Documentary film Welcome To Chechnya is not only about Russia. It is a very common story.
LGBTIQ genocide has never stopped after concentration camps. Several important wins with marriage equality and antidiscrimination law did not stop it either. As a matter of fact, around the world, we continue to be prosecuted, tortured and killed.
Welcome to Chechnya is a glimpse into the reality of LGBTIQ lives. This is happening now around the world.
In a world being an LGBTIQ+ means the lack of legislative protections in 55 countries, de facto criminalisation in 2 countries, imprisonment in 57 countries, the death penalty in 6 countries. In over 30, women cannot travel without permission from a man.
LGBTIQ refugees are followed by family members who want to abduct and take them back to an unsafe country where we would be tortured and killed.
When you watch Welcome to Chechnya please take a minute and think that these people have sacrificed their comfort of being unknown. They sacrificed their safety. They talked to show you a reality. They are at risk. Now it’s your choice to either walk away or help those who escaped/ing.
The journey of LGBTIQ refugees does not stop upon arrival to a safe country. This is the time when they need you the most to feel support from the community and a new chosen family. It’s common that people feel lost, depressed, invisible and desperate. This leads to suicidal thoughts.
In our work, we can’t share around a lot of testimonials about what we do and how good we are because we will not compromise people’s safety.
You can donate here to support our work providing help for LGBTIQ forcibly displaced people.
Forcibly Displaced People Network 