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Livia Amacker and Annett Uehlinger coordinate Focus Refugees, a Queeramnesty subgroup that supports queer asylum seekers in Switzerland. A conversation about the team's current reorganization, challenges for refugees and mentors, and dealing with the political backlash. Text: Ralf Kaminski Since when and why have you been involved with Queeramnesty? Livia: I joined Focus Refugees (FR) as a mentor in May 2022 because I want to get involved and contribute to greater social ju

Alongside the large Zurich Pride, there was also the CSD Zurich this year, a week later, as an alternative, more political, and less commercial event. We visited it and spoke with the organizers. Text: Nina Petrovic The Zurich Pride (CSD Zürich) was first held in 2021 – as a political response to the increasing commercialization and assimilation policies of Zurich Pride. Inspired by the original spirit of the Christopher Street Day movement, the CSD puts political content and

How do queer youth perceive LGBTIA+ characters and their representation in the media? Six young people share their views on how the media portrays queer communities, their struggles, and their daily experiences. Text: Viyana Moradian Pour Queer pop culture has evolved significantly in recent decades and is now highly visible in mainstream media: More and more books and series feature queer characters, queer actors are landing major roles in films, and queer social media influ

Donald Trump has only been in office since mid-January and has already signed a plethora of executive orders that make life particularly difficult for trans and nonbinary people. Although most of these have been challenged in court—with an open outcome—the mere uncertainty about what will happen next is a huge burden. Text: Ralf Kaminski In Republican-controlled US states, the queer community has been facing a tough time for some time. Hundreds of laws have been drafted and,

Since Donald Trump's re-election as US president, queer rights in the United States have come under pressure to an extent that would have been unimaginable just a short time ago. In this issue, we provide an overview of the most important events and speak with a queer American woman in Switzerland about her experience of these developments. Among the many queer refugees we accompany during their asylum process here is a young gay man from Myanmar. He experienced horrific thin

Louis already knew he was gay at the age of ten. But in Southeast Asia, Myanmar, this is difficult. When he organizes demonstrations after the 2021 military coup, he is arrested, tortured, raped—and barely escapes with his life. In May 2023, he fled to Switzerland, and has been supported by Queeramnesty since the fall of 2023. But the long asylum process and the uncertainty are wearing on his nerves. Text: Ralf Kaminski Louis (whose real name is different) speaks English fair

Text: Ralf Kaminski It wasn't so long ago that organizers of Pride demonstrations and festivals were regularly confronted from all sides with the question of whether these events were even necessary anymore. After all, everything had more or less been achieved and was fine. These questions have largely fallen silent now because it's obvious to everyone how much times have changed. Sure, we've achieved a lot in the past few decades, but the backlash is now all the more intense

Thanks to the European Court of Human Rights, Kian Azad*, a gay Iranian man supported by Queeramnesty International, still has a chance of receiving asylum in Switzerland. At the end of 2024, the court ruled against the Swiss authorities' rejection of his asylum application. We spoke with Kian and his lawyer, Stephanie Motz. Text: Corin Schäfli Kian Azad (34) grew up in a small Iranian village in an ultra-religious family. When they learned through indirect channels that he w

In November 2024, Queeramnesty also indirectly achieved a significant legal victory: The European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of a gay Iranian asylum seeker, whom we are supporting, and whom Switzerland had sought to deport to his aggressively anti-queer homeland. We spoke with the Iranian and his lawyer about the background and consequences of this positive ruling. We also spoke with sociologist and author Christina Caprez about her new book "Queer Kids," which offe

The mentors at Focus Refugees accompany and support queer refugees in Switzerland, sometimes also with the asylum process. Anne Bütikofer currently mentors three couples and one individual – and finds it personally very enriching. Text: Ralf Kaminski At first glance, looking after seven refugees sounds like a lot of work, but Anne Bütikofer shakes her head with a smile. "Because three of them are couples and I have co-mentors supporting me in two cases, the workload is manage