The rainbow flag flew at the EU Delegation in Bogota on the International Day Against Homophobia
The EU Delegation in Bogota raised the rainbow flag alongside the EU's to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (17 May). In the words of Ambassador Zacarias: "It is a way of signalling our commitment towards LGBTI rights. It is also a tribute to all human rights defenders who have suffered or even died fighting for those rights".
Representatives of NGO Colombia Diversa joined the EU Delegation staff in raising the rainbow flag. Both flags flew together throughout the day in one of Bogota's busiest office districts where the EU Delegation is located. On that same day, Colombia Diversa launched a campaign entitled "Open letter to a homophobe/transphobe", which is part of an EU-funded project aimed at strengthening LGBTI rights in Colombia and raising awareness about discrimination. In this campaign, people who have been discriminated against on the grounds of sexual orientation write open letters to those who subjected them to discrimination.
Colombia Diversa has already received hundreds of letters. Some of them are addressed to parents, some to schoolmates, some to teachers, some to former bosses and co-workers, and some are even self-addressed. Some extracts reveal the difficult challenges that members of the LGBTI community face every day:
Letter to my mother
"I would like to tell you something really important for me: I am bisexual. I have always been afraid of telling you because I have listened to many of your angry comments towards the LGTBI community. I am deeply scared. I am scared of losing you. I fear that you will stop loving me..."
Letter to the guy who hit me
"I've always liked women! I never loved you! - That's what I told Ricardo, just before he hit me in the face with a baseball bat that almost destroyed my nose for life. Today, five years later, I am happy with my partner, the beautiful woman I love with all my heart. Despite the blow I received, today I can say at last: I AM HAPPY."
Read more:
https://twitter.com/UEenColombia/status/732585292104904704
http://www.noticiasrcn.com/videos/al-menos-20-proyectos-comunidad-lgbti-se-han-hundido-el-congreso