It’s understandable why a story like the latest news from Chechnya bubbles under the surface. Between Syria, Afghanistan and a potential brewing war with North Korea — for a lot of people, allegations about human rights violations in a somewhat war-torn corner of the world is par for the course on any given day. Unfortunate, for sure, but not really out of the ordinary course of events. But this news, this course of events, is all I can think about lately.
In Putin’s Russia, being gay or queer is already dangerous. But, add in the misfortune of being gay in Chechnya, and its flat out deadly. Kadyrov, Putin’s handpicked strongman who runs the region, doesn’t believe that gay people exist there, and he’s willing to secretly detain and kill those who prove that statement wrong.
A couple weeks back, reports began to service about suspected homosexual and queer people being detained secretly in Chechnya. The reports are disturbing to say the very least. From The Guardian:
Journalists at the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which first reported the story, say they have incontrovertible evidence that at least three gay men have been killed since the operation started, and believe the full death toll could be much higher. Chechen society is extremely conservative and homophobic, and there are fears that some gay men may have been killed by their families after being outed by authorities.
“I don’t know what has happened to the others. It’s too dangerous to contact people, because everyone’s phones are monitored,” said Adam.
Although the words “concentration camps” have been used, that isn’t the most apt description. More along the lines of detention centers. Over 100 have been rounded up and many many more have gone into hiding. The Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported on this on April 1. And although, normally sunshine is the best disinfectant, this cancer of hate won’t disappear just because the press shone a light on it. Instead, the Chechen government referred to a report as a bad “April Fool’s Day” joke and denied the existence of gay people altogether. Yet it still gets worse:
The Chechens' spiritual leader, Mufti Salah-haji Mezhiev, confirmed that "retribution" was part of the resolution adopted at the special Muslim meeting in Grozny on 3 April.
"There will be retribution!" he told the Russian news website RBC. "Allah will punish those who slandered the whole Chechen nation and Chechen Republic's clerics."
So, let’s take score. Putin’s right hand thug is arranging for gay and queer folk to be rounded up, tortured and potentially murdered — pushing those people even further into hiding. Gay people are being systematically identified and detained. I get that we have a lot of problems at home that need to be addressed, but as a queer man in the US — I want to ensure that all of my fellow folk worldwide have a safe space to live and exist without fear of being imprisoned or killed. I want to do something to help, but the options are limited.
The Russian LGBT Network, based in St. Petersburg, does help down there. They’ve opened a hotline for affected queer folk to reach out and try to get to safety. They also offer legal service to the LGBT community in Russia. They do accept donations.
Other charities exist to help queer folk in dangerous situations, like the Canadian charity Rainbow Railroad. They specialize in finding asylum and safety for lgbt folk who need to escape dangerous places, however they are not yet operating in Russia — although they are working on it.
This situation has sat in the back of my mind for a week now. I feel like there’s so little that I can do to make a difference in these things. There isn’t a lot in the budget to give, and there isn’t a lot of power a gay guy in New York has to make a change in Chechnya, but I want to make my voice heard. I benefit from a lot of privilege, being a cis white male, and I want to try and use that privilege to help when I can, but frankly I’m not sure what I can do. So the Kos hive mind has a lot of talent and knowledge about what kind of direct action might be the most effective in a situation like this. How do I fight and make a difference so far away?