Sunday, May 5, 2013

Homosexual Asylum Seekers not Safe in Dutch Asylum Centers


Homosexual refugees are not safe in Dutch asylum centers. They are being spat upon, cursed at and attacked by other asylum seekers. The centers do too little to protect and help them. This was written in a document published by the Dutch Organization of Homosexuals (COC). It spoke with 29 homosexual and lesbian asylum seekers from countries such as Uganda, Jamaica, Turkey and Estonia. One woman said that other asylum seekers had thrown stones and a bicycle at her. There are also problems with the Dutch immigration and naturalization services (IND). Some officials ask explicit questions about sexual experiences. Others are prejudiced. One woman is quoted as saying that an IND official said to her that she was too beautiful to be a lesbian. Yet another problem is that interpreters come out of the countries which these people fled and are sometimes biased against homosexuals, which makes homosexual asylum seekers afraid to tell their full stories. The Ministry of Security and Justice has said that it will study the report.
www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2686/Binnenland/article/detail/3435422/2013/05/02/Homo-asielzoekers-zijn-niet-veilig-in-Nederlandse-centra.dhtml

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