"Our hearts are big": After a cyclone hits Timor-Leste, the LGBTQI community gives support, gains acceptance

In April, Cyclone Seroja hit Dili, the capital city of Timor-Leste. It killed 41 people and displaced over 4,000, sweeping away property and homes.   

After such a calamity, you might expect traditional relief organizations to respond, and they did.  

Among the other frontline relief workers were members of the local LGBTQI community and an organization called Arcoiris. Their focus: a community kitchen to provide meals and drinking water to families left behind.  

Word of the kitchen spread quickly. Several women volunteered to help, using the food stock available in the Arcoiris centre until more supplies arrived. 

“Once the food was ready, more than 100 people covered in mud came with containers to collect meals for their families," recalls Azu, a member of Arcoiris, or “rainbow” in Portuguese, one of the languages spoken on the island nation. 

It was no easy task to build the kitchen, collect supplies, distribute food, and even help rebuild some of the houses. "With no public transportation, we [have] had to walk here early in the morning and return home at night," says Azu. “[We] are a little tired now, and there are still a lot of things on the to-do list.”  

Despite the discrimination they faced, LGBTQI locals continue to show compassion and build a stronger team to serve those in need. 

“Our support has always been more than providing materials and food, but we also share the love,” says Azu. “We listen to the victims and always go back to them to make sure they are okay. This has made us more accepted by the community and even by my family.” 

As the rest of the community has seen the continued support of these LGBTQI members, in recent days, Azu and her colleagues have seen positive changes in their attitudes toward them. "Now, when we pass by and greet the neighbours, they respond and smile at us, while some even greet us first and call us by our names. Before, we never expected that,” Azu said. 

Arcoiris was founded to provide a safe space and services for the LGBTQI community, which faces persistent discrimination in jobs and schools and rejection at home.  

After the cyclone hit, Arcoiris members realized that food and sleeping materials were needed. That’s when they launched the community kitchen. The kitchen is now closed, but their work continues.

"We are still distributing raw materials to build houses, sharing food, and visiting vulnerable people abandoned by their families," noted Lula, another Arcoiris member.

"You shouldn't be silent when you see people in need. Once you start talking, listening and [taking] action, it becomes powerful."  

Ameta, 24, whose home was destroyed by the flood, expressed her sincere gratitude for the support provided to her three siblings and her mother." I can now return to life and enjoy the repaired house thanks to the support of Arcoirs. I see that the perception of the families and the neighbourhood towards the LGBTQI members who came to help me is a little different now. I'm sure sooner or later there won't be the negative judgment like before because their supportive action is seen and matters." 

Over the past decade, UN Women has supported LGBTQI communities in Timor-Leste. Currently, as part of the EU and UN Spotlight Initiative programme, UN Women is working alongside Arcoiris and GODIVA as partners to provide more accessible assistance to survivors of gender-based violence, while taking into account the sexual orientation and gender identity of survivors.  

"I hope that the LGBTQI community will not be left out of the list of beneficiaries of the government's next response to the floods and recovery efforts. We think this is still happening because many people still don't understand and embrace our existence,” says Azu. "Our hearts are big, and we are happy that our sense of solidarity is seen when we help the community.”  

 

Produced by UN in Timor-Leste. This is an edited version from the originally published article on the Timor-Leste website, written by Sylvio Bernardo, UN Women. This adapted version was edited by Celine Adotevi and Paul VanDeCarr, Development Coordination Office. For more information on the work taking place in the country, visit: https://timorleste.un.org/. To learn more about the results of our work in this area and beyond, please visit the UNSDG Chair Report on DCO.