Martinique, Caribbean

In many Caribbean island-nations and territories, LGBT (gay) life can consist of a rosy romantic cruise or a languid lounge on a picturesque beach topped with a gay  party in the evening. But not for all, especially native born LGBT citizens whose families descend from indigenous Caribbean cultures such as Taino, Arawak, Caquetio (and a dozen others) as well as Spanish and African cultures where homosexuality is not usually a welcome trait. There is wide variety of gay people in the Caribbean but the widest separation is between northern American and European white tourists and the local-born ‘natives’ of these islands. We are everywhere and we are everywhere very diverse. Geography The French West Indies consists of the four main islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Martin (the French half) and St. Barthelemy. These islands are well organized as tourist destinations with French spoken as the official language, although English is

By Arsham Parsi Executive Director Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees (IRQR) www.irq.net Iranian queers have well-founded fears of persecution based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, permits the punishment of queer people by lashing, hanging, stoning, cutting in half by a sword, or dropping from a tall building or cliff. My own and IRQR’s experiences in researching human rights violations in Iran suggests that in “morals” cases, substantial evidence is likely to be flouted by the judiciary in the name of protecting cultural and religious standards. In Iran, four male witnesses who attest that a defendant is homosexual, even on the basis of rumor or slander, will have their testimony accepted instead of being more rigorously cross-examined. Iranian legal and judicial procedures ensure that a judge’s prejudice against a defendant, even based solely on a defendant’s appearance or demeanor, is