pm GMT. Yuri will be answering questions about this campaign and the legal support he received from Stimul in 2017, when he was detained in Russia while trying to deliver campaign petition signatures.
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