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| We're Namibia's first gay married couple: any questions for us? | We're Namibia's first gay married couple: any questions for us? |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Ricardo Amunjera and Marc Themba are credited with being Namibia's first gay married couple. Though homosexuality is criminalised in Namibia, the pair tied the knot in South Africa and returned to Namibia to become prominent LGBT rights campaigners. | Ricardo Amunjera and Marc Themba are credited with being Namibia's first gay married couple. Though homosexuality is criminalised in Namibia, the pair tied the knot in South Africa and returned to Namibia to become prominent LGBT rights campaigners. |
| Amunjera, 31, says he believes "the best way you can help somebody is by telling them your story". His activism has earned him the title of Mr Gay Namibia 2013 and is he is the process of setting local support group in his home town, joining a countrywide support network for LGBT. His work is not without its risks; another winner of the Mr Gay Namibia title, Wendelinus Hamutenya, was attacked as he walked home days after winning the competition. According to the rights group OutRight Namibia, LGBT people in Namibia encounter homophobia and transphobia on a daily basis. | Amunjera, 31, says he believes "the best way you can help somebody is by telling them your story". His activism has earned him the title of Mr Gay Namibia 2013 and is he is the process of setting local support group in his home town, joining a countrywide support network for LGBT. His work is not without its risks; another winner of the Mr Gay Namibia title, Wendelinus Hamutenya, was attacked as he walked home days after winning the competition. According to the rights group OutRight Namibia, LGBT people in Namibia encounter homophobia and transphobia on a daily basis. |
| In a film about their lives, made by the International HIV/Aids Alliance and Positive Vibes, the couple discuss their activism, their religious beliefs and their | In a film about their lives, made by the International HIV/Aids Alliance and Positive Vibes, the couple discuss their activism, their religious beliefs and their |
| experience of conducting a loving relationship in a country where being | experience of conducting a loving relationship in a country where being |
| gay is against the law. It also shows Amunjera fielding calls and texts, and using social media, to answer questions and comments from people seeking support around the | gay is against the law. It also shows Amunjera fielding calls and texts, and using social media, to answer questions and comments from people seeking support around the |
| country. | country. |
| Amunjera and Themba will join the Guardian Africa Network for a live Q&A from 1pm - 2pm BST on Tuesday 20 May, to answer your questions about living as an openly gay activist in Namibia. What would you like to ask? Post your questions in the comments below. | Amunjera and Themba will join the Guardian Africa Network for a live Q&A from 1pm - 2pm BST on Tuesday 20 May, to answer your questions about living as an openly gay activist in Namibia. What would you like to ask? Post your questions in the comments below. |
| Q&A highlights | Q&A highlights |
| Hi Everyone | Hi Everyone |
| Hope all is well. My name is Ricardo, Marc's Husband and we are writting from our boardroom in Walvisbay :) | Hope all is well. My name is Ricardo, Marc's Husband and we are writting from our boardroom in Walvisbay :) |
| Hi Maeve, it is a pleasure to join into the web chat. Im seating right next to Ricardo in my office's boardroom as Ricardo is off work today in order to participate in this web chat... | Hi Maeve, it is a pleasure to join into the web chat. Im seating right next to Ricardo in my office's boardroom as Ricardo is off work today in order to participate in this web chat... |
| We met through a mutual friend on Facebook. The guy did the introduction, we then exchanged numbers, long international phones calls started followed by long Skype sessions. Eight months after that we got married and i relocated to Namibia to live with Ricardo | We met through a mutual friend on Facebook. The guy did the introduction, we then exchanged numbers, long international phones calls started followed by long Skype sessions. Eight months after that we got married and i relocated to Namibia to live with Ricardo |
| On Facebook..... Facebook gave me the love of my life. I need to send Marc an email :) | On Facebook..... Facebook gave me the love of my life. I need to send Marc an email :) |
| The advocacy spectrum is broad and covers everyone evenly. | The advocacy spectrum is broad and covers everyone evenly. |
| Hi Traveller23, | Hi Traveller23, |
| I 'd say that Bisexuality issues are mostly overlooked or ignored as there is more need to address the intense and escalating Gay & Lesbian matters worldwide. | I 'd say that Bisexuality issues are mostly overlooked or ignored as there is more need to address the intense and escalating Gay & Lesbian matters worldwide. |
| Hello, if you let me get into your conversation, I think your question is really good. Many people think that LGBTI rights are some sort of special rights for 'gays', while in fact it is about LGBTI people to be able to enjoy the very same rights everybody else has. A very good strategy in this regard is to try to get allies from wider civil society about non-discrimination on any ground, especially around election time, when governments tend to reduce the space for civil society to dissent and demand accountabilty.The International HIV/AIDS Alliance's member organisation in Namibia, Positive Vibes, supports the country's biggest LGBTI network, Outright Namibia, which advocates for health and human rights, another important avenue to fight discrimination. | Hello, if you let me get into your conversation, I think your question is really good. Many people think that LGBTI rights are some sort of special rights for 'gays', while in fact it is about LGBTI people to be able to enjoy the very same rights everybody else has. A very good strategy in this regard is to try to get allies from wider civil society about non-discrimination on any ground, especially around election time, when governments tend to reduce the space for civil society to dissent and demand accountabilty.The International HIV/AIDS Alliance's member organisation in Namibia, Positive Vibes, supports the country's biggest LGBTI network, Outright Namibia, which advocates for health and human rights, another important avenue to fight discrimination. |
| Delighted to hear this but having lived in Namibia for 6 years I know that this must be hard. How have people reacted to this? | Delighted to hear this but having lived in Namibia for 6 years I know that this must be hard. How have people reacted to this? |
| Not at all. Our Namibian goverment never really openly spoke about their stance on homosexuality although elements within the goverment voiced their opinion and as far as Iam concerned those are opinions and hatred that they will ahve to deal with while I live the best life in a country that I call my home. | Not at all. Our Namibian goverment never really openly spoke about their stance on homosexuality although elements within the goverment voiced their opinion and as far as Iam concerned those are opinions and hatred that they will ahve to deal with while I live the best life in a country that I call my home. |
| I lived an openly gay lifestyle in Namibia in the early 90's and I was never discriminated against. My partner and I have been together for 20 years now and married for 6. For the first year that gay marraiges were legal in South Africa we could not find anyone willing to marry us!! Nevertheless, we have never been discriminated against and most people we meet comment about our love, which we are blessed to have. | I lived an openly gay lifestyle in Namibia in the early 90's and I was never discriminated against. My partner and I have been together for 20 years now and married for 6. For the first year that gay marraiges were legal in South Africa we could not find anyone willing to marry us!! Nevertheless, we have never been discriminated against and most people we meet comment about our love, which we are blessed to have. |
| Do you feel threatened often by the homophobia you face? And if so, how do you and your family cope with that? | Do you feel threatened often by the homophobia you face? And if so, how do you and your family cope with that? |
| Not at all. Somehow all these individuals throwing hateful comments never actually materialise. I have come to terms that people will hate and try to break you to feel more secure about their own situation. I simply dont give to much attention to that. | Not at all. Somehow all these individuals throwing hateful comments never actually materialise. I have come to terms that people will hate and try to break you to feel more secure about their own situation. I simply dont give to much attention to that. |
| Hello, I am the Senior Adviser on HUman Rights at the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (who made It's all about love with Marc and Ricardo). I just wanted to first, congratulate Marc and Ricardo on being so brave. We shouldn't underestimate what it is like to come out and defend human rights for all, includng LGBTI people these days. In Africa alone, more and more countries are introducing or enforcing anti-homosexuality legislation, like in Nigeria or Uganda. And in many more, politicians are venting their homophobia openly, fueling stigma and discrimination at every level of society. | Hello, I am the Senior Adviser on HUman Rights at the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (who made It's all about love with Marc and Ricardo). I just wanted to first, congratulate Marc and Ricardo on being so brave. We shouldn't underestimate what it is like to come out and defend human rights for all, includng LGBTI people these days. In Africa alone, more and more countries are introducing or enforcing anti-homosexuality legislation, like in Nigeria or Uganda. And in many more, politicians are venting their homophobia openly, fueling stigma and discrimination at every level of society. |
| How do you feel about the plight of other gay people in Africa? | How do you feel about the plight of other gay people in Africa? |
| Do you feel angry about the American evangelical Christians who've caused the new wave of homophobia in some other African countries? | Do you feel angry about the American evangelical Christians who've caused the new wave of homophobia in some other African countries? |
| Iam angered by the fact that our people are killing their own but more so iam dissapointed that we havent realised the hidden agendas of the American Evangelican Christian groups come with. They speak about peace and what the bible stands for yet all i see is a path left behind filled with the blood of innocent people. | Iam angered by the fact that our people are killing their own but more so iam dissapointed that we havent realised the hidden agendas of the American Evangelican Christian groups come with. They speak about peace and what the bible stands for yet all i see is a path left behind filled with the blood of innocent people. |
| On Facebook Pablo Castaño asks: | On Facebook Pablo Castaño asks: |
| My question would be how do they avoid arrest or legal action, and how do they carry out their activism under the constant threat of homophobia from anti-gay activists and law enforcement? Lastly, congrats on being married and having so much courage in such a dangerous situation! | My question would be how do they avoid arrest or legal action, and how do they carry out their activism under the constant threat of homophobia from anti-gay activists and law enforcement? Lastly, congrats on being married and having so much courage in such a dangerous situation! |
| Our goverment never really voiced their stance on homosexuality. Although forces within the goverment have a strong negative attitude towards human rights for all. I live in a beautiful country where not everyone share the same views but iam relatively safe. | Our goverment never really voiced their stance on homosexuality. Although forces within the goverment have a strong negative attitude towards human rights for all. I live in a beautiful country where not everyone share the same views but iam relatively safe. |