18/05/2012 | Writer: Nevin Öztop
Even Kaos GL’s kick off motto tells a lot: ‘The liberation of homosexuals will also free heterosexuals’. We knew from the beginning that it was impossible to free LGBTs without the others.
Obviously the day when “homosexuality” was deleted from the surface of paperwork at the World Health Organization does not date back much, however its seeds in various parts of the world and in different local realities are blooming. In Turkey’s context, for instance, IDAHO shortly means “alliance”.
The reason why the concept of anti-homophobia and anti-transphobia worked out well in Turkey was because Kaos GL’s road always crossed with other social movements in the country: feminists, anti-war activists, ecologists, workers, anarchists, anti-militarist and anti-nationalist voices, youth groups and peace demonstrators. Even Kaos GL’s kick off motto tells a lot: “The liberation of homosexuals will also free heterosexuals”. We knew from the beginning that it was impossible to free LGBTs without the others.
When LGBTs -mostly gays- made their first public appearance on May 1, 2001 on Labor Day, people realized the stereotype they had in mind in regard to the community had nothing to the with the kind of people they saw on the street marching with them. They were, just like themselves, simply working people who were demanding the same rights and no discrimination.
When the gay and lesbian workers sent a letter to one of the largest unions in late 90s, there were two conspiracy theories: it was either a letter from the police or a joke from the rival union. Framing the local IDAHO around the importance of Labor Day and Women’s Day (IDAHO starts at the beginning of March in Turkey) brought the workers movement and women’s movement into the discusssions on the role of gender, sexual liberty and obligatory heterosexuality. It ended up being a progess when everyone finally started understanding LGBTs have no secret agenda, and the concept of standing against homophobia and transphobia became a concept all social movements could apply and adjust to their own politics, local realities and cities.
Using the horizontal network method, Kaos GL initiated a network around its neighborhood during the 6th IDAHO in Ankara: Creating a Regional Network Against Homophobia in the Middle East, Balkans and Caucasia aims to provide a solidarity shelter for all the individuals suffering from hate based on homophobia, transphobia and sexism in and around Turkey. We live in a region popular for its border problems and religious clashes, however when it comes to different kinds of hate forms, there seems to be no borders or clashes.
As the LGBTs in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Palestine, Iran, Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria, Israel, Serbia, Lebanon, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania, we do not want to act only against heterosexism but also against nationalism and militarism that go hand in hand with it. Our regional network aims to create a ground to stand up for each other as we share similar political patterns and break mental and physical borders that separate us. We want to live with each other, we want to live for each other.
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