Petrelis Files

Mexico City, NYC, Vancouver, Warsaw: Pics, Videos from Global Gay Solidarity Days

What does it take to organize Global Gay Solidarity Days? First, start with putting out a request to fellow organizers and gauge if they're interested in such an international event.

Next step is, engage in a respectful debate about what day (or two) to stage the solidarity vigils. Third, allow local organizers to decide what kind of action to put on, the time to do it, and which global LGBT issues to focus on.

Fourth, mix in a handful of beautiful committed people in any city to pull together an action, invite the larger community and our allies to participate, and before you know it, LGBT in several parts of the world unite for a same-day coordinated action.

And finally, watch the activists in each city committed to the solidarity days stage their vigils and speak outs, and take photos, make videos, and write up short reports.

I may have said it before, but it needs repeating. My thanks go out to all the fine and fabulous people who organized the actions over this weekend, and everyone who attended the events, or anyway support them.

Now, on to some of the reports from around our world!

From Mexico City, longtime gay rights and health advocate Lars Ivar Owesen-Lein Borge, sends fantastic photos from their event on August 4, and says that a full report on the action will appear on his group's site come Monday. Judging from the photos, it looks like the activists gathered in the plaza, made colorful signs, had live music, and chairs to sit on. That is the kind of demonstration I like very much. Click here to view more of their photos, which is also where the report on the action will be tomorrow. Lars also says the newspaper La Jornada in Mexico City has dedicated one entire page in its printed version to the Global Gay Solidarity Day today. Click here and you can read the internet version of the article (in Castilian).

(Credit for the above photos: Enkidu Magazine.)

Veteran gay and social justice advocate Brendan Fey from New York City informed me that a group of activists, clergy men and women and folks from non-governmental organizations gathered at Dag Hammersjold Plaza on Friday. They remembered many fallen LGBT brothers and sisters, recommitted to working for international gay solidarity, and laid a wreath at the plaza, which is opposite the headquarters of the United Nations.

(Credit for the pictures above: Brendan Fey.)

Our report from Vancouver is provided by Nathaniel Christopher, who wrote this for the Xtra! newspaper and also made a video of their solidarity action, which took place on Friday:

Activists in cities around the world took part in the first Global Gay Solidarity Day this weekend. Their goal: send a message to government and UN officials that queers everywhere deserve equality.

In Vancouver, activists held a moment of silence on Fri, Aug 3 to remember those who have fallen victim to human rights abuses because of their sexual orientation.

(Photo and video credit: Nathaniel Christopher of Xtra!)

The last report today comes from Lukasz Palucki in Warsaw:

We made a candle sign saying REMEMBER in front of the Iranian embassy.

But I have better news from the clubs - almost all of the confirm that they will put a candle on the bar with a sign "Globalny Dzień Solidarności Gejowskiej" - that means in Polish "Global Gay Days of Solidarity".

I put also few pics of candles in Warsaw bars on my blog and video on YouTube of us at Iran's embassy.

Bar action was successful. I have messages from other clubs in big Polish cities (Krakow, Lodz, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Poznan) that they have support our action.

(Photo and video credit: Lukasz Palucki.)

And don't forget to check out the photos and report on the San Francisco action. Click here for those pictures.