By Derwayne Wills

THE killing of 50 people in a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) nightclub in Orlando, Florida by an American citizen considered an ‘Islam extremist’ has left shockwaves in its wake.And here in Guyana, members of the Guyana LGBT community have joined the Khan family of Georgetown’s upscale Bel Air Park in an iftar (ending the day’s fast) on Wednesday in solidarity not only against violence from homophobia, but also against the growing sentiment of Islamophobia that is inextricably linked to violent extremism.

“It is difficult to imagine that, in this era of freedom of expression and tolerance for sexual preferences, such biases continue to exist to the extent where a lone wolf, and with military firepower, can snuff out the lives of so many in the twinkling of an eye,” Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence said in her remarks at the event on Wednesday evening.

Lawrence said the tragedy robbed the world of expertise possessed by those who had been killed. She said all persons must be allowed to live in safety and harmony, regardless of their beliefs or preferences.

“Violence in all forms is intolerable, and measures must be put in place to eliminate all aspects of radical and extreme behavior,” she declared.

The Social Protection Minister, who is charged with safeguarding the well-being of the nation, including its LGBT citizens, said the outpouring of love in the aftermath of the Orlando massacre shows that “very soon we will all be in a different place, and that is accepting everyone for who they are”.

The event at the Bel Air Park home of Kashir and Scheherazade Khan was co-hosted by the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), an LGBT advocacy group in Guyana. The organisation’s director, Joel Simpson, who spoke at Wednesday’s iftar, said the massacre was not only an act of terror, but a hate-crime against the LGBT community.

“For LGBT especially, night clubs are a very important safe space in our societies. It is one of the very few spaces we can go and be ourselves, as we face ridicule and stigma in our daily lives, and it’s (a night club) very much a sanctuary,” Simpson said.

Simpson called for solidarity, not only against homophobia, but against the rising sentiments of discrimination against the Islamic community, since the Orlando attack adds to an already broiling conversation on violent extremism and the religion of Islam in the United States.

“We can’t fight hate with hate. We can’t fight bigotry and prejudice with equal measure of bigotry and prejudice,” Simpson said, as he called for Guyanese to “reject Islamophobia in equal measure as we reject all forms of extremism and hatred and violence. While we can’t tolerate homophobia and violent homophobia in any of our countries, we must not make scapegoats and targets of any other group, including Muslims,” he appealed.

US Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway, echoed the sentiments of Minister Lawrence — that no one should be targeted for being themselves or for what they believe.
The US diplomat reiterated the words of his country’s President, Barack Obama, who expressed solidarity with the LGBT community in wake of the Orlando massacre. This, he did even as his country is in the grip of a heated debate on controlling citizens’ access to weapons, particularly high-powered assault rifles like the one used in the Orlando massacre.

Holloway called for looking past superficial traits which divide, and instead focusing on qualities that unite.

“Together we can overcome ignorance and prejudice. Together we can overcome conflict and injustice; not just with words, but with deeds,” he appealed.