Once again, the news is not good out of Cameroon. Imagine if any kind of bar was raided in your country for whatever reason, there would be political and social uproar. But since homosexuality is illegal in Cameroon and gay men live in fear of being jailed for up to 5 years, I am sure there is some applause this morning instead of strife.
Police raided a popular gay bar in Yaoundé on October 9th, morning, surrounding the site with police vehicles and making arrests en masse.
The Mistral bar in the Essos neighborhood of Cameroon’s capital city had been a welcoming oasis where gay men could relax, but starting at around 3 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 9, it became a traumatic location that police ordered to be evacuated, carrying away all the patrons in trucks to area police stations.
About 30 minutes earlier, police blocked the entrance to Mistral and would not allow anyone to leave. Two police officer entered the bar. People became anxious as they began to think of themselves as hostages.
Police then ordered people to leave the bar and checked for identification cards at the exit. Outside, with or without ID cards, all the bar patrons were ordered onto police trucks.In a country where gay men are stigmatized, with a law against homosexual activity, people feared that being rounded up at a gay bar would have troubling consequences for their personal lives and their relationships with family members.
Police patrols were stationed at every corner of the cabaret — in front, beside, inside, behind.
As if it were a commando operation, armed police searched inside the bar for people hiding there. Some bar-goers tried to escape out the back, but another police truck was parked there.
At the time of this writing, it’s unclear how many people were arrested and where they were taken — reportedly some to the 4th district station, some to the 14th, some to the 16th. Also unclear is whether charges will be filed against those who were arrested, such as for violations of loitering laws, and whether the raid was an anti-gay operation or merely an attempt to impose order on a rowdy part of the city’s nightlife. – kinnakasblog.com
Our thoughts are with those that have been detained for living their lives.
I'm fortunate to live within a community that is accepting where there are 15+ gay bars within a mile of my home. When Orlando / Pulse occurred and when there were threats from someone on our community, the police came out in force to protect us and let us celebrate life and go out and enjoy living like other people. It was such a great thing to see. To know that the EXACT OPPOSITE is happening in other places is quite upsetting.
Would you have the inner strength to celebrate all aspects of your life if it was deemed illegal?
h/t: pinknews.co.uk, kinnakasblog.com