Mightier Than This Blog
Daily/weekly musings from Toronto reporter Jenny Yuen. Get the scoop by reading more about her escapades while writing about the news.Thursday, September 13, 2007
Deported Back to Closet?
Leo Zuniga's time in Canada is ticking.In this week's NOW, I wrote about how despite the fact that Zuniga is a strong contributor to the gay community and is terrified of going back to Mexico, the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) denied him status on the grounds that there isn't a founded danger in him returning to his home country.
It's upsetting that the government rejects people who upstanding "citizens," who do community work, are strong leaders, who are working and are law-abiding and let everyone on the opposite spectrum take precedence. Even with the support of local groups and politicians.
The stats we cite in the article is even from the IRB:
- A survey conducted in 2005 by the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (Consejo Nacional para Prevenir la Discriminación, CONAPRED) and the Social Development Secretariat (Secretaría de Desarrollo Social, SEDESOL) indicated that 94.7 per cent of homosexuals interviewed suffered discrimination in Mexico (Mexico May 2005, 107), 71 per cent of the homosexuals said that the greatest hardship they faced was discrimination (ibid., 108), and 54.5 per cent felt rejected by society (ibid., 109)
- The Citizen's Commission Against Hate Crimes (Comisión Ciudadana Contra los Crímenes de Odio por Homofobia, CCCCOH)citing reports from non-governmental organizations, stated that 15 homophobic or transphobic murders occur each month in Mexico (24 March 2005). Other sources estimated that between 100 and 180 homophobic killings take place each year in Mexico (Frontera.info 17 May 2006; CCCCOH 24 Mar. 2005; see also La Jornada 16 May 2005), placing Mexico second on the continent for homophobic murders (CCCCOH 24 March 2005). According to the CCCCOH, the majority of victims are men between 20 and 40 years old (CCCCOH 24 Mar. 2005). Most murders of homosexuals occurred in the Federal District, followed by the states of México, Veracrúz and Michoacán (Es Mas 17 May 2006)
And yet, it still concludes in its persuasive decision that Mexico is becoming more uppity with its gay humanitarian rights. Does any of this make sense?
Zuniga is still looking for a few good folks to support him. For more info on signing the petition to "Let Leo Stay," visit his Web site.
Labels: gay, immigration, IRB, leo zuniga, rights, torture
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