Haiti earthquake crushes bisexual and gay support group

January 15, 8:03 PMBisexual ExaminerSheela Lambert

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photo from IGLHRC website Haiti donation page

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Fourteen men participating in a support group meeting for HIV+ MSM (men who have sex with men) were killed when the earthquake hit Port Au Prince and the offices of SEROvie, an organization providing services to HIV+ LGBT people, collapsed.

According to SEROvie's executive director Steve La Guerre:

"We were having our usual support group meeting on a quiet Tuesday afternoon when the worst happened. The sound is unforgettable. I can’t even describe the horror as the ceiling and the wall of the conference room started to fall and the chaos started. Fourteen young men were lost forever in the earthquake. Paul Emile, the leader of the group, and Stacy were the only survivors."

In countries like Haiti, where LGBT activist groups and community centers are suppressed, HIV service organizations like SEROvie provide the closest thing to an LGBT center there is. 

According to Cary Johnson, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), LGBT people in Haiti and countries like it, especially trangender people, are particularly vulnerable in times of crisis because they are often already leading a more marginal existence with less resources. More likely to be unemployed or underemployed and less likely to have family members to look out for them. They are also more at risk of violence, when tempers flare. There is no governmental recognition of same-sex relationships such as Marriage, Civil Unions or Domestic Partnerships for same-sex or LGBT couples. Most LGBT people in Haiti stay in the closet because coming out isnt very safe. That creates additional barriers to searching for a same-sex partner or LGBT friends. 

HIV+ people will be missing doses of their lifesaving medicines and HIV regimens require consistent use...disruption of the dosing regimen can allow active disease to reemurge and then the same medicine may no longer be able to get it back under control.

IGLHRC has sent funds directly to SEROvie to allow their services and supplies to continue to reach their LGBT and HIV-affected clients in Haiti. They are also providing funds to groups such as Colectiva Mujer y Salud, a feminist Dominican organization that has crossed the border into Haiti in order to assist with direct relief to our communities and to the many other victims.

You can send donations directly to the LGBT community in Haiti via IGLHRC's website and 100% of your donation will go to help relief and support efforts for LGBT and HIV affected people in Haiti. 

LGBT donations to Haiti: making them count