Life is tough enough being a marginalized refugee in a new country — but when you are a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender refugee from a culture that does not approve of your orientation, you face a whole new level of fear and isolation.
Even before the Islamic State showed up and started killing suspected homosexuals, it had long been illegal to be gay in Syria — punishable by three years in jail.
“This is a situation that very few people are talking about,” Roma Mehta of the Red Room says. “But every time you mention it to somebody they are like, ‘It makes complete sense. Of course they would be even more marginalized.’”
photo courtesy of red room
The Red Room, which aims to provide a platform to bring together Taiwan’s creative community, has selected the Germany-based Queer Refugees Network Leipzig (QueeRNL) project as the beneficiary for the fourth installment of its all-day live art event, Artists Bridge The Gap, set for May 29.
As in the past, the event will feature artists creating work on the spot, along with live music and theater, food and activities to further connect attendees with the refugees they are helping.
The art will be auctioned at the end of the day, with all proceeds (and a portion of the entrance fee) going to QueeRNL to help relocate these refugees to safe shelters and provide integration programs as well as networking opportunities, financial aid and counseling.
Leah List, volunteer coordinator with Red Room, says she wanted to focus on a smaller non-governmental organization that focuses on a specific, oft-overlooked issue.
“Sometimes if you speak in vague terms, a lot of people disconnect a little,” she says.
There will be a video screening room where people can learn more about the lives of LGBT refugees and send them postcards, and List has worked with an artist to create a comic book about the topic that extends into the live theater piece. Red Room has also gathered a group of musicians to write and record a song, We Stand Tall, for the event.
“We are hoping to have the whole room sing the song, and we will record it and send it to them,” Mehta says.
List says the event is more than just a good cause — it is about building community, international exchange and creating opportunities — whether it be for the refugees, the artists or the attendees.
“And that’s how we are bridging gaps,” she says.
The Taipei Times last week reported that the rising share of seniors in the population is reshaping the nation’s housing markets. According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, about 850,000 residences were occupied by elderly people in the first quarter, including 655,000 that housed only one resident. H&B Realty chief researcher Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨), quoted in the article, said that there is rising demand for elderly-friendly housing, including units with elevators, barrier-free layouts and proximity to healthcare services. Hsu and others cited in the article highlighted the changing family residential dynamics, as children no longer live with parents,
Oct 20 to Oct 26 After a day of fighting, the Japanese Army’s Second Division was resting when a curious delegation of two Scotsmen and 19 Taiwanese approached their camp. It was Oct. 20, 1895, and the troops had reached Taiye Village (太爺庄) in today’s Hunei District (湖內), Kaohsiung, just 10km away from their final target of Tainan. Led by Presbyterian missionaries Thomas Barclay and Duncan Ferguson, the group informed the Japanese that resistance leader Liu Yung-fu (劉永福) had fled to China the previous night, leaving his Black Flag Army fighters behind and the city in chaos. On behalf of the
I was 10 when I read an article in the local paper about the Air Guitar World Championships, which take place every year in my home town of Oulu, Finland. My parents had helped out at the very first contest back in 1996 — my mum gave out fliers, my dad sorted the music. Since then, national championships have been held all across the world, with the winners assembling in Oulu every summer. At the time, I asked my parents if I could compete. At first they were hesitant; the event was in a bar, and there would be a lot
Smart speakers are a great parenting crutch, whether it be for setting a timer (kids seem to be weirdly obedient to them) or asking Alexa for homework help when the kids put you on the spot. But reader Katie Matthews has hacked the parenting matrix. “I used to have to nag repeatedly to get the kids out of the house,” she says. “Now our Google speaker announces a five-minute warning before we need to leave. They know they have to do their last bits of faffing when they hear that warning. Then the speaker announces, ‘Shoes on, let’s go!’ when
RSS