On June 27th the first European Pride after lockdown was held in Naples. The Neapolitan Flash Mob Pride 2020 was dedicated to Sarah Hegazi, a lesbian and atheist Egyptian woman, who committed suicide in Canada where she had asked for asylum for her sexual orientation on June 14.
In Naples, in a LGBTI+ coloured Piazza Plebiscito, the rainbow flags were raised in memory of Sarah and all asylum seekers and LGBTI+ refugees and activists that have been arrested, tortured and killed by lesbian-homo-bi-transphobia. XENIA Project International Consortium joined the event symbolically raising a ‘digital’ flag on social media to remember Sarah.
XENIA Project, co-financed by the European Commission, fully joined the initiative that reflects the main objective of the work carried out by the consortium of 7 international partners from all over Europe: to be more welcoming and respectful of sexual minorities and marginalized groups, with the aim of supporting the complexity of the identity of all the people in the world and ensure the protection of their fundamental rights and opportunities.
In October 2017 Sarah and a friend of hers raised a rainbow flag at the concert of Mashrou Leila, a famous Lebanese band whose singer is openly gay. For this reason, they were both arrested. During the months in prison, Sarah suffered physical and psychological violence. Once released, Sarah continued to be offended for being lesbian and atheist.
For that she decided to leave her homeland and apply for international protection in Canada, where she continued to advocate and request the release of other LGBTI+ activists in her country. After struggling with all her might, Sarah Hegazi committed suicide in June 13, 2020 in Toronto.
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