Gorom Refugee Center, South Sudan

We are in touch with a community of LGBTQ people in Gorom Refugee Center, South Sudan, who will likely be resettled in the United States. We seek volunteers to befriend them before they arrive and then help the resettlement agency to resettle them. We are also looking for volunteers to simply help the resettlement agency once they arrive. If volunteers are willing to befriend a refugee in advance of their arrival via WhatsApp or email, that person could be resettled here in the Washington, D.C. area.

History

This community of LGBTQ people has a difficult and courageous history. Most of them were expelled from their families and villages in Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other East African countries. They found themselves for some years in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya. Once it was clear that Kenya would not grant them Refugee Status Determination, (RSD), making U.S. programs like Welcome Corps unworkable for them, they undertook the brave and dangerous journey to South Sudan. There were rumors that the U.S. embassy in Juba had resettled some LGBTQ refugees. While it was only a rumor at the time, we eventually learned it to be true.

The Present

Now in 2024, UNHCR, (the United Nations’ refugee agency) is interviewing all of these people for resettlement. Once interviewed, they will be referred to various embassies for resettlement. The United States has committed to take a large number of these vulnerable people. Canada and Germany are also involved.

If you are interested in being connected with a member of this community, please contact Joseph Ross at josephross20017@gmail.com. Ideally, groups of two to five U.S. citizens could be connected to one refugee. Your responsibility would be to befriend them via WhatsApp, get to know them, let them know you will help, and then they can inform UNHCR that they have friends in the U.S. who will help them resettle. This will enable UNHCR to refer that refugee to the U.S. embassy.

Who Are They?

These refugees are not just vulnerable. While they have been through harrowing experiences in their home countries, often where being LGBTQ is punishable by death, they are also smart and resilient. Their English is almost always functional. Most are in their 20s to 40s.

When they arrive in the U.S., they will have employment authorization, they will be eligible for health, housing, and food benefits. Part of our help will be to assist them in navigating the government programs to secure these benefits. They come with refugee status, they do not come as asylum seekers. They will be eligible for permanent residency within a year and citizenship within five years.

History of Block 13

Starting in 2018 “Block 13” became an area of Kakuma refugee camp in northwestern Kenya where over 130 LGBTQI+ refugees lived in community.

Though many Block 13 residents fled their homes to escape persecution for their gender or sexual identities, they continuously faced violence and mistreatment by other camp residents and locals. The LGBTQ+ refugees of Block 13 in Kakuma came from countries including Uganda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Block 13 is often targeted and its inhabitants beaten, pelted with rocks, and even stabbed. Violence against queer people in Kakuma camp, a place where homophobia is engrained, has been happening for years. Those of Block 13 believe the other refugees and community members simply look for excuses to come after them and attack them.

In early 2024 many of Block 13’s residents began to leave. The residents of Block 13 had long urged the international community for help following ongoing homophobic attacks by other residents and locals. Throughout 2023, many residents lived in hope that And You Welcomed Me would be able to support their resettlement in the United States through a new and innovative channel for refugee resettlement sponsorship, the U.S. State Department’s Welcome Corps program. Once again, the Kenyan and United States governments failed the residents of Block 13. For years the residents of Block 13 were told by the international community to remain in Kenya until a broader framework could be built to help them. This framework was indeed finally constructed in Welcome Corps, but these most at risk and marginalized of refugees were excluded. Block 13 residents are now actively considering other options, such as fleeing Kenya for neighboring countries where, perhaps, they might find safety, and even a renewed hope to utilize Welcome Corps or some other similar process.

As of today, nearly all of what was Block 13 in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, has relocated to Gorom Refugee Settlement in South Sudan. The situation in Gorom is much the same as in Kakuma, in terms of safety and violence. At least in Gorom, UNHCR is actively working on finding ways to help these vulnerable people get to other countries. The UNHCR officials treat the LGBTQ people with kindness and they have been registering people quickly. We are in regular communication with these former residents of Block 13 as we wait to see what help can be had to get these people to a place of permanent safety.

The inspiring example of the current and former residents of Block 13, their tragic treatment by some and the utter failure of others, is the best illustrative example of what drives the mission of And You Welcomed Me.

To learn more about Block 13, please explore the following resources:

• Free Block 13 Website

• European Parliament’s Joint Resolution on the need for assistance for LGBTQ+ Refugees in Kenya

• Final text adopted by the European Parliament

• Reuters article from March 2021 re: the situation in Block 13, Kakuma Camp

• TIME magazine article from March 2016 re: LGBT refugees in Kakuma

• Washington Blade article re: the March 2021 arson killing of one man in Kakuma, Block 13

  Further Facts – Block 13 – Kakuma Refugee Camp – LGBTQ+ Refugees

  Compiled by Joseph Ross, 2/2023

  Block 13 in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp houses between 100 and 150 LGBTQ+ people, of all ages, from many countries, in East Africa. They have fled their home countries because of persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity. They face regular violence in Kakuma from other refugees as well as from the security forces who should protect them. The camp is run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and staffed largely by Kenyans. The residents of Block 13 have consistently experienced violence against them and UNHCR has done little to improve security. Additionally, many have not been moved through the regular process toward resettlement in another country because of the slowness of the Kenyan government and prejudice against LGBTQ+ people.

  In the last two years, dozens of Block 13 residents experienced machete and knife attacks. Many experienced rape. They have also had their shelters set afire during the night on several occasions. In September of 2020, the residents complained to UNHCR when they were attacked with tear gas. An infant, Namubiru Patricia Geneva, just a few days old, was struck with a tear gas canister and died a few months later. In March of 2021, two men were burned badly when their shelter was set afire, one died and one spent months in a Nairobi hospital. Chriton Atuhwera, age 22, was burned in the attack on March 15, 2021 and died on April 12, 2021 in a Nairobi hospital. Jordan Ayesigye, also in his 20s, was burned. In August of 2021, several shelters were set afire during the night but while some people lost their belongings, fortunately, no one was injured. Because of these fire attacks, Block 13 residents regularly sleep outdoors, with their own members keeping watch at night.

  On 11/17/2022, a group of LGBTQ+ people walked to the UNHCR office in Kakuma Town. They asked to discuss resettlement and safety conditions in the camp. They were tear-gassed, beaten, and arrested. One woman was separated from her child. UNHCR has held several meetings over the last two years with members of Block 13. They have promised to improve security, they have asked the LGBTQ residents to meet with those who threaten them, and they have also promised that the process to grant Refugee Status Determination (RSD) would begin soon. Without this status, refugees cannot begin the process of resettlement into another country. The Refugee Affairs Secretariat (RAS), a Kenyan organization, recently renamed the Department of Refugee Services, (DRS) is supposed to assist with the RSD process but it has never taken place. This leaves these vulnerable refugees in limbo.

  As recently as February 3, 2023, twenty people were attacked by the camp police, beaten, shot, and then attacked by other refugees. It is UNHCR’s mandate to provide a safe place for those seeking refuge. As of February 2023, the RSD process has not moved forward and the people in Block 13 cannot move their cases forward without RSD status. This, followed by resettlement, is the only long-term solution.