SMUG (Sexual minorities of Uganda) have closed the “Let us live in peace campaign”. The campaign began 45 days ago with 8 members of the LGBTI community sharing their experiences at a press conference in Kampala. The aim of the campaign was to try to bring some understanding of the reality of the lives of LGBTIs to the people of Uganda by explaining the awful suffering people went through because of homophobia and ostracising from their communities and families.
The campaign helped to bring about greater understanding. We are thankful for how hospitable the media has been in providing a forum and discussion space during the 45 days. Throughout the dialogue, religious leaders, lawyers, doctors, teachers, and government officials offered their perspectives on the importance of providing protection for LGBTI people to be left to live their lives in peace. Through this campaign many people’s eyes have been opened to the fact that we were created as homosexuals and transgenders by God and that each person is an incredible, diverse expression of His creation, made in His image.
“I would like to thank the public for joining in the dialogue we opened. It’s been powerfully challenging for many who believed homosexuality is a myth,” says Julian Pepe, Office Administrator of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG). “Even as we close this public campaign, I would like to urge you to leave the dialogue space open in your hearts, in your homes, schools, markets, and places of work. Our desire is to live calm lives in this beloved country of ours. Although we are no longer proclaiming from the media houses, our words still ring in every home, ‘Let Us Live in Peace.’”
Members of SMUG and all those in the LGBTI community in Uganda, who came out publicly to support Victor Julie Mukasa during her case and later joined the “Let us live in peace” campaign put their lives at risk. I would like to personally acknowledge their courage and determination as well as the peaceful and respectful way in which they conducted themselves despite extreme provocation from the Ugandan media and society at large.
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