Burma Gay Festival In Ranong
Ranong - Burmese lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) migrant worker activists in Ranong used the New Year to organize a festival with the aim of fighting homophobia and raising issues related to LGBT rights through entertainment.
The festival was held on Monday and showcased traditional Burmese drama and dance with a fashion show and other modern performance forms. They also encouraged the broader community to participate through a “model boy” contest. The event combined traditional dancing with modern music to keep the audience of more than 1,000 people entertained.
A “model boy” show was part of the performance organized to highlight LGBT issues among Burmese migrant workers in Rayong. The concert was organized by Rainbow, the first and only Burmese LGBT migrant organization in Thailand.
“It is a good chance for us to raise issues about LGBT rights through the wave of infotainment and edutainment,” said Htike Htike, the facilitator of Rainbow. “We have faced discrimination by the Burmese community, such as people telling us we lack ability, but then people come and see what we have done and they are smiling when they leave, which gives us a lot of encouragement.”
All of the organizers of the festival were Burmese LGBTs who came to Ranong for work and got involved with Rainbow. Rainbow was formed in 2006 and currently has almost 30 members, all of whom are LGBT.
As well as organizing performances, Rainbow provides training about LGBT rights and income generation for LGBT migrants, and raises awareness about HIV/AIDS. This is the third time Rainbow has organized a public festival.
“Every time people talk about gays, they think we have the lowest status. They think we are all hairdressers or betel nut sellers or natgadaw [“spirit wives” who participate in ritual marriages at nat shrines]. The space of gay people is really limited and people don’t recognize our power and creativity, so we need to organize ourselves and show what we can do,” said Htike Htike.
Burmese LGBT migrants routinely face discrimination from the Burmese community, such as sexual harassment and a lack of acceptance, sometimes from their own families.
“I have been looked down upon a lot as a lesbian. People think we are bad and carry diseases, so we get ignored and people stay away from us. It is lonely. But after I joined Rainbow and we did performances, I realized that people can understand me more and respect me more as a person,” said Su Su, the only lesbian member of Rainbow.
“Gay and lesbians need to work together and let people know that we are human beings,” she added.
China Gay Pimp Held
Nanjing - A man has been arrested by city police for allegedly forcing dozens of young men to provide gay sex services.
The suspect, who was identified as Han, allegedly forced the men to have sex with him too.
Han faces charges of organizing prostitution. If guilty, a court could send him to prison or issue a death sentence under China’s criminal law. About 80 percent of Han’s “little brothers,” as they were called, were not homosexuals but were forced or fooled into joining the business. The youngest was only 18.
Han’s business catered to more than 100 clients every day. His clients included a professor from a prestigious university in Nanjing and local government officials, police told the newspaper.
Old customers paid 200 yuan (US$29) while first-time clients paid 300 yuan, according to the report. Han reportedly took a 30-percent commission from his sex workers. He also charged them 10 yuan a condom, if they wanted one.
Han insisted that the men get a monthly check-up at a disease prevention center. Anyone infected with HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases would be expelled immediately, the report said.
Han once owned a DVD shop and was a notorious figure in Nanjing’s gay community. His friends advised him to start a gay sex service as his shop had almost failed in May.
Han then redesigned his home and named it the “Good Boy Club,” according to police.
He began to recruit sex workers for the service, most of whom he picked up at a labor market in Yuhuatai District. Chen, 21, from Nanjing’s Liuhe area, was one such victim.
Han lured him with promises of joining his DVD business. Chen realized the con later, but finally succumbed to Han’s pressure and agreed to be a sex worker. He even helped Han set up a website to advertise the gay men’s club online.
Jiang Qin, once one of Han’s “little brothers,” even branched out to launch his own gay sex business. The case was exposed when police found one of Jiang’s men using a client’s ID card to surf online at an internet cafe. Officers also seized drugs and evidence related to gambling at Han and Jiang’s clubs.
Bangkok NYE Parties Go Ahead
As we all are well aware of the recent political unrest in Thailand and the closure of Bangkok International Airports, we understand your concern regarding the safety of visiting Bangkok at this time. Mighty Asia and gCircuit also wants to assure the safety for all of our event participants. Safety remains our top priority.
As of 3 December 2008 10:00 am Bangkok time, protesters have ended all of its demonstrations at all protest sites. Airports of Thailand Plc acting president, Serirat Prasutanond, announced on 4 December that Suvarnabhumi International Airport will resume full operations on 5 December 11:00am onwards. We have also been working closely with different authorities including the Tourism Authority of Thailand to ensure the safety and success of the Bangkok New Year Weekend.
The Bangkok New Year Weekend is still confirmed for 31 December - 3 January 2009. We would like to reassure all participants that should the event be postponed or cancelled for any reasons, Mighty Asia and gCircuit will provide full refund for all tickets previously purchased.
Mighty Asia would also like to respond to recent circulating rumors that headline DJs, Offer Nissim and Tony Moran, has decided to cancel their appearance at Mighty Asia’s Events. We would like to announce that both DJs are still confirmed and are showing full support for the events.
We would like to thank you for your continued support. Mighty Asia and gCircuit are on its way to hosting the most spectacular New Year Weekend in Asia
Burmese Held in Gay Murder Case
Pattaya - A Burmese youth has been arrested in Korat on suspicion of murdering a mamasan of a Pattaya gay bar.
Tanorum Mungtet, 32, was employed as a ‘mamasan’ in Pattaya’s ‘Sawadee Boy’ go-go bar, and was considered a bit of a loner who would go out to meet young men and then take them back to his room.
Investigating police were informed by witnesses that a young man with long hair was seen leaving Tanorum’s room who then drove away in the man’s Toyota car. A large amount of cash, jewellery and other valuables were reported to be missing from the room.
Neighbours reported hearing a violent argument the previous day but were reluctant to intervene, considering it a private matter.
Abdullah Man, a 23 year old Burmese national who had worked in the nearby Dreamboy bar, allegedly told police that Tanorum had tried to force him to have sex in payment for a debt, and that he stabbed the man while resisting him.
Free AIDS Sceening in December
Taipei - The Taipei City government will offer free AIDS screening at designated locations during the month of December as part of its efforts to help prevent the spread of the fatal disease, city officials said on Tuesday.The free screening is being introduced to coincide with World AIDS Day, which is observed around the world each year on December 1, the officials said.
In its AIDS public awareness campaigns of the past, the city government targeted mainly high-risk groups, such as gay men, sex workers and drug addicts, but in recent years it has been increasingly shifting its focus to the wider public in light of the rapid spread of the disease among people from all walks of life, the officials noted.
They urged the general public to pay greater attention to their own health and to get tested for the deadly disease.
Citing statistics compiled by the Cabinet-level Department of Health, the officials said that the number of HIV/AIDS infections recorded in Taiwan in the period 1984 to the end of August this year totaled 16,821.
The 20-39 age group is most at risk to contract HIV/AIDS through “sexual activities, ” the officials said. In Taipei City, an average of 80 percent of the HIV/AIDS infections over the past three years were transmitted through sexual intercourse, they added.
They urged the practice of safe sex to effectively reduce the possibility of HIV infection.
World AIDS Day is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV.
AIDS has killed more than 25 million people worldwide, while an estimated 33.2 million people are currently living with HIV, which makes the disease one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history.
Despite recent improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 3.1 million lives in 2005, of which more than half a million were children.
The concept of World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programs for AIDS Prevention. Since then, it has been taken up by governments, international organizations and charities around the world.