From the DW:
“LGBTQ troops and vets go to
war with homophobia in Ukraine”
They are patriots who have
defended their country on the front lines. But LGBTQ soldiers in Ukraine's
military have rights to fight for, too. The silence inside a makeshift cinema
in the heart of Kyiv was shattered with the crash of a windowpane. Fireworks
flashed. Homophobic attackers were attempting to besiege the screening of a
film about the lives of LGBTQ people. The assailants threw tear gas and
pyrotechnics. A member of the audience jumped up onto the windowsill and began
throwing the projectiles back onto the street — shocking the men outside, who
quickly ran away. That man was Viktor Pylypenko, a former member of the Ukrainian
army's anti-terror detail in Donbass and the founder of a federation for equal
rights for LGBTQ communities. Now a trim 34-year-old sporting a hoodie and
earrings like a proper big-city hipster, Pylypenko was a volunteer in the
Donbass Battalion during intense fighting against separatists in eastern
Ukraine from 2014 to 2016. On the front, comrades called him the
"Frenchman," on account of his work as a trained translator of
English and French. In the summer of 2018, Pylypenko became the first Ukrainian
soldier to publicly declare his homosexuality. "It was scary of course,
like stepping into the unknown," he said. Pylypenko had kept the fact that
he liked men to himself, not telling the soldiers with whom he shared the
trenches. "It was a constant game of hide-and-seek," Pylypenko said.
"I slept with women so no one would think I was gay." His comrades
sometimes brought their wives and children to the barracks to introduce them to
everyone. "Something like that is simply impossible for gay and lesbian
soldiers," he said.After coming out, Pylypenko felt empowered to approach
dozens of gay, lesbian and transgender active-duty soldiers and veterans. In
2019, about 30 of them formed an advocacy group for LGBTQ service people and
participated in Kyiv's March for Equality for the first time. Today, the group
has more than 100 members — and it's growing. "In some units, they may
talk about LGBTQ rights in the military on their smoke break," Pylypenko
said. "Afterwards, somebody will Google our group and get in
touch."
Support and attacks
(Serhiy Afanasiev is relieved he
no longer has to live a double life)
One of those people is Serhiy
Afanasiev, a 23-year-old special forces soldier, who recently came out on
social media. He was encouraged to do so by comrades in the LGBTQ group.
Afanasiev said he was relieved that he no longer had to live a double life.
Comrades on the front lines were accepting: "I have a good commander. He
told me it's my life and he has no right to get involved. I serve well, and
that is enough for him." A soldier from another unit said she had decided
not to come out yet. "Only a very few people that I really trust know that
I am bisexual," said the soldier, who asked that her name not be used.
"Unfortunately, there is still a lot of superstition around the topic in
society. But I am planning my coming out soon. I guess then I'll have to clean
up my 'friends' lists." Pylypenko said the ways in which comrades might
react to a soldier's coming out depend a lot on the unit and its commander.
When he came out, he said, he was subjected to verbal abuse on social media.
Most of his colleagues, however, voiced support: "especially those with
whom I fought against the enemy, with those I saved the wounded with." Nevertheless,
in 2019, at a memorial service commemorating the Battle of Ilovaisk, Pylypenko
was physically assaulted by a former comrade. "I had bruises on my back and
my face," he said. "I didn't defend myself but instead tried to calm
him with reason."
Combat experience helpful Like
other LGBTQ people, queer soldiers don't necessarily feel safe on the streets.
Even though police have increased their presence at LGBTQ events since anti-gay
assailants injured 10 people when they attacked the March for Equality in 2015,
homophobic gangs often go on "safaris" in which "small groups
chase LGBTQ activists — often those sporting brightly colored hair or rainbow
symbols — through the city," Pylypenko said. LGBTQ soldiers have
not reacted with violence. "There have been times when people have told me
I need to hit back," Pylypenko said. "But I shut them down. Because,
if you react with physical violence, you justify the violence being used
against you." He said LGBTQ communities should take a stand against
violence, but not with fists, and most certainly not with weapons. The
most powerful weapon LGTBQ soldiers have in their arsenal is public relations.
Like other advocacy groups, they are fighting for civil partnerships, the
same-sex marriage alternative found in many countries but still illegal in
Ukraine. Pylypenko said civil partnerships were especially important for
soldiers who risked their lives every day lines in Donbass, as well as for
veterans who could be called up again if the situation escalates. Ukrainian law
does not treat the partners of LGBTQ members of the military as it does the
spouses and children of heterosexual soldiers wounded or killed in combat.
"When a gay or lesbian soldier dies," he said, "their family is
essentially cut off." There are several legislative proposals for
civil partnerships, yet none of them has made it to the parliament for debate.
"The war has been going on for eight years now, and the risks remain the
same," Pylypenko. "Give us equality: We have sworn loyalty to the
Ukrainian people. We have bled for our country: We have earned the right to
equality." Advocates for LGBTQ communities say the soldiers' work
has begun to shift views in society. Ukrainians see the military and veterans
as defenders of their homeland, and the army enjoys more public trust than any
other institution in the country.
Contrived Russia allegations
(Kyiv's March for Equality has
grown louder and prouder in the years since a 2015 attack)
In March, Pylypenko's group
invited LGBTQ people to join a new unit within the Ukrainian army. The impetus
for forming a subunit tasked with creating a more psychologically pleasant
atmosphere for queer soldiers in the army came from a commander who belongs to
an LGBTQ group himself. The idea was not run past army leadership, and the name
of the unit remains secret. "There could homophobes in the military
command who simply wouldn't allow such a unit to exist," Pylypenko
said. Recruiting has been slow. People who wish to
join the unit must be physically and mentally fit for the challenge, and not
everyone is cut out for it. Secondly, Pylypenko said, recruits have
reconsidered after allegations by homophobic groups that LGBTQ advocates have
collaborated with Russia to discredit the Ukrainian army. "One of our aims
is to expose the lies of Russian propaganda myths that claim Ukraine is being
ruled by a 'neo-Nazi junta,'" Pylypenko said. "How could there be
talk of neo-Nazis in an army that has gay-friendly units, and in which gay and
lesbian active-duty and veteran service members can come out without
fear?" "Why should we look to Russia?" Pylypenko said. "We
were part of that empire. Why should we have to listen to them trash the
Ukrainian military and the LGBTQ community? We must look to the free world, to
Europe. We must aspire to democratic values."
It's sad to see (in the 21st
Century and the Year 2021) so many countries around the world where Gays and
Lesbians are still being treated as though it is the Dark Ages. Despite all the
homophobia and discrimination in Ukraine (and many other places) these men are
not only putting their lives at risk to protect Ukraine and Ukrainians – and fighting
in the Donbas War against the Russians – but they are also standing-up to the anti-Gay
war at home. I can only hope the ordinary Ukrainians see the sacrifices of
these men and men like them and start seeing them as people that deserve equal
civil rights. ^
https://www.dw.com/en/lgbtq-troops-and-vets-go-to-war-with-homophobia-in-ukraine/a-58059054
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