DRC STILL HOSTILE TO HOMOSEXUALITY

By Junior Mayema

KINSHASA - 07 October 2009:  Despite its six million inhabitants, Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is far from a city where one can live openly and express their sexual orientation.

On this day everywhere in Africa, homosexuality is considered an abomination and a way of relating imported  ideas from the West.

Just walk the streets of this vast city to understand how difficult it is to receive a same-sex partner. Moreover, within the family, the pressure is often so strong that the paper of a homosexual is like an ordeal.

Dody, a young boy barely out of adolescence, had to change his look following the threats of his parents to drive the family home. They even decided not to pay his school fees after discovering his homosexuality.

The case of Dody is also experienced by other young people in Kinshasa. Once they come out, they are abused by their relatives who see this as a divine curse. Dennis, 21, a friend of Dody, experienced an almost similar situation.

His mother and sister were morally threatened for months when they learned that the young man was gay.  Privation at home has also led to occasional prostitution.

Dennis revealed that his clients were filled with gentlemen who have enjoyed the company of young gays. Unwilling longer pursue his studies, he spends his time doing the oldest profession in the world and admitted that it gave him a certain comfort despite the hardships he has suffered.

Asked how the meetings are held with clients because it is strictly prohibited for tenants of hotels to accept homosexual couples. Dennis said he met his clients at their homes or in large hotels in the capital. Finally, he said that his clientele was composed of Congolese and African males, but more frequently those from Europe.

Many gay people find themselves in poverty, which unfortunately is rampant in recent years in Kinshasa and throughout the country. They prostitute themselves in the shallows of the city and its neighborhoods, often carelessly.

Most of these exiles live with friends or rent  group apartment.  But it is almost impossible for a homosexual to rent, for example a house because it is difficult to convince donors to accept a person with a particular sexuality. Sometimes they pose as straight but eventually the truth comes into the open.

Coco, another financially successful gay man decided one day to leave his family to live with him by renting a four room in a commune of Kinshasa. He was not openly gay, when he moved into his "house" it was not long before neighbors became suspicious because he only had male visitors, many of whom were effeminate.

Therefore, Coco was the main topic in the neighborhood and threats began to fall. One evening came a mob of young men who came to attack him verbally forcing the young man to flea and move back with his family.

Hostile acts are not isolated. They are present in the city of Kinshasa and nobody talks about because they affect a layer which is constantly criticized. Kinshasa is certainly a big city but also a large village.

The adoption of a law against homosexuality is being discussed at the Provincial Assembly of Kinshasa. It will undoubtedly spark widespread homophobia and this will put the lives of many homosexuals in great danger