Victor Udonsi

Nigeria

Love is Love!

Last month, I had the pleasure and privilege of speaking with a Palestinian expatriate living in the USA. I have never been more grateful for online forums in my life. We had a lengthy discussion and just like me, he revealed he came from a country where LGBTQ+ rights aren’t only not acknowledged, they’re criminalized as well. Although I already considered myself to be someone who believed in equal rights, I learned a lot that day.

His culture unfortunately forbade him from being true to himself, and he was devastated. He explained to me how he had been brutalized and attacked regularly, barely escaping jail one time and I listened to this stranger’s plight and my heart broke. I understood that there’s still a long way to go to ensure equality for all.

Luckily, the second he got the chance, he fled because he didn’t want to be killed, or worse: end up living a lie for the rest of his life. So you can imagine how elated I was when he ended the conversation by saying he was now happily married to the man of his dreams. I screamed for joy: He had found love and acceptance.