FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL: THE UNSEEN STRUGGLES OF QUEER REFUGEES IN EAST AFRICA 🌈🏳️⚧️
my name is Ciara ,and I am a queer refugee from Uganda. My journey of survival has taken me across borders, through unimaginable hardships, and into the depths of human cruelty. I am writing this today not just to share my story, but to give voice to the silenced—those of us who are fighting every day to stay alive in one of the most hostile environments on earth.
Being LGBTIQ in Uganda is a death sentence. The fear of being hunted, beaten, or killed is a daily reality. I survived a brutal attack, narrowly escaping death simply because of who I am. In 2019, I fled to Kenya, hoping to find safety in Kakuma Refugee Camp. But the violence there was relentless. For nearly five years, I lived in constant danger—beatings, threats, and persecution followed us wherever we went.
Earlier this year, I made the heart-wrenching decision to leave Kakuma and seek refuge in Gorom Camp, South Sudan. I’m now here with a group of fellow LGBTIQ refugees who have fled the same horrors. But life in South Sudan is even more terrifying. The civil war has torn this country apart, and the laws against LGBTIQ people fuel the violence against us. We’ve lost friends to this cruelty—lesbians and transgender refugees are being raped, and the rest of us live in constant fear of what might happen tomorrow.
The struggles don’t end with the violence. We are starving. We are without clean water. We are without proper shelter. Every single day feels like a fight for survival, as we battle diseases like malaria, tuberculosis (TB), and typhoid fever. These diseases, rampant in the camp, claim lives at an alarming rate. And for those of us who are already living with HIV, the lack of medicine is an added death sentence.
We wake up every morning wondering if today will be our last. Hunger gnaws at us, and even when we manage to find something to eat, it’s not enough. The water we drink is often contaminated, making us sick with typhoid or other waterborne illnesses. Malaria, spread by the swarming mosquitoes in our unsheltered camp, leaves us bedridden and weak, and yet we must find the strength to keep going. TB spreads quickly in our crowded living spaces, adding to the burden on our already fragile bodies. Our medical supplies are almost non-existent, and we’re losing the battle against these diseases.
We are not just asking for help; we are begging for our lives.
Without food, without clean water, without medicine, we are dying. But with your support, we can survive. Your donation, no matter how small, can provide us with:
1. Food – Our bodies are frail, but a simple meal can give us the strength to keep fighting.
2. Clean Water – Safe drinking water is a lifeline, protecting us from deadly diseases like typhoid.
3. Shelter– A safe place to sleep, away from the violence and harsh environment, means everything to us.
4. Medication – For those living with HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, and other illnesses, medicine is our only hope for survival.
We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but with your help, we might see a future. Your support doesn’t just provide food or water—it brings us hope. Hope that we won’t starve. Hope that we can fight off these diseases. Hope that we will live to see a future where our identities are not a death sentence.
This is a plea for survival. Please consider donating to our cause. Every dollar, every share, every bit of support can make the difference between life and death for us. You can donate here:
GoFundMe
https://gofund.me/4d80b32c
Thank you for standing with us and giving us hope in our darkest hour.
Written by ciara, queer refugee and advocate for LGBTIQ refugees in East Africa.*
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VILLAIN BALLISTER AU COMING SOON
Finally made some art for this au now you can know the height difference and facts
Help my baby ,Don't leave my baby alone please
🍉I am Hala, a Palestinian from the besieged and destroyed Gaza Strip 😭😭. I fled the war with my husband to Egypt..
The story began on March 21, 2024 when my beautiful child was born.. He was a wonderful and special child.. Suddenly, a week after his birth, my child Abdul Aziz's belly swelled up a lot and I visited several doctors without discovering the reason.. After another week of the child's suffering, I took him to a specialized hospital and the doctors there discovered a blockage in Abdul Aziz's colon that prevented him from excreting stool.. It was decided to perform a surgical operation consisting of an opening in Abdul Aziz's belly to temporarily remove stool from his intestines until the affected part of the colon was removed in another complex surgical operation that cost thousands of dollars..😭😭
I am speaking to you now with great sadness about my child's condition and I ask you to help me and donate to me to collect the costs of the operation within a month from now.
I appeal to everyone who can donate any amount, no matter how small, because it will save my child and give us hope.
Please don't leave my son alone to suffer and struggle in these difficult days alone.. You can support my campaign by donating what you can or share my posts to reach others who can help us by raising the cost of the surgery you are helping in the life of an innocent child with your small contribution. ❤❤🍉🍉
Every donation makes a difference in his very difficult life
Free Palestine
Hello again, I’m starting a new series on my blog that involves featuring local alternatives to brands the support violence, war, death, and Isnotreal. These brands include a wide range of things like food, drinks, makeup, and more so hopefully you guys like variety, and as a bonus I’m including a rambling of what I think Nimona characters would feel about them. >:]]
First off is a switch that I’ve recently been trying out is Virgin Coconut oil in place of lotions brands like Aveeno, Nivea, Johnson’s&Johnson’s, Cetaphil, and others stuff that don’t really work with my moral code.
Virgin Coconut oil, in my experience, is really relaxing to put on and it has the added benefit of drying faster and having a more pleasant texture and smell that suit my preference more. It works best for those with dry or rough skin, but can clog pores if you have oily skin. It can also be used for the hair as conditioner or be turned into a soap to wash off dirt. You could also drink it apparently? I can’t compliment the taste on it’s own, but my father has a tablespoon daily and he gets compliments on his skin. Don’t take my word for that though.
For application on the skin, one has to put a small amount on the hands and warm it a bit before spreading over the desired areas.
For hair you usually comb it through and wait for a few minutes before washing off with conditioner first then shampoo.
For drinking…there is not enough study on it, unless you are an immortal pink dragon Nimona with a friend/boss to supervise your reactions, you really REALLY should not just chug the entire thing down. You could use refined coconut oil to cook food in, but again, there are risks to consuming new foods, especially with one with such high fat content. Please, for the love of all things holy and unholy, please ask for a professional opinion and practice moderation I am BEGGING-
Okay, with that out of the way now on to my Nimona shenanigans!
The brave, the bad, the boss himself,Ballister Boldheart
He would probably use it for his skin. I think it would be very soothing for him and would be more convenient for him since it would dry faster and doesn’t have the icky lotion feeling.
There would probably be some trouble for him in applying it though cause he only has one hand and oil can be a pain to clean off of metal (someone fact check me on this, I haven’t slept) so he would probably ask Nimona or Ambrosius to help him apply on hard to reach places.
(For all you horny ass Goldenheart shippers, I know the horny implications exist. I ain’t writing the headcanons about it unless this post reaches 100 notes, and I ain’t writing a fic about it till it reaches 500 notes. Spread awareness on Palestine, be horny for an honorable cost. I will write a fluffy story for 10 reblogs though.)
He would probably also use it for his hair occasionally, maybe once a month or two. That’s usually enough for his hair to be nice and shiny.
Then there is Ambrosius
Oh, this man would definitely use coconut oil for his hair. Maybe once a week because look me in the eyes and tell me this man doesn’t have fried locks from all the bleaching.
Coconut oil is probably only one of many recovery products that Nimona recommended for him for his hair. Which would tie is nicely with my HC of Nimona and Ambs bonding over haircare.
There’s this coconut oil based soap I’ve been using from Cocobody, a local brand that makes cosmetic and hygiene products from coconuts. The one I’m using is infused with lavendar extract, and the first time I used it, I thought, ‘damn, Ambrosius had a point, this shit is relaxing.’
He would drown himself in the suds, I don’t care if this sounds like self-projection, it is NOT.
He’s just a very stressed out person with lots of worries and his coping mechanism is self-care cause he couldn’t trust a lot of people to be vulnerable with, especially with pressure put on him to act and look perfect. He’s not sure what perfection is meant to act like but he can at least look like it. It’s easier to work on and focus on outward appearances than to focus inside to what the source of stress really is, especially when you can’t escape it and- yeah, I’ll stop talking now.
I don’t think his skin would be the best for coconut oil, I don’t know why, just based on vibes I think his skin would be better off with more water based products. Doesn’t stop him from helping Bal with his skincare though. I feel like it’s a very big step for them to heal together and learn to trust each other again post-movie.
Nimona would just chug a bottle straight. Not going to lie. They’d either love it or hate it but the bottle was left open while she was bored. They pretty much just meant to take a little sip but Bal and Ambs screamed which spooked her and she downed the whole thing without even tasting it.
Here’s some pics of the coconut oil products I currently use, feel free to comment on what coconut products you use and stay cool.
My beautiful friends ❤
Ìt is time for a big move towards reaching the goal✌🇵🇸 37k out of 50k.
My family owes you much for the support you have been offering over the 320 hard days of the war on Gaza. You are really friends in need and this is obviously touchable during this dire and harsh time.
My campaign is moving forward because of your human support and help.❤🇵🇸💚🇵🇸🖤🇵🇸🤍
With your donations and shares , you lessen our sufferings and hardship as you share our suffering and struggle in getting the basic necessities and essentials of our daily life. Our challenges are how to get our food, drink water, medicine and other necessities. With your support, we are able to get such necessities and basic needs . You ease our pain and relieve our sufferings. We are very grateful and thankful to you for every single thing you offer however small it is. ❤✌
Thank ❤ you again because you are making us happy and minimizing 🖐our hardship❤
Please this is a last move towards reaching the goal to realize the dream of surviving the war towards safety and ✌peace.
From the river to the sea palestine will be free.❤🇵🇸✌
FREE PALESTINE
OMG I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT!!!!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO MAKE THE FNART SOON!!!!!
welp...3 hours and multiple breaks later i have finished it- (yes, it's the Hazbin-Nimona AU)
Before y'all look at the art i do wanna clarify some things that might seem off (since vivziepop has like... almost no characters that are human)
1.) I did change the whites of their eyes to match Charlie & Vaggie's, so yeah
2.) I would assume that Ballister's regular arm is already made of steel & whatever other metals, so i just made it into an angelic steel arm
3.) Ballister's X over his eye is on the opposite side of his face, mirroring Vaggie's, but also to resemble his eye scar
4.) Instead of Charlie's regular red suit, i changed it to a yellow suit to make it seem more... fitting ig? (Same with Charlie's little rosie red cheeks, but you'll notice how i kept Vaggie's colors for Ballister's outfit... because i just decided to do it that way)
And lastly 5.) Ballister has long (medium?) hair here because i love the long-haired Ballister agenda
So without further ado, here you go @riririkinzi and anyone else who might like either of these fandoms :)
cuties <33
(also yes, i do have more planned for this au but take this for now)
No idea on what's going on but Good luck
@long-distance-muse @mvjerbs
Ok ik none is this gonna happen but I wanna get it out of my head so
If this gets 5k notes I'll tell my parents I'm not Christian and don't want to go to church
If this gets 10k notes I'll come out to my parents
So I had an idea long long long time ago that I shared with @mvjerbs about a Nimona au where Bal does end up succumbing to his injuries and ends up dying, but not before swearing that his true love must set his story straight and for the truth to be revealed before he can set himself free. Nimona finds his corpse and- feeling bad for it- made a half-way decent arm with twigs a d sticks before burying Ballister the best she could. Little did she know it would open the gate for the Netherworld, and a whole new adventure, for her to explore.
Ballister sinks into the piano seat in an isolated part of the netherworld, pushing the the keys with no intent to make music as his brows furrowed in frustration. If Nimona said that Ambrosius was betrothed to another, does that mean he no longer loved him? No longer cherished him? Was no longer promised to him?
He harshly pressed a bitter note that echoed through the netherworld. If the corpses and cadavers didn’t know he was angry yet they would now.
“Woah Boss, the news of blondie really pissing you off, huh?” A pink worm inched to him, their fuzzy body creeping along his outstretched hand made of twigs and bark as he sadly gazed at them.
“I suppose I’m not even suited to wear the lovely Sherwani you buried me in, there won’t be any wedding for me after all-“ the piano keys continued softly dropping. Like tears that Ballister could no longer cry.
The worm shifted, warm pink light filling the piano room until a python sat beside Ballister, slowly winding up at the wooden arm of his until he turned away from the piano and back to the python.
“Well you see, boss, the thing is that the blonde boy toy of yours wasn’t happy bout the news. The news reporters said something bout him storming into the woods in ‘uncontrollable delight’ and ‘fitting excitement’,” the python gave the corpse an imploring a look that python’s usually did not wear. Nimona, however, can look any way that will get the message across to her boss as his gaunt cheeks lift up in an amused smile.
“Can you do another favor for me then?” He asks, rubbing the dry wood up and down Nimona’s head, smiling at her pleased hiss. “Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
Nimona slithered away, still hearing the sad melody echo through the netherworld as she slithered up and up the wishing well.
She looks around once she was back to the living world, shifting into a dog and sniffing around till she found the spot. Digging just a little till the wooden hand is just a bit more visible and gleaming. “Luckily for boss, I’m a great events planner. Now all we need is for the groom to arrive-“
With a wolfish grin, she chased for the scent, preparing the long awaited wedding for the corpse knight.
Angst art based on this post
Lil' spice won't hurt, Ambrosius is living it😊😊😊
✨She/Her/They/Them✨ ✨November 18✨ ✨🇵🇭✨ Artist✨ ✨ENFP✨ ✨Pansexual, Aromantic✨ ✨https://riririkinzicard.carrd.co/✨
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