Berbice Teams Dominate Civil Society Peace Day Games

On Sunday, September 23, 2018, the Guyana Equality Forum (GEF) held its third annual “Peace Day Sunday Fun Day,” celebrating the United Nations’ International Day of Peace, under the theme, “The Right to Peace: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70.” The Fun Day saw the participation of GEF member organizations and Guyanese of all walks of life.

United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in Guyana, Ms. Mikiko Tanaka, delivered opening remarks and officially declared the games open. The UN Resident Coordinator referred to a recent report published by the Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute this year titled “Trapped: Cycles of Violence and Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Persons in Guyana.” Tanaka stated “the “Trapped” report documents the heart-breaking plight of LGBT Guyanese. The discrimination and bullying that people experience on a daily basis because of their gender and sexual orientation are unacceptable. The act of discrimination or bullying disrespects the dignity of the affected persons, and violates their right to life, liberty and security. Furthermore, it fosters hate, prejudice, intolerance and division in society. Ignorance and indifference provide the fertile ground for hate and discrimination to grow like a cancer. It is so important to foster the voice and acts of conscience, reason, courage, compassion and understanding to curb this social cancer,” the UN envoy pleaded. 

UN Resident Coordinator Mikiko Tanaka at the GEF Peace Day Sunday Fun Day

Teams from civil society groups in Berbice dominated the games, including; United Brick Layers, who emerged as the champion team of day, and Comforting Hearts, who placed third at the end of the games. Both local groups are based in New Amsterdam. Family Awareness, Consciousness Togetherness (FACT) from Corriverton came in fourth place, while Guyana’s Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD Guyana) placed second. The top three teams were awarded trophies. Competitors placing first to third received individual medals for all of the activities, which included a series of sprint and relay races, along with novelty games such as lime and spoon, jockey race, sack race, buns-eating competition and many others.

The third annual GEF Fun Day provided an opportunity for diverse civil society groups and Guyanese of all walks of life to come together through sports and entertainment to build peace, unity and social cohesion. This signature GEF events promotes Guyanese civil society working in unison for respect and protection of the rights of all people, regardless of race, age, religion, class, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, disability status, health status, or any other human characteristic, in keeping with the mandate of the network. 

United Bricklayers receives their trophy from GEF Manager, Joel Simpson (right)

The GEF is a network of civil society groups working cohesively to achieve equal rights and justice for all Guyanese. The GEF currently has 26 registered member organizations from across the coastal regions of the country. SASOD Guyana serves as the secretariat of the GEF. 

Award-Winning African Film “Tchindas” at ‘Spectrum 14’ Film Festival Next Week

Guyana’s Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD Guyana) continues its “Painting the Spectrum 14” Film Festival with two screenings that explore lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) rights, culture and history. Advocacy for rights through music, vlogs, carnival costumes, recounting histories of violent oppression or (quite literally) “messing around” with cardboard politicians, the films scheduled for the third week of Spectrum 14 celebrate queer culture and show that, whether willingly or not, being part of the LGBTQ+ community can immediately become political.

On Tuesday, September 18, at 18:00 hours, SASOD will be presenting “Tchindas”, a co-production between Cape Verde and Spain. The movie focuses on Tchinda, one of most beloved women in Cape Verde, especially after she came out as a transgender person in the local newspaper in 1998. Every February, the month leading up to the Carnival, the slow-paced atmosphere of the island transforms into a frenzied hustle and bustle as thousands flock to the streets. Tchinda and other LGBT Cape Verdeans are, of course, part of the celebration. This documentary is as trip to an unknown side of Africa that very few may have ever imagined. The Hollywood Reporter praised the film, writing it was "a beautifully shot vérité chronicle of the all-consuming Carnival preparations on São Vicente." Since its international premiere 'Tchindas received several awards at festivals such as the Outfest, the Chicago Reeling LGBT Film Festival, Miradas Doc, and Les Gai Cine Mad.

On Thursday, September 20, the Festival continues with a screening of six shorts. A transgender vlogger in Spain; a gay man deported during Italy’s fascist regime; a queer and feminist Hip Hop artist in Germany- they all come together to show the many layers of queer culture and the many ways LGBT communities can resist oppression and advocate for their human rights.

“Painting the Spectrum” will continue every Tuesday and Thursday of September. The screenings take place at SASOD’s office, 203 Duncan Street, Lamaha Gardens (between Durubana Sq. and Eastern Highway) at 18:00 hours each evening. For more information on the screenings, visit the festival’s website: www.spectrumguyana.wordpress.com

Admission to the film festival is free. The films are intended for mature audiences. SASOD reserves the right to refuse admission to minors who are not accompanied by a parent or guardian or persons who do not have identification to prove that they are not minors.

The Festival aims to both offer a safe space for the LGBTQ+ Guyanese to interact and communicate, and to educate the general public by presenting queer-themed films, which are almost never screened in mainstream cinemas in Guyana. SASOD is a local and international award-winning, 15-year old, human rights movement and organization, leading change, educating and serving communities, to end discrimination based on sexuality and gender in Guyana.

Trinidad and Tobago’s “Play the Devil” Set to Screen at Spectrum 14 Next Week

Guyana’s Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD Guayna) 2018 film festival, “Painting the Spectrum 14,” continues with two screenings that explore LGBT love, break-ups, challenges and sexual exploration.

On Tuesday, September 11, Spectrum 14 presents “Play the Devil”, a gay-themed film produced and set in Trinidad and Tobago, aiming to show the diversity of love stories and sexualities in the Caribbean. In “Play the Devil”, set against the backdrop of Trinidad and Tobago’s carnival, a gifted and struggling young man becomes the object of intrigue for an older, well-meaning businessman until their worlds collide. The film is the winner of the Jury Award at the KASHISH Mumbai Queer Film Festival, winner of the Best Female Director award at the Woodstock film festival and the winner of the Special Jury Prize for Best Screenplay at the Nashville Film Festival.

On Thursday, September 13, the festival continues with a screening of eleven shorts on themes such as an amusing discussion about sex between a mother and a gay son; the separation of a lesbian couple from South Africa; the religious opposition that gay parents face; spontaneous encounters between future (or past) lovers. The films come from all over the world- Thailand, Russia, Poland, Iran, Canada, showing the many ways in which LGBTQ+ people can express their love and their desires.

“Painting the Spectrum” will continue every Tuesday and Thursday of September with our upcoming themes being. The screenings take place at SASOD’s office, 203 Duncan Street, Lamaha Gardens (between Durubana Sq. and Eastern Highway) at 18;00 hours each evening. For more information on the screenings, visit the festival’s website: https://spectrumguyana.wordpress.com/.

Admission to the film festival is free. The films are intended for mature audiences. SASOD reserves the right to refuse admission to minors who are not accompanied by a parent or guardian or persons who do not have identification to prove that they are not minors.

The film festival aims to both offer a safe space for the LGBTQ+ Guyanese to interact and communicate, and to educate the general public by presenting queer-themed films, which are almost never screened in mainstream cinemas in Guyana. The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is an international and local award-winning, 15-year old, human rights movement and organization, leading change, educating and serving communities, to end discrimination based on sexuality and gender in Guyana.

Ordinary People Can Prevent Suicide – British Envoy Tells Equality Forum

Marking World Suicide Prevention Day, observed on September 10 annually, the Guyana Equality Forum (GEF) held an awareness-raising event for its member organizations and the local media at the Herdmandston Lodge in Georgetown on Monday morning. 

The keynote address was delivered by the acting British High Commissioner to Guyana, Ray Davidson, who is a mental health specialist. Davidson challenged many of the myths surrounding suicide and urged persons to help break down some of the barriers to proper mental health. “You don’t have to be mentally ill to commit suicide,” Davidson said, pointing out that “ordinary people can fall into despair and ordinary people can help. Don’t be afraid to approach someone and ask that difficult question.”

Acting British High Commissioner Ray Davidson giving the keynote address.

 

The GEF also remembered Zenita Temall Nicholson who completed the act nearly three years ago. Managing Director of Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), Joel Simpson, read short extracts of the letter to him Nicholson wrote just a couple of days before she passed in October 2015. Nicholson’s letter stressed on the importance of confidential mental health services and urged the community to strengthen their mental health services. “Let them know that I would still be alive today, if I got treatment. Not just treatment, but treatment in a confidential way,” the letter stated.

SASOD’s Joel Simpson reading extracts of Zenita Temall Nicholson’s letter.

The GEF event aimed to inspire civil society groups to include mental health in their work and strengthen collaboration among key stakeholders at the community level to prevent suicide in Guyana, while raising awareness the general population, through the media, about the simple things that ordinary people can do to save lives in our societies.

 

Prompted by this year’s global theme, “Working Together to End Suicide,” this is the first time that the GEF organized an activity to observe World Suicide Prevention Day. 

 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), each year close to 800,000 people die owing to suicide, which is the second leading cause of death among 15 – 29 year olds globally. As at April 2018, data on WHO’s website indicates that Guyana has the fourth highest suicide rate in the world with 29.0 for every 100,000 inhabitants. 

 

Formed in May 2011, the GEF is a network of civil society organisations working cohesively to achieve equal rights and justice for all Guyanese. The GEF currently has 26 registered member organisations from the coastal regions of Guyana. SASOD serves as the secretariat of the Guyana Equality Forum. Civil society groups who are interested in joining the GEF can contact SASOD on 225-7283 or 623-5155 for more information. 

‘Spectrum 14’ Opens with “SASOD is 15!” Short Film

This year, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination’s (SASOD Guyana) film festival, “Painting the Spectrum”, has reached its 14th edition! Featuring over 40 films from all over the world, the festival takes place every Tuesday and Thursday of the month of September from 18:00 hours at SASOD’s office, located at 203 Duncan Street, Lamaha Gardens, Georgetown. The Festival not only portrays a diversity of experiences from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities, but also features different genres of films, from comedies to experimental shorts, drama and completely-new documentaries.

The first week’s theme “What is Gender, Anyway?” focuses on gender norms, expectations and persons of transgender experience, answering commonly asked questions and creating space for positive discussion and analyses. The festival officially opens on Tuesday, September 4, with the screening of a short documentary titled “SASOD is 15!” and a panel discussion featuring diverse stakeholders who will reflect on SASOD’s journey as a Guyanese movement.

Following the panel, on Tuesday, the feature film “Bixa Travesty” will open the festival. “Bixa Travesty” is a documentary that follows Mc Linn Da Quebrada, a black trans woman, performer and activist living in impoverished São Paulo. Her electrifying performances brazenly take on Brazil's machismo. The film is one of the most acclaimed recent LGBT movies and was presented at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2018. It also won the Best Documentary award at the Milan International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and the Special Jury Award at the Toronto Inside Out Film Festival.

On Thursday, September 6, the festival continues with a screening of ten shorts on themes such as being non-binary (not conforming to being either being male or female), and the rejection transgender people sometimes face from their families and friends. These shorts come from ten different countries around the world, including Spain, Iran, India, the Netherlands and Brazil.

“Painting the Spectrum 14” will continue every Tuesday and Thursday of September, with themes such as: “Love, Sex and Everything in Between”, “Our Rights, Our Culture, Our History” and “Let’s Experiment.” For the full programme and more information on the screenings, visit the festival’s website: https://spectrumguyana.wordpress.com/. 

Admission to the film festival is free. The films are intended for mature audiences. Persons must be eighteen years and over to attend. SASOD reserves the right to refuse admission to persons who do not have identification to prove that they are not minors.

The film festival aims to both offer a safe space for the LGBTQ+ Guyanese to interact and communicate, and to educate the general public by presenting queer-themed films, which are almost never screened in mainstream cinemas in Guyana.

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is an international award-winning, 15-year old, human rights movement and organization, leading change, educating and serving communities, to end discrimination based on sexuality and gender in Guyana.

  

Feature Documentary for the Opening Night of "Painting the Spectrum 14", "SASOD is 15!"

Feature Film for the Opening Night of “Painting the Spectrum 14", "Bixa Travesty"