Dear Editor,
June 30th marking the end of Pride Month around the world doesn’t mean that we the people of the queer community cease to celebrate our lives or portray our individuality as proud, prideful people, present and ready to make our mark in the world. This year especially, is an important year for every queer person as June, since 1969, honours the first Pride Parade in the world, with the uprising against LGBTQ discrimination, abuse and marginalisation in Stonewall (Manhattan, NY) – 50 years of celebrating the need for equality in our world, the stand against marginalisation based on sexual orientation and gender identity. A truly prideful occasion to the people of the LGBTQ community.
This year, Guyana celebrated its second Pride Parade with a new addition to the community: Empowering Queers Using Artistic Learning (EQUAL Guyana), which launched on May 17th this year.
Last year, I hadn’t the opportunity to celebrate my queer identity in the first Pride Parade but was truly honoured to still have that moment of expression of who I am through the streets of Georgetown – an occasion that will forever resonate with me. Why? Because, seeing through the month of June itself and on the day of the parade, the unity of all LGBTQ persons, the unity with our allies in the country, allies who represent foreign interests in Guyana, allies who represent our state at all levels, contribute to the passion I and many others have in wanting to see a Guyana where all its citizens, its children are afforded an equal opportunity and protection by our Constitution and law.
Queer lives matter. No matter who you are or where you are in the country or world, our lives have value like everyone else. One of the few mandates EQUAL Guyana has and intends to implement is to engage, educate and empower our LGBTQ families and allies in Guyana to create an atmosphere of respect and acceptance that will foster development.
So with that, I can only ask that each and every one in our society be responsible for the change towards achieving the equality in our country that we want to see. And never forget your worth in the stand against discrimination and stigma because today, too many persons who identity as queer (LGBTQ) often face some form of abuse in our society, some that may go as far as bodily harm that are not documented or given justice that is deserved because of this person identifying as LGBTQ. So let’s be a change in our society that will protect our families, friends and colleagues. Engage, educate and empower yourselves!
Yours faithfully,
Alistair Sonaram
EQUAL Guyana
