News Dedicated to Muslims lesbian,gay,bisexual

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[Rasputin]

Labour has lost its heart and soul

A 20-year-old Nigerian asylum seeker, Emmanuel Obahiaghbon, was deported two weeks ago, on the orders of the immigration minister, Liam Byrne. He was unable to get legal representation. His fresh claim, based on new evidence, was arbitrarily dismissed by the Home Office without any judicial hearing.

This is the routine fate of thousands of asylum claimants under a Labour government. Due process of law is subverted. Objective, impartial consideration of their evidence by an asylum tribunal is often voided.

The Home Office acts as police, prosecutor, judge and jury. Justice is non-existent for many asylum claimants. See here and here.

Sure, there are some bogus asylum seekers. They should be removed. But I know, from my firsthand experience helping asylum claimants, that many people who are dismissed as frauds by the Home Office are, in fact, genuine refugees. They have fled terrible persecution, but in the government's panic to cut the number of people granted asylum, they are mistakenly (and perhaps sometimes maliciously) declared to be "failed" asylum applicants and scheduled for deportation.

Emmanuel Obahiaghbon was genuine. He claimed asylum on the grounds of persecution because of his homosexuality. But his sexuality is not the key point. The way he was abused by the asylum process is typical of the fate of thousands of refugees fleeing many different forms of persecution - ethnic, political, religious, gender and sexual orientation.

Emmanuel had been beaten up many times for being gay and gang-raped twice. When he tried to report the assaults to the police, he was threatened and abused. A psychiatrist visited him in detention in the UK and confirmed he had symptoms of trauma consistent with having suffered physical and sexual violence.

At the end of November, Emmanuel was sent a copy of a Nigerian police warrant for his arrest on charges of homosexuality, and a Nigerian solicitor's letter stating that he had also been reported to the sharia courts and was likely to be sentenced to death by stoning (his region of Nigeria is subject to Islamic sharia law, which stipulates the death penalty for gay sex).

The Home Office dismissed these new documents as fakes. I have no way of knowing for sure whether they were genuine. What I found reprehensible is that Liam Byrne's officials refused Emmanuel an opportunity to present the new evidence to an asylum tribunal and to get the documents independently assessed.

Because Emmanuel had no solicitor, he appointed two of us from the gay human rights group OutRage! as his legal representatives. Acting on his behalf, my colleague Jill Power and I asked the immigration minister to suspend Emmanuel's deportation, in order to allow him time to find a new solicitor, make a fresh asylum claim based on the new evidence, and to get corroboration that the police warrant and solicitor's letter were genuine. This request was rejected by Liam Byrne, without any proper hearing.

The deportation of Emmanuel is typical of the routine abuse of asylum applicants by the Home Office.

He was given no chance to prove the genuineness of his new evidence. They bundled him onto a plane as fast as they could, to stop him from challenging their arbitrary dismissal of his letters from the Nigerian police and solicitor.

Emmanuel faces an uncertain fate back in Nigeria. He is on the run and in hiding. After maintaining contact with us for the first week after he was deported, suddenly all communication has stopped. We fear for his safety. If the police, Sharia courts or gay-bashers don't get him, perhaps he'll just give up hope and kill himself.

Male homosexuality is totally illegal in Nigeria. It is punishable by 14 years jail under criminal law and, in the Muslim regions, by stoning to death. Gay-bashing attacks are commonplace. As Emmanuel discovered, the Nigerian police are unwilling and unable to protect the victims of homophobic violence. Sometimes, the police are the perpetrators.

The persecution of lesbian and gay Nigerians is about to get much worse. Nigerian MPs are expected to shortly pass a new law that will outlaw gay organisations, meetings of gay people, gay safer sex advice and the advocacy of gay human rights.

Despite this perilous situation, Emmanuel's asylum claim was deemed by the Home Office to be unfounded. He was forced onto a plane by government-contracted security guards and deported back to Nigeria.

Labour claims to support gay human rights, but we see little evidence of this support in the cruel way gay asylum seekers are treated by the Home Office.

Labour ministers could stop these abuses, but they don't. They are personally responsible for deporting lesbians and gays who have presented evidence of being beaten up, jailed, tortured and raped. A lesbian victim of rape and torture was recently deported to Uganda. A gay Iranian who is at high risk of execution is scheduled for deportation on Boxing Day.

Labour has lost its heart and soul. It seems more interested in pandering to the anti-asylum hysteria of the Sun and the Daily Mail, than in ensuring justice for refugees. Whether gay or straight, all refugees deserve a fairer, more compassionate consideration of their claims.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

The particularly virulent menace to homosexuals posed by the rise of Islamic fundamentalism gets no systematic examination, although the phenomenon is evoked briefly and in passing in several different sections of the book. Whitaker does, however, dissect the anti-gay arguments of several English-language Islamist Web sites and the pronouncements of Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential religious figure in the Arab world popularized by his regular appearances on Al-Jazeera TV. And he provides an alternative reading of the Qur'an that contradicts those who claim it condemns homosexuality, arguing that these interpretations are of relatively recent vintage.


But the book is also marred by several errors.


For example, Whitaker writes that the Lebanese gay group Helem "is the only specifically gay and lesbian organization functioning openly in an Arab country"-thus overlooking ASWAT, the self-described "organization of Palestinian gay women," which received an award for its work inside the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in May 2006.


Whitaker characterizes the Iranian theocracy's attitude toward the transgendered as "comparatively liberal"-but he makes no mention of how an Iranian seeking sexual reassignment surgery must have an official document declaring themselves "mentally ill" before being allowed to proceed. Nor does he mention how Iran's mullah-controlled psychologists routinely pressure homosexuals into sex-change operations-to which some gay men and lesbians reluctantly agree in order to avoid prosecution for homosexuality, a capital crime in Iran. The French public television network France 2 last year gave a detailed account of this phenomenon in a documentary with the telling title, "Changer de Sexe ou Mourir"- "Change Sex or Die."


And in August 2006, for an article in The Advocate, this reporter interviewed a 24-year-old Iranian lesbian refugee named Maryam, now seeking asylum in France as a sexual refugee. She related that after her lesbian affair was revealed, she was forced to undergo six months of treatment from two women psychologists at the University of Shahid Beheshti.


"They ordered me to have it [sex-change surgery]," she said. "'No,' I said. 'I'm Maryam, a girl, and I do not want to be a man!' The female doctor told me, 'If you don't change your sexuality and you continue unlawful acts, your future will be a death sentence.'"


Despite these caveats, "Unspeakable Love" is a valuable introduction to the difficulties and perils of being homosexual in the Arab world, and one of the few recent books in English to discuss contemporary Arab same-sex relations from a sympathetic point of view.


One of the most useful chapters in the book is Whitaker's dissection and refutation of the arguments of Joseph Massad, a controversial Columbia University professor and author of a widely-circulated essay complaining that gay rights in Arab and Muslim countries represent an imperialist "missionary" project orchestrated by what he calls the "Gay International."


In concluding his rebuttal of Massad, Whitaker writes that the Columbia academic and his acolytes present the debate "as a choice between cultural authenticity on the one hand and the adoption of all things Western on the other. In fact, neither is a realistic proposition. Exposure to foreign ideas and influences cannot be prevented, but nor are Arabs incapable of making critical judgments about them. Equally, Arab culture cannot be treated as a fossil; it is a culture in which real people lead real lives and it must be allowed to evolve to meet their needs. The issue, then, is not whether concepts such as 'gay' and 'sexual orientation' are foreign imports, but whether they serve a useful purpose. For Arabs who grow up disturbed by an inexplicable attraction towards members of their own sex, they can provide a framework for understanding. For families-puzzled, troubled, and uninformed by their own society-they offer a sensible alternative to regarding sons and daughters as sinful or mad."


To which one can only say, Amen!

[Rasputin]

همجنس باز مشهور ایتالیایی به عنوان سفیر راهی ترکیه شد
انجمن اندیشمندان ایران، نماينده همجنس باز حزب نو بنياد كمونيست در مجلس نمايندگان ايتاليا اعلام كرد: براي دفاع از همجنس بازان در كشورهاي عربي مي خواهم سفير ايتاليا در اين كشورها شوم.



روزنامه ايتاليايي كوريره دلاسرا در این زمینه نوشت : نخستين نماينده همجنس باز ايتاليا مي خواهد سفير اين كشور در كشورهاي اسلامي شود تا از حقوق همجنس بازان اين كشورها كه محكوم شده و حتي كشته مي شوند ، دفاع كند.
لوكسوريا گفت: مي خواهم ابتدا به تركيه بروم و سفير ايتاليا در اين كشور شوم، زيرا تركيه وارد اروپا خواهد شد و دراروپا برخي تبعيض ها را نمي توان پذيرفت.

وي افزود: درباره حقوق بشر و يا حكم مرگ خيلي صحبت مي شود، ولي بايد گفت كه زندگي و آزادي همجنس بازان نيز مربوط به حقوق بشر مي شود.

درفهرست 80 كشوري كه همجنس بازي را ممنوع كرده اند نام تركيه ديده نمي شود اما همجنس بازان دراين كشور با نگاه خوب ديده نمي شوند، ولي به هرحال قانون خاصي وجود ندارد.

وي افزود: بايد مرحله به مرحله اقدام كرد ، نمي توانيم بلافاصله به تهران برويم ، ولي شايد روزي به آنجا نيز خواهيم رسيد.
وي همچنين در مصاحبه باروزنامه اسراييلي هارتض گفت: مي خواهم تبديل به نوعي سفير ايتاليا در جهان اسلام تبديل شوم. مي خواهم ببينم كه وقتي درخواست ملاقات با يك وزير فرهنگ كشور اسلامي را خواهم كرد چه خواهد شد؟ آيا قبول خواهد كرد يا خير؟

وي گفت: در كشورهاي اسلامي همجنس بازي ممنوع است اما عملا بسيارگسترده است زيرا در مدارس ، محل كار و حتي در مساجد مردها با مردها و زن ها با زن ها هستند و فرصت دراين كشورها حتي از ما نيز بيشتر است.
مهم اين است كه همجنس بازان اين كشورها حداقل آزادي و امنيت را داشته باشند ، سپس خود آنها بايد تصميم بگيرند كه چطور مبارزه كنند.

[Rasputin]

A group fighting for the rights of homosexuals in Iran is holding a human rights conference in Toronto this month to draw attention to the country's nasty track record and to promote change there.

"Iranian law defines homo-sexuality as a crime punishable by death, denies women's equal rights with men, persecutes political dissidents and civil and human rights activists," states the press release from host group Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO).

Arsham Parsi, secretary-general of the group, says gay men and lesbians are not usually included when activists and politicians talk about human rights violations in Iran, an exclusion that led to the organization of the Sat, Jan 27 conference at the University Of Toronto.

"Never are they talking about LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans] rights," says Parsi. "Right now, a queer organization is organizing a human rights symposium. We're showing that LGBT rights are human rights."

The keynote speaker will be Liberal MP Hedy Fry, speaking on the Charter Of Rights And Freedoms and its application to minorities. Other speakers include Barbara Hall, chair of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, representatives from Human Rights Watch and the International Gay And Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and El-Farouk Khaki of the queer Muslim organization Salaam Canada.

Parsi, 25, fled Iran in March 2005 after he learned that he was being hunted by the government for his work with what was then called the Persian Gay And Lesbian Organization. He had begun working for the organization when he was 22, after coming out in his teens. He was granted refugee status in Canada in May of this year.

Parsi says that when he first began realizing he was gay, he thought there was something wrong with him.

"When I was young, I couldn't tell my parents. I thought if I have these desires, I have problems with myself."

Parsi says he was saved when he began to find sites on the Internet about homosexuality. He says the Internet is still the primary way IRQO communicates with its 50,000 members, especially with those in Iran. He says members can access the group's website and receive electronic copies of its magazine.

Parsi says there is a long history of homosexuality in classical Iranian and Persian literature, but that for years there has been a reluctance to talk about it openly. He says that, contrary to most people's assumptions, the situation predates Iran's current religious regime which has been in place since the 1979 revolution.

Parsi says the last Shah, usually considered to be liberal, was responsible for tightening up laws that had allowed gay and lesbian couples to live openly together in essentially common-law marriages.

"The Shah added something to Iranian law about two people who wanted to live together. He added that it had to be between a man and a woman."

Parsi says it's not the intention of the IRQO to overthrow the religious authorities which now govern Iran.

"Right now, we aren't thinking of the regime. We have to work with LGBTs first, we have to work with society first. Imagine tomorrow if the religious government was replaced by the most democratic government in the world. We would still have problems. What about mothers and fathers? If the government says you have to kill homosexuals, the people support them, for the safety of children. They think LGBTs are rapists. They don't have any information.

"People don't like talking about our sexuality. We're not trying to promote homosexuality, just introduce it."

Parsi says these attitudes held by many in Iran help to fuel the country's high number of gender reassignment surgeries, as does the peculiar fact that gender reassignment surgery is legal in Iran.

"Homosexuality is illegal, but sex changes are legal. Many men are changing their sex. The one way you can sleep with men is to change your sex."

Parsi says it's also necessary to inform other countries about the realities of the situation in Iran. He points to a case involving a refugee claimant in Britain, a gay man who asked for refugee status after his boyfriend was executed in Iran in December of 2005.

"The British government didn't accept the boyfriend's refugee application. They said you have to prove the execution."

But Parsi says the Iranian government and authorities have learned to disguise their persecution of homosexuals. He says that because of international condemnation they now list other causes for arrests and executions, such as alcohol use or child abuse. He points to a 2003 case where police arrested 75 men.

"They didn't write in the report that they're gay. They wrote that they were drinking alcohol. And one of my gay friends was arrested recently in a coffeeshop, for meeting with two girls."

Perhaps the best-known case involving executions that may have been related to gay activity is similarly difficult to prove.

The case involves the 2005 executions of two young men in the city of Mashad. Ayaz Marhoni and Mahmoud Asgari, believed to have been 18 and 17 respectively at the time of their deaths, were hanged. Initial reports claimed that they'd been put to death for their homosexuality, but later reports indicated the two young men had been convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old. Parsi says it's impossible to know what really happened, as the proceedings were closed and no documents were made available.

But Parsi says that, despite the possibility of being executed, there are things happening on the ground in Iran.

"The people in Iran right now, they think the numbers of LGBTs are increasing. We have some members who are 70 years old. We're working more and we're seeing more."

Parsi says he also received some good news recently from a friend in Vancouver who had been planning to undergo gender reassignment surgery so he could sleep with men. Parsi says the man, after being in Canada, has come to accept his homosexuality.

Parsi says the daylong symposium is free to anyone who wants to attend. But he adds that the Iranian Queer Organization is solely dependent on donations to function.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

Gay Iranian refugee can stay in NZ

A gay refugee who admitted repeatedly misleading immigration officials has been allowed to stay in New Zealand because he faced execution as a homosexual if sent back to Iran.

Ahmad Tahooni, 39, from Tehran, arrived in New Zealand in 2000. He claimed to have fled Iran out of fear of political persecution for his involvement in student demonstrations - a story he later admitted was false.

He was denied asylum and an appeal was dismissed in 2003 when his account was deemed "implausible in the extreme". He lodged a second appeal on the grounds he was gay.

Too embarrassed to disclose his homosexuality at the time of his first application in 2000, Mr Tahooni had "evolved into a confident - even flamboyant - man" able to express his sexual orientation without inhibition, the Refugee Status Appeals Authority said.

Mr Tahooni told The Dominion Post he lied because, coming from a "closed country", he felt unable to acknowledge his true sexuality.

"When I arrived here I gradually learnt not to live life in a closet any more. I was inspired by the freedom here," he said.

Though his second appeal also contained false evidence, the authority agreed Mr Tahooni was genuinely gay and could face death or imprisonment if he was returned to Iran.

An active member of the Auckland gay scene, he frequented gay clubs and parties, plucked his eyebrows, and changed his hair colour "like the four seasons".

"He is unable, and not required, to act discreetly in order to avoid being identified as a homosexual. His current lifestyle is in stark contrast to the atmosphere of intimidation created in Iran, including through public executions of gays," the authority said.

The former garment trader and investor told the authority if he returned to Iran, his conservative and deeply religious father would hand him over to authorities.

He described a history of clandestine same-sex relationships, dating back to his second year at high school in Iran. He had been arrested twice - once while watching a pornographic video at a boyfriend's apartment and again just weeks later in a public park known as a homosexual haunt.

The first time he was freed only after the intercession of his influential brother-in-law and the second time after bribing officials.

He also described being videotaped parodying the sexuality of two prominent Iranians, saying the discovery of the tape had increased the danger to him - but later admitted fabricating that incident out of fear his homosexuality alone would not be sufficient for refugee status.

In a December decision, the authority said notwithstanding the false evidence presented by the refugee on several occasions, his family in Iran "abhorred" his sexuality, and there was "a real chance" he would be persecuted if he returned.

Neil Denney, of the Auckland Gay and Lesbian Welfare Group, said many prospective refugees initially felt they had to hide their homosexuality to avoid a backlash from their ethnic community here.

A spokesperson for the Iranian community in Auckland, Mouzhgan Shabani, said the Iranian Government would have learned of Mr Tahooni's refugee application and his homosexuality, and if he was sent back "100 per cent he would die".

But NZ First associate immigration spokesman Peter Brown said accepting homosexuality as grounds for refugee status showed New Zealand was a "soft touch".

"Some of those countries in the Middle East treat their own citizens, never mind whether they're homosexual, in a dreadful sort of manner. We can't just open our doors and let all and sundry come in here."

[Rasputin]

عشق را چه*گونه می*توان تعریف یا توصیف کرد؟ اگر از گونه*گونی واژه*هایی که دوست داشتن را می*رساند در گذریم، آنچه زمان و مکان را در نوردیده، وجود پیوسته*ی این مفهوم در فرهنگ و جغرافیاها و دوره*های تاریخی مختلف است.
در این مقال، اشکال بروز دلبستگی یا تنوع آن در نظر ما نیست؛ از دغدغه*ی میهن داشتن تا وابستگی به متعلقات مادی مثل یک ملک. تمرکز بحث ما اکنون حتی مهر بین دو فرد انسان نیز نیست؛ محبتی که یک زن به جنین درون رحمش می*پرورد، و سپس در جایگاه مادر، تا خود زنده است این عاطفه را در سینه نگه می دارد، یا علاقه*ی بین اعضای یک خانواده یا خویشان یا دوستان یا استاد و شاگرد و غیره.
در این مجال، تنها روی صحبت ما عشق زمینی دو شخصی است که معمولا رابطه*ی جنسی را هم به همراه دارد. اما این رابطه الزاما بین دو جنس مخالف شکل نمی*گیرد؛ یک فرد می*تواند به هر دو جنس توجه داشته باشد، یا با هم جنس خود رابطه*ی عشقی-جنسی برقرار کند.
در این*باره با یک لزبین، یک جنس زن که به زن دیگر تمایل نشان می*دهد، صحبت می*کنم. و چون هفته*ی عشق رادیو زمانه است، نخست از او می*خواهم مفهوم عشق را بین هم*جنس*گراها برایمان توضیح دهد.

http://www.radiozamaneh.org/special/2007/02/post_141.html

[Rasputin]

Even before meeting for the first time Friday, the new Dutch Cabinet signaled that this administration would be different from the last.

The proposed total ban on the Islamic head-to-toe burqa likely will be softened or scrapped. Rules requiring tough citizenship tests for new immigrants may be reviewed. No-smoking regulations in bars and restaurants may come into force earlier.

Jan Peter Balkenende remains prime minister in the Cabinet installed Thursday, but his new coalition partners have made it clear they want to re-examine the hard-line policies on immigration and integration imposed by the previous, more conservative government.

Integration Minister Ella Vogelaar told Dutch television she would take a more relaxed approach than her predecessor, Rita Verdonk, on the proposed ban against the all-encompassing burqa.

She said she would only consider a burqa ban in specific cases, such as in "a trade where direct contact between people is very important."

Vogelaar made light of citizenship tests that all immigrants are supposed to take. If native-born Dutch were forced to take the exam, "I know for sure that about half would fail," she said.

The new 16-member Cabinet agreed on an amnesty for tens of thousands of rejected asylum seekers who have been in the country for more than five years.

A more sympathetic approach to immigrants is reflected in the Cabinet's composition: Among its 11 deputy ministers is one born in Morocco and another in Turkey — the first time Muslims have reached such a high office in the Netherlands.

The coalition has agreed it won't try to push further or roll back progressive Dutch policies on marijuana use, legalized prostitution and euthanasia.

But in a nod to the cabinet's conservatives, civil servants will be entitled to opt out of officiating over gay wedding ceremonies.

Interior Affairs Minister Guusje ter Horst said the ruling works best both for the civil servant and the couple. She said if she were gay and getting married, "I wouldn't want some sour-faced bureaucrat standing in front of me the whole time."

Citizens also may feel the benefits of the improving economy, which grew 2.9 percent in 2006, the highest rate since 2000. After years of cutting welfare benefits, the government plans to increase spending on childcare and reduce corporate taxes.

[Rasputin]

اولین فیلم مستند درباره همجنسگرایان ایران در روزهای گذشته از تلویزیون سراسری کانادا (سی.بی.سی) پخش شد. "آشکار در ایران" فیلم کوتاهی است به کارگردانی فرید حائری نژاد، از کارگردان های ایرانی سی.بی.سی، که در آن ضمن نگاهی به مشکلات فرهنگی و قانونی جامعه ایران برای زندگی همجنسگرایان و دگرباشان، زندگی این گروه را از زبان خود آنها به تصویر کشیده است. این که مصاحبه شوندگان در این فیلم اکثرا با هویت نامعلوم و صورت های نصفه، نیمه یا با چهره های پشت عینک دودی جلوی دوربین ظاهر شدند، از نکات خاص آن محسوب می شود. در اين فيلم يک روحانی ايرانی نيز درباره اين موضوع اظهار نظر می کند. این که چرا و چطور کارگردان به تولید این فیلم دست زده و در این مسیر با چه موانع و چالش هایی مواجه بوده ، نکاتی است که با فرید حائری نژاد به گفت و شنود گذاشتیم. فرید بعد از 23 سال به ایران و تهران می رود و در طول سه هفته اقامت خود با مستندی 35 دقیقه ای باز می گردد.
چطور به این صرافت افتادی که با همه مشکلات و سختی های کار این سوژه را انتخاب کنی؟

این ایده چیزی نبود که یک باره به ذهنم برسد. در واقع بعد از تحقیقاتی که انجام دادم و گفت و گوهایی که کردم به مرور به این نتیجه رسیدم که باید به این موضوع پرداخته شود چون تا به الان به این شکل به آن پرداخته نشده بوده. بنابراین یک روند مطالعاتی را طی کردم و با بعضی ها حرف زدم تا به چارچوب اصلی کار برسم.

از مشکلات کارت بگو، برای مصاحبه هایی که لازم داشتی و کسانی را که باید پیدا می کردی چه محدودیت هایی داشتی؟

اولا تعداد کسانی که بخواهند راجع به این موضوع صحبت کند زیاد نیست، چون به هر حال این از جهتی اعتراف به چيزی است که در ايران "جرم و گناه" خوانده می شود، ولی خب بودند کسانی که می خواستند این کار را بکنند. من هم بارها ازآنها پرسیدم که آیا در این باره مطمئن هستند یا نه و آنها مسر بودند چون به گفته خودشان بالاخره بایستی از یک جایی شروع بکنند . حالا من نمی خواهم اسمش را مبارزه یا جنبش بگذارم، چون خیلی کوچک. محدود است ولی به هر حال باید از جایی شروع کنند.

کسانی که همجنسگرا بودند و یا دو جنسی مشکلی برای مصاحبه نداشتند، یکی از آنها مثلا خواست که صورتش را کاملا نشان ندهیم و ما هم آن را نصفه نشان دادیم. در مورد آقای روحانی، می خواستیم ببینیم اگر در ایران کسی به یک امام جماعت مراجعه کند و بگوید که من چنین مشکلی دارم، او چه مشورتی می دهد؟ که ایشان هم گفتند چنین چیزی اصلا در اسلام وجود ندارد و کسی که این کار را بکند بایستی تحت درمان قرار بگیرند و اگر لازم باشد به مراجعی معرفی شوند که مجازات های قانونی در موردشان اجرا شود. این بود که ما دنبال یک فتوا و پاسخ فقهی نبودیم. می خواستیم بدانیم اگر کسی در این مورد با مشکلی مواجه شود از کجا بایستی کمک بگیرد؟

آیا برای تولید این فیلم بهتر نبود که با بعضی از مقامات دولتی هم مصاحبه می کردی؟

این امکان پذیر نبود. برای این که یک موضوع حساس است و جان مردم در خطر بود. خوب بود اگر می شد. من خیلی سعی کردم با پزشکان ایرانی تماس بگیرم ولی امکان پذیر نشد. با آیت الله صانعی هم همین جور.


فريد حائری نژاد درحال ساخت فيلم - عکس از پويان طباطبايی

چیزهایی که در فيلم بیان شد در وهله اول، انعکاس نظرات شخصی بود و در وهله بعد قوانین ایران بود که طبق آن همجنسگرایی یک جرم محسوب می شود و این چیزی نیست که احتیاج به تایید و تفسیر داشته باشد.

چه سوال هایی را نتوانستی در این فیلم جواب بدهی، که دوست داشتی به آنها بپردازی؟

خیلی دوست داشتم که در همین رابطه بیشتر راجع به دو جنسی ها و کسانی که تغییر جنسیت می دهند صحبت کنیم. دلم می خواست که با آیت الله صانعی صحبت کنیم. چون ایشان خیلی رک و راست حرف می زنند و مسایل را مطرح می کنند. ولی اشتباه نکنید. مساله من این نبود که بگویم مرگ بر این و مرگ بر آن. داستان، داستان یک تعدادی افراد است که معتقدند بایستی در زمینه همجنسگرایی اطلاع رسانی شود.

یعنی مثلا در اين رابطه جزوه و سی دی تولید کنند، بین خود این افراد و به آنها اعتماد به نفس بدهند و به مردم هم آموزش بدهند که دگر بودن چیز بدی نیست، مریضی نیست و این مساله "هموفوبیا" را ازبین ببرند. هدف و مساله اینها سیاسی نبوده، یا حداقل در حال حاضر نیست. اینها نه بر علیه رژیم دارند کار می کنند و نه کاری به این مسایل دارند. ما در بیان این آمدیم و از زبان خودشان گفتیم که مسایل و مشکلاتی دارند و آن هم قوانین است و گذشته از قوانین خود جامعه و نگاه مردم به این موضوع است. می دانید که ما در قوانين جمهوری اسلامی چیزی به اسم "همجنسگرا" نداریم، اين گرايش "لواط" محسوب می شود و اصلا رسمیت ندارد.

لواط جرم است و محکومیت دارد و اگر دیده شود ، مجازات دارد. و این مجازات در فکر و ذهن این افراد می چرخد. لذا هم قانون بر علیه این افراد است و هم فرهنگ عمومی مردم ما. اگر مثلا بگویند کسی لواط کرده و مورد تجاوز قرار گرفته، از نگاه مردم خیلی مهم نیست. موضوع دیگر این که وقتی می گویند همجنسگرا، مردم همه چیز را سکسی و جنسی می بینند، در صورتی که مسایل دیگر مثل رابطه عاطفی و انسانی را در نظر نمی گیرند.

برای تهیه این فیلم به جز تهران، کجا رفتی. قصد داری که باز هم با این موضوع فیلم بسازی؟

من فقط تهران رفتم و این کاملا دربرگیرنده تمام مسایل هم نیست. و قرار هم نبوده که ما تمام مسایل همجنسگراها را حل کنیم، ولی ما چون یک نسخه طولانی تری داشتیم و در آنجا مسایل را به طور مفصل تر توضیح می دهیم. که امیدوارم اگر زمان برنامه اجازه بدهد، آن را پخش کنیم. این فیلم ضد اسلام نبوده و نیست و ادیان دیگر هم همین قوانین را دارند که در نسخه دیگرمان آنها را شرح دادیم.

سخت ترین بخش کارت کجا بود؟

سخت ترین قسمت کار من آن بود که تا من دوربینیم را در می آوردم مقامات امنیتی تشریف می آوردند و نمی گذاشتند من فیلم بگیرم. این مساله نمی گذاشت که به راحتی فیلم بگیریم و این کلی دلهره برای من ایجاد می کرد.

بازتاب فیلمت چطور بود؟

ما عموما برای تماشاگر کانادایی فیلم می سازیم و برنامه ما یک میلیون تماشاچی دارد. بازتاب این فیلم خیلی خوب بود، به استثنای بعضی از دوستان ایرانی که قضیه را سیاسی می بیینند، اکثرا با دیدن این فیلم نظرشان این بود که انعکاس متفاوتی بود از جامعه ایران.

پس جامعه ایران یک جامعه پویایی است و خودشان به مشکلات خودشان می رسند. در خود کانادا همجنسگرایی جرم بود لذا با این پروسه جرم زدایی آشنا هستند و می دانند که ربط خیلی شدیدی لزوما به مذهب ندارد. و این را به هیچ عنوان در قالب سیاسی ندیدند. در فیلم های قبلی هم من سعی کردم این خط را طی کنم که نشان بدهم جامعه ایران دینامیک خودش را دارد و بسیار پر جنب و جوش است و روشنفکران خودش را دارد و نسبت با مسایل روشن و پویا هستند.

بعد از این همه مدت تهران را چطور دیدی؟

خیلی همه چیز عوض شده و من وقتی به محله خودمان رفتم، ابتدا آنجا را نشناختم. خیلی آبادانی صورت گرفته و راه سازی شده، ساختمان سازی و خلاصه خیلی تغییر کرده. خیلی ماشین بود، خیلی دود و دم بود. من هر روز که از خواب پا می شدم، بوی بنزین و دود و گازوییل توی مشام من بود، و می پرسیدم که هیچ کسی این بو را حس نمی کند؟ مثل این که مردم به این مسایل عادت کرده اند.

اگر شرایط طوری مهیا بشود که راحت بروی ایران و فیلم تهیه کنی باز این کار را می کنی؟

من فکر می کنم اگر شرایطی بوجود بیاید که خبرنگاران بتوانند راحت تر بروند ایران و از نزدیک کار کنند، خیلی برای بازتاب دادن جامعه ایرانی در خارج مفید خواهد بود.... هر جامعه ای خوبی ها و بدی هایی دارد و جا دارد که خوبی ها، بدی ها، نقصان ها و دلربایی های ایران را انعکاس بدهیم. من امیدوارم که روزی بیاید و این شرایط مهیا شود که ما بتوایم به راحتی برویم ایران و گزارش تهیه کنیم.

در انتخاب این اسم برای فیلمت چه منظوری را دنبال می کردی؟

"Out in iran" در واقع به معنای "آشکار در ایران" است. آشکار به این شکل که کسانی که دگرباش و همجنسگرا هستند خیلی هاشان در همین جامعه غربی هم آشکارش نمی کنند و حالا وقتی که این ها اعلام می کنند و هویت ناآشکار خودشان را آشکار می کنند، می آیند و حرف می زنند، اين آشکار می شود.

[Rasputin]