An Invitation to Share Your Story

By Rebecca Merrell on 09/27/2010 @ 09:37 AM

The following is a guest post from Rebecca Merrell, a writer who is currently working on a project about the experiences of LGBT people from the Middle East. Please note that Immigration Equality is not an official sponsor or participant in the project, but is passing along this information for supporters who may wish to participate. All questions should be directed to Rebecca, at the email address in her post. Immigration Equality can make no promises, guarantees or agreements for individuals who participate in the project.

My colleague from Lebanon, Dima, and I are working on a project currently entitled, “Prisoners of the Rainbow”, for which we are collecting stories from the LGBT community about their experiences of discrimination in, and/or departure from, Middle Eastern countries or the Arab world. Our goal is expose the injustices and crimes, and human rights abuses, against the LBGT community within this niche. The collection of stories strives to tell about the lives of the characters from all angles - including from the perspectives of mothers, siblings, lovers, co-workers, friends, religious leaders, and outsiders - in order to create a well-rounded, multi-dimensional account of the current climate faced by the LBGT community. Some of our stories are fiction but based actual accounts; others are non-fiction excerpts based on interviews or correspondence with LGBT members.

We respect and understand the need for privacy and therefore do not ask that you provide your real name unless you want to. Our goal is to increase awareness of the inequality and discrimination that permeates through these regions of the world. We would greatly appreciate any contributions to our collection.

To participate, or for more information, please email rebeccasmerrell@yahoo.com .