That has now resulted in plans for the country’s first LGBT film festival being scrapped, following death threats and police pressure. Ultimately it was the authorities who ended prospects for the Massimadi festival – which has previously been held in Brussels and Montreal – going ahead. They have claimed though that it wasn’t blocked due to the threats against the organisers and participants, but more insidiously, Jean Danton Leger, commissioner of Port-au-Prince, claimed it was stopped to protect public morals. That means that while it was initially just postponed by the organisers, it’s now unlikely to be able to go ahead at all.
Charloe Jeudy from Kouraj, Haiti’s leading LGBT group, told Reuters, that those organising the festival, “Are very worried about the security of members of the community who live in this country. It’s a blow of intolerance.”
As well as the Commissioner, others had come out against the festival, including Haitian senator Jean Renel Senatus, who wrote on Facebook that Massimadi poses a “great danger” to Haitian families, as it “aims to promote homosexuality in our country”. Senatus has made ridding Haiti of homosexuality a bit of a mission, including wanting it banned from imported TV shows, such as Glee.
The hope was that the festival could raise awareness of homophobia in African and Caribbean communities, but instead it’s been a victim of homophobia before it could even take place.
Leave a Reply (if comment does not appear immediately, it may have been held for moderation)