Soundings: “Olympia Friends offer hope to persecuted Ugandan gays”

by John Dodge, Staff writer – The Olympian – October 22, 2014

“Within two months of the bill’s passage, Olympia activists Gabi Clayon and Talcott Broadhead persuaded the Olympia Friends to sponsor a Friends New Underground Railroad project, raising money to help LGBT Ugandans escape their country under fear of persecution, arrest, violent beatings and death.

“Uganda’s constitutional court struck down the egregious anti-gay bill on Aug. 1, 2014, citing a legal technicality, but sidestepping any ruling on the merits of the bill.

“But striking the law from the books has not made life any easier, or safer, for lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender Ugandans. Many LGBT Ugandans remain in hiding, fearing for their lives and desperately trying to flee the country, Clayton said.”

Read the whole article here: http://www.theolympian.com/2014/10/22/3384958_olympia-friends-offer-hope-to.html

Thank you to John Dodge for a great article about Friends New Underground Railroad and for including our Halloween fundraiser.  We appreciate that he took the time to cover our project and the research that he clearly did.