Jun 15 2016.
views 1842What - Gay Pride Parade in Sri Lanka
Where - Around Colombo
When - June 12, 2016
Who - Equal Ground
This week, WTF took a very colourful ride around Colombo, with papare music and messages which were very thought provoking, especially with the recent gay club shooting in Orlando. Love breaks gender, caste, religion and that’s what’s beautiful about these 4 beautiful letters - LOVE.
“Colombo Pride this year has so far exceeded our expectations,” says Rosanna Flamer-Caldera. "Adding, catering to a very diverse crowd from outside Colombo as well as from Colombo. Youth from the rural areas were very engaged at the mini youth camp and when asked to create a campaign for decriminalization they did so quite beautifully - all in Sinhala, I might add! Our Corporate Forum engaging the corporate sector into accepting and embracing diversity in the workplace was an overwhelming success - it was well attended (95 participants - we only expected 65!) and the engagement during the Q & A session was quite proactive and pointed. So far all the events have been well attended and have gone really great," she added.
Has Sri Lanka accepted Pride, and I wanted to know from Equal Ground, if there has been a change and improvement. “We see a change each year. We've increased our support a hundredfold - people attending Pride, joining the Facebook page and group etc. to stop nasty posts on social media, the community is coming together more than before. And by community I mean gay and straight.”
But the bus ride was a lot of fun, and it was the first time in Colombo and that’s where I met Florence from the European Union. She said it was her first time, and that it was great. I was told that the bus ride was an attempt to have a Gay Pride Parade in Sri Lanka. It was small - about 60 persons but every person we passed on the road waved and some danced to the music from the papare band, and we did catch a few on the video. I'm sure some were wondering why the bus was so colourful. We were on the bus and no one got a single negative comment or gesture throughout the ride.
Rosanna adds “It goes to show that ordinary people really don't care about hating the LGBTIQ community and will accept them if they are left on their own to be free to accept and respect. It's the politically motivated elements in this country that really seek to divide communities and spread hatred. Perhaps next year we will have a bigger parade!"
And speaking to Paul Godfrey who joined me on the bus from the European Union had this to say “It's very important, and he can see positive changes coming in the future for Sri Lanka,” and with that I got off the bus.
Equal Ground has planned some fun events to celebrate Pride, and you can call on (011) 5 679 766 for more details. The party is happening on Friday and the kite festival will take place on Sunday. Do visit www.equal-ground.org for more details.
Later, I asked Rosanna on her thoughts regarding the Orlando nightclub shooting, and she had this to say: "I am actually greatly saddened and disgusted by this tragedy. To think that a person can walk into a place and just start killing people is... I still can't wrap my head around this. And we do have to question the gun laws in the USA. If there were stringent rules about guns, this and other tragedies like this may not happen. It also goes to show how much the LGBTIQ communities worldwide have to endure. A few weeks ago, our colleagues in Bangladesh were hacked to death in their own home by extremists. Why governments allow extremists to operate in our countries is beyond me. They need to be stopped - not used as a tool by politicians to spread hate and violence. Our sympathies and heartfelt condolences to all the families that have lost their loved ones in tragedies such as this. Last night we had a memorial candlelight vigil at PRIDE for the victims of this horrible, heartbreaking tragedy. We must stand tall and never give into bullies and homophones no matter what. This is why we continue with Colombo PRIDE and dedicate it to our brothers and sisters all over the world who have lost their lives in pursuit of freedom and acceptance to be who they are."
For more photographs, click here.
Watch the video below:
0 Comments
Romon Catholic says:
Jun 15, 2016 at 12:00 amDanu I expected you to be in that club with the gay dudes... You have survived I see, now please don't promote an gay club in Sri Lanka since we have a beautiful country with great culture and respect..