Heading into Pride...

Jun 24, 2016
2 min read

The following post is by co-founder Kiran Rajagopalan's best friend, Ajay Sathyan, who currently lives in rural Germany as a LGBTQIA refugee. As we head into Pride Weekend and in light of Orlando, please remember that prejudice and hate are still pervasive worldwide and that racism is constantly reinforced by systems of power. Even more insidious is the blatant discrimination between communities of color. As people of color, we need to join together in the fight against global racism, homophobia, and transphobia!

Ajay before the incident (with permission from author)

Today in the bus, a bunch of Arabic men gestured at me, uttering something in Arabic (the only word I was able to comprehend was habibi), winked and whistled. I had my hair loose and flowing which I quickly tied into a ponytail to avoid more unnecessary attention. I moved closer to the door avoiding them and when the stop arrived those men bumped up on me, and I felt a sudden pressure behind my head and an immediate release. As soon as they boarded off the bus, they once again whistled and howled to get my attention, in which they succeed. To my horror one of them held my ponytail in his hand and they all cheered and laughed as they jogged away from sight. The bus closed the doors and drove off as I stood their feeling violated. I got off the bus finally in a faraway place and found my way back to the railway station. I noticed a hairdresser in front of the station and the rest you can see in the photo. I guess I'm going to be violated indefinitely, even if I'm in Germany. People complained that my placard was aggressive and rude. All I did was call out racists and homophobes. My question again to all the ones who found my placard rude and offensive and to the racists, homophobes and bigots; WHAT GIVES???