iphone: We're being hunted like animals

Warning: This email has descriptions of sexual violence that may be upsetting

Dear Avaaz members,

I write from Uganda, where a vicious 'anti-gay' law is about to be signed -- and we're being hunted like animals.

Days ago, neighbours castrated a transgender person with a kitchen knife. We couldn't go to the police as we'd be arrested -- and had to search for a friendly doctor, as most wouldn't help us.

We're being fired from work, rejected by family, evicted, beaten, raped… and worse.

I'm appealing for your support. Please.

This could be our last call for help. When this law is signed, everything we do, including sending this email and raising funds, will become illegal. But right now, there's still a narrow window when LGBTQ+ groups can receive support -- and your donation could help save lives.

You'd fund safe houses where people can hide, along with emergency medical care, legal support, and trauma counselling. We urgently need more safe houses, as we constantly have to run when angry mobs arrive.

We're being flooded with frantic calls for help, but without more funds we can only help a tiny fraction of people. I'm heartbroken, and don't know where else to turn.

And it's all because of who and how we love. In the face of unimaginable cruelty and violence, please stand up for our right to Love. Donate what you can now:

I'LL DONATE R$15

I'LL DONATE R$25

I'LL DONATE R$35

I'LL DONATE R$55

I'LL DONATE R$90

OTHER AMOUNT

The new law will effectively make it impossible to exist as a LGBTQ+ person in Uganda.

I could get a life sentence for kissing my partner, and be executed for repeated homosexual 'offences'. Renting to gay people will become illegal -- and I could serve 20 years in jail just for sending this email.

They call us "ungodly" filth, but we aren't the ones inflicting unimaginable cruelty on already vulnerable people. I know girls who've been raped by family members to 'cure' their 'lesbian disease'.

That's why safe houses are so critically important-- providing a place of sanctuary in a country burning with hatred. With your help, we could:

Fund dozens of new safe houses and emergency shelters across the country;
Provide emergency health care and legal support for those who've been arrested -- and meals for people in jail;
Help fund the development of a new legal case to challenge the law in court; and
Power emergency response campaigns, like this one, to defend communities facing discrimination, assault, and war around the world.

Every penny raised will support LGBTQ+ people in Uganda, and power Avaaz's emergency response work around the world. By donating, you won't just be helping in Uganda -- you'll be ensuring this crucial capacity is maintained for others like me, facing unimaginable terror.

Gay, straight, lesbian, transgender -- we all just want to live and love in peace. I don't know when that day will come, but it is not today, and our fight for love must go on. Wherever you are in the world, please stand with us. Donate what you can now:

I'LL DONATE R$15

I'LL DONATE R$25

I'LL DONATE R$35

I'LL DONATE R$55

I'LL DONATE R$90

OTHER AMOUNT

I've been part of the Avaaz community for years. I've seen the difference it makes when we come together fast for those in need. Now it's my community being attacked -- me and my people need this movement's help.

With hope and the deepest of gratitude,

Frank and the whole team at Avaaz

Note: If and when the 'anti-gay' law passes, the consequences for an email like this could be deadly -- in many ways, they already are. For that reason, Frank's photo has been edited and we aren't using their name.

More information:

Uganda's parliament passes mostly unchanged anti-LGBTQ bill (The Guardian)
Gay Ugandan asks 'Where will I go?' as secret shelters under threat (BBC)
Uganda may impose some of the world's strictest anti-gay measures: 'You're fearing for your life' (Los Angeles Times)

Avaaz is a 70-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

You became a member of the Avaaz movement and started receiving these emails when you signed "Community Petitions Site" on 2016-08-14 using the email address iphone108@gmail.com.

To ensure that Avaaz messages reach your inbox, please add avaaz@avaaz.org to your address book. To change your email address, language settings, or other personal information, contact us, or simply go here to unsubscribe.

To contact Avaaz, please do not reply to this email. Instead, write to us at www.avaaz.org/en/contact .