homosexuality is a western disease

January 6, 2005: Reunion is a French territory and homosexuality is legal, but at least one foreign resident of the island left after tiring of masking his sexual orientation.

Reunion Island belongs to the Mascareignes Islands, which includes Mauritius, Rodriguez, Mayotte, the Comoros, and the Seychelles. Off the southeast coast of Madagascar, little Reunion is home to an extraordinary variety of peoples. How these groups blend is equally extraordinary; with ethnic groups encompassing Indian, African Arab, African Black, Chinese, and French, Reunion has created a multi-racial community of admittedly gorgeous, beautiful mixed peoples who little regard race or
religion and are all proudly Creole. The island itself is stunning, with a landscape far more spectacular than neighbouring islands due to an incredibly twisted dreamy mountain interior which makes one feel they are in a fern-covered crater on the moon. The island is also extremely Westernized, in fact more European than African with regards to convenience, economy, and lifestyle. This of course comes with unfortunate consequences. The youth try to imitate gangstas from NYC and care far more about labels than many people Stateside; the elders- though having grown up in third world conditions- now voice fear and sometimes contempt of neighbouring Madagascar's "poverty and disease." Nonetheless, tradition has remained to a great extent, and on any given Sunday you could attend a Tamil firewalk, see a meringue, and eat a cari at a picnic by the ocean. Reunion is an island that I love, an island where I met extremely generous people, and - despite a few annoyances - had an experience that will forever vitalize my life.

One of the annoyances was the attitude towards homosexuality. Reunion Island is a French territory and is thus under French law. Homosexuality is legal. There are male/male personals in the Island paper. There are even occasionally gay nights at clubs. I was acquaintances with one gay couple (one French, the other Creole) and briefly met another couple. Yet, in spite of these facts, the general attitude of the Reunionnais towards homosexuality is very hostile. If a Reunionnais acknowledges homosexuality at all, they regard it as an export from mainland France. Again, it is the Westerner's disease and no genuine Creole could possibly catch it. Thus, though there is indeed a small existent gay life, to come out would cut one out of Reunionnais life. You would bring incessant perplexity to people, and in return would receive a good dose of ill-regard. For such a small island, to come out to one person means coming out to everyone.

Had I been a Reunionnais youth, I could not imagine ever coming out. There is no place to escape to if things don't go smoothly. You would be ridiculed, and the ridicule would be condoned.

Nonetheless, if you are foreign and homosexual, the attitude towards you is easier to swallow. If you've lived in the West, well, you caught the disease by who can wholly blame you. Even if you are not white, coming from a place like America would explain your fall to the "pervy" side. You'll have friends, but they'll laugh at you behind your back. I don't write this with bitterness, though. I did leave Reunion because I was tired of explaining (or more often masking) the "gay thing," but looking back I realise I could have endured a whole lot more. And why endure more? I saw how the friends I made came to accept me in ways, and that makes me believe that Reunion could one day prove to be a very nice place for homosexuals to live. I think it is up to the gay population in Reunion to represent themselves in ways that will diminish the prejudices and ignorance that the Reunionnais have towards homosexuality. A dialogue is possible there, and if opened it has the potential to be very positive.