In December 2023 I was contacted by a Gay Man living in Tanzania named Barnabas who told me his story of experiencing violence and persecution. He had been beaten by a group of men in October 2018 while being called homophobic slurs but was unable to receive medical attention due to the risk of exposing himself as gay, in a country where homosexuality is illegal and could land him in jail for nearly 30 years. He then lost his job and had to drop out of school, and in 2020 experienced another hate crime despite moving to a different neighbourhood. He was the victim of a hit and run which left him with damage to his kidneys and face, with his nose broken in two places.

Throughout 2023 alone Barnabas was arrested nearly 40 times based off sexual profiling, where how you walk, dress or even the shape of your eyebrows can lead the police to suspect you of homosexuality and arrest you. Barnabas’ hope was to receive funds, only $500 AUD, to escape to Kenya where he could get assistance from LGBT+ organisations.

Unfortunately I didn’t hear from Barnabas for over a year, the reason being that he had been arrested for “loitering” and put in prison without a court hearing. Over his year-long imprisonment he experienced sexual and physical violence from the other inmates, and when he was released he found himself homeless in a country that was experiencing political unrest following elections on the 29th of October this year. He fears for his life as he hides during the day and tries to find safe places to sleep during the night, and struggles to get basic necessities, such as food and water. He only has one change of clothes on his person, his backpack, identification, phone and charger, and has to make use of public outlets and free wifi to communicate with me.

With Barnabas’ situation dire, my girlfriend and I pooled together over $2000 in funds to help him emigrate to Kenya, where he is now seeking help from LGBT organisations. He now has some temporary shelter while he tries to seek asylum from the UNHCR to reach further safety, but unfortunately his health has taken a drastic turn. On the way to crossing the border the shuttle bus he was on was attacked by a group of men who had blocked the road. The driver of the bus outed Barnabas as gay and the group beat him up, leaving him with two black eyes. I was able to provide Barnabas with what little money I had left to get some basic medical support and some food, but he was still not able to afford to eat most days. Suddenly his health took a sudden turn - he was vomiting all the time and had severe stomach pain, and now he is in hospital and has been told his body is fighting a severe infection. They cannot provide him proper treatment without $500 AUD. Thanks to my girlfriend and some donations here, we were able to get him treatment.

Now Barnabas had access to a shelter four days a week and has been assigned a UNHCR case worker, but is unfortunately still living on the streets three days a week, and has no money or means for income for basic necessities like food, water, ARVs for his HIV or hygiene products. So far all the UNHCR has been able to offer is counselling, refugee camps are expensive to get to and have a lot of risk of homophobic violence, and the wait time for getting asylum is several years to a decade.

Barnabas has provided me with his birth certificate, passport and other national ID to verify his identity and story, as well as ample photos and videos so I can verify he is real. He has attempted to get help from charities like the rainbow railroad but because of the amount of conflict going on in the world right now there is high demand for their assistance. He cannot start a gofundme alone as they only operate in a select few nations, and due to international banking regulations there are very little means of doing international transfers to him directly. He has given me his permission to use his name and face for fundraising, despite the potential risk it poses to his safety, as he wants to ensure he is believed and has the highest chance of survival as possible.

I am very honoured that I have been trusted to do fundraising for him and to handle the funds, and I want to do everything I can to ensure that he is able to at least access the basics while he survives on the streets and awaits asylum. We both understand times are difficult for everybody at the moment, but even a small donation would be appreciated. If you are unable to donate we do appreciate any words of support or sharing this fundraiser - anything helps!