From Mosaic LGBT Youth Club due to close at part of Brent Council's overall cuts in the youth service LINK .
Save Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre from closing
down
The Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre in Kilburn is a local government funded LGBT youth
centre. It is one of few left in the whole of the capital, it supports
teenagers who identify as LGBT or are questioning their sexuality and/or gender
identity.
The proposed new structure of the Youth Service would mean that Centre will be
closed and only youth clubs still in operation would be just local youth clubs
that we never access and don't want to access as they are not meeting our needs
as LGBT young people. We do not need or want a space where we have to 'come out'
every time, we want space like mosaic where we can be ourselves and be fully
accepted, not just tolerated.
This new proposal is a complete disregard to the needs of our community and
results of consultation that clearly identified LGBT youth provision as a
priority to be safeguarded in the new restructure; even third sector youth
organisations agree as they recognise that complexity of that work cannot be
met in just any youth club - one size does not fit all!
At the times where schools are still bastions of homophobia and streets are
rife with growing homophobic hate crime and parents making LGBT kids like me
homeless by kicking them out Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre is something more then
just a hang out space, it is home, it is community, it is a listening ear and
often non-judgemental advice that we wouldn't otherwise get.
The huge problem with the removal of this
Centre would be the impact on the LGBT youth, Mosaic educates us on LGBT
history, current community issues, sexual health as well as many other topics.
None of these services are currently provided in schools and therefore Mosaic
is a vital service which cannot be demolished.
If the Council were to remove the funding for Mosaic who would support a
community where 40% of us consider suicide, who would give a community which
has a high HIV rate sex education, who would help those struggling to accept
their sexuality?
The answer is no-one, as a gay teenager I can tell you that school won't
support LGBT students in any significant way and it seems that Section 28 is a
piece of legislation that has been repealed, but it is very much alive and well
in schools today.
For these and many other reasons that I can't go into here Mosaic LGBT Youth
Centre cannot be closed down!
Your sincerely,
Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre Members
Petition HERE
“Bradley Manning has been found guilty of theft and espionage after a
biased, unfair trial in which he was not allowed to provide evidence of
his motives and intentions when he released secret US files. These files
included evidence of US war crimes, lies and cover-ups. Although he was
found not guilty of aiding the enemy, the verdict is a travesty of
justice. It mocks the honesty and idealism of a good soldier who sought
to expose human rights abuses and defend international humanitarian
law,” said Peter Tatchell, Director of the human rights organisation,
the Peter Tatchell Foundation, which has campaigned in support of
Manning’s right to expose wrong-doing.
Gay actor Kieron Richardson, from the TV soap opera
Hollyoaks, has joined with Peter Tatchell to support Bradley Manning.
PHOTO: http://bit.ly/13Wxy4C
For a print quality version, click here: http://bit.ly/1aUH4qZ
“Manning
is a LGBT equality supporter and has attended LGBT protests. He was
subjected to homophobic abuse while in military detention awaiting
trial. Some of his critics have tried to discredit him by falsely
insinuating that anger and confusion over his sexuality and gender
identity was a factor that led him to make his revelations. There has
been an anti-gay sub-text to the way Manning has sometimes been
portrayed by the media and his critics.
“Bradley Manning is an honourable whistle-blower - not a thief or spy. He exposed the truth about US war crimes in Iraq.
“Manning
is a true patriot, not a traitor. He reveres the founding ideals of the
US: the notion of an open, honest government that is accountable to the
people and that pursues its policies by lawful means with respect for
human rights. At great personal sacrifice, he exposed grave crimes that
were perpetrated and then hidden by the US government and military.
These are the characteristics of a man of conscience, motivated by
altruism. Thanks to Manning, the US people now know the truth.
“One of the war crimes he exposed was a US Apache helicopter
attack that gunned down 11 Iraqi civilians in 2007, including two
Reuters journalists and men who had gone to the aid of the wounded. Two
children were also gravely injured when the US helicopter opened fire on
their van. The video records US soldiers laughing and joking at the
killings, and also insulting the victims.
“This
slaughter had previously been the subject of a cover-up by the US armed
forces, which claimed dishonestly that the helicopter had been engaged
in combat operations against armed enemy forces.
“It is only thanks to Bradley Manning that we now know the truth
about this massacre of innocent civilians – and about the killings of
hundreds of other civilians in unreported and undocumented incidents.
“The
trial judge’s ruling that Manning was not allowed to use a ‘public
interest’ defence during his trial was outrageous. Knowing that his
motives were to tell the American people the truth and spark a public
debate is an essential element to determine his guilt or innocence,”
said Mr Tatchell.
Anne FitzGerald, Director of Research and Crisis Response at
Amnesty International, agrees. She believes it was unfair that Bradley
was unable to use a public interest defence, as "he reasonably believed
he was exposing human rights and humanitarian law violations."
READ more on why Amnesty believe Bradley is entitled to use the ‘public interest’ defence: http://bit.ly/12muiRG
There
is no evidence that Manning aided any enemy of the US, caused harm to
US personnel or that he had any intention to do so. This view is shared
by Amnesty International: http://bit.ly/12mv4hM
Amnesty said the “aiding the enemy” charge was a “travesty of justice”: http://bit.ly/1bm251l
WATCH Peter Tatchell speak at Bradley Manning’s defence rally in London: http://bit.ly/12dzrup
READ Bradley Manning’s opening defence statement to the court in full: http://bit.ly/XQUgoP
