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Violence against LGBTQ+ people in Bristol’s twin city
Bristol’s twin city, Tbilisi in George, holds it first Pride this month amid a backdrop of tensions and abuse towards the country’s LGBTQ+ community.
In a city such as Bristol, where Pride is a celebrated event, it is easy to forget that Pride started as a protest and still remains so for many countries.
In comparison to it’s neighbours, including Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia, Georgia has policies that protect LGBTQ+ people, including laws against discrimination and hate crimes.
is needed now More than ever
Despite this, orthodox and extremist groups in the capital city of Tbilisi, protests against queer people turned violent on International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia on May 17 when the country’s first Pride festival was announced.
Despite continued aggression and the police saying it will be “impossible” to protect them, Tbilisi Pride organisers are committed to holding the five day festival.
“Of course we are scared, when the state says they are not going to protect us, who is going to protect you if your own state is not going to do the basic thing which is their job,’ said Tbilisi Pride organiser Giorgi Tabagari.
The organisers of Tbilisi Pride, Giorgi Tabagari, Mariam Geladza and Tamaz Sozashvili
Bristol is in a unique position as a twin city, to lobby on behalf of Tbilisi. Green councillor Martin Fodor is calling for people to sign a letter to Georgia’s prime minister, reminding him that it is his government’s responsibility to keep the people of his country safe.
“In Bristol most of us celebrate Pride and people can feel fairly safe (though sadly not always) if they’re part of the LGBTQI community,” says Fodor.
“I’m saddened to hear that in our twin city of Tbilisi, which has many links to Bristol the organisers of their first ever Pride Day , are now subjected to threats of violence. I urge Bristolians to sign the petition and show our solidarity with residents of our twin city in the call on the authorities there to be supportive and protective of the event and its organisers.”
Tabagari says: “In our case there is not much to celebrate, it’s about our survival, it’s about accessing the basic freedoms that we need to have as citizens of Georgia.
“We need to rise and we need to use it as an opportunity to voice our concerns and become as loud as possible.”
Sign the letter at www.go.allout.org/en/a/tbilisi
Photos from ROMEO and the Tbilisi Facebook page.
Read more: Bristol named one of the world’s best Pride locations
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