EA - Trans Rescue’s operations in Uganda: high impact giving opportunity by David D

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Trans Rescue’s operations in Uganda: high impact giving opportunity, published by David D on April 11, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum.Synopsis: Trans Rescue uses their existing experience and infrastructure for moving African trans people to safety to help LGBTQ+ people of all sorts escape genocide in Uganda, costing an estimated €150 to move a person to safety outside the country and €1257 in housing costs and other support to help them become financially self sufficient in their new location.You might have heard about Uganda’s new laws and crackdown targeting LGBTQ+ people, which began in March. “Homosexual activity” has been illegal in Uganda for a long time, but under this bill, people who even say that they are LGBT+ or “promote homosexuality” (such as advocating for LGBTQ+ people’s rights, or writing a positive or neutral article about homosexuality) face criminal charges and imprisonment. Renting living space to a gay person or conducting a same-sex marriage ceremony would also be criminalized with prison sentences of up to 10 years.The president of Uganda has not yet signed the bill, but the homophobic fervor around it is already wreaking havoc in LGBTQ+ Ugandans’ lives. Many of Trans Rescue’s passengers were evicted by their landlords without any warning or opportunity to retrieve their things. In one particularly violent example, a landlord was convinced by a local preacher that his two trans tenants were evil and set fire to their belongings while they weren’t home, burning down his building in the process. Existing shelters for LGBTQ+ people also face eviction. Violence and sexual assault is becoming more frequent (cw violence, rape, police brutality: source).International NGOs have been slow to respond. In an article on Trans Writes, Trans Rescue treasurer Jenny List writes that their passengers haven’t seen any other international organizations working to protect or evacuate LGBTQ+ Ugandans, though some organizations say they have plans in the works.“Of course, we’ve asked around to find out what’s being done by those organisations, and the answer has come back from several quarters that things are in motion, but under the radar. We’re told that too public a move might cause them to be accused by the Ugandan government of being colonialist, and we understand that. We’re happy to hear that so much is being done, we really are.”“Unfortunately, the fact remains that the people on the ground aren’t seeing it. Things they can’t see are of little use to them, when what they need is to escape an angry mob or a police manhunt.”Trans Rescue was unusually well positioned to help. They’ve been helping trans people escape danger, especially in Africa and the Middle East, since 2021, and several of their board members did similar work in the organization’s previous incarnation as Trans Emigrate. In addition to their experience planning travel for people who face extra scrutiny due to their country of origin, they operate a trans safe haven in neighboring Kenya called Eden House. In light of the danger that queer Ugandans of all sorts are facing right now, they are providing transportation and shelter for LGBTQ+ people of all sorts fleeing Uganda.Effective Altruists often avoid donating to acute crisis that make the news. Newsworthy events are often relatively less underfunded, especially when they occur in the western world. The difficult logistics of providing aid for events like natural disasters can also be an obstacle. Uganda’s proposed LGBTQ+ bill has received some media coverage, but the people who have the ability to donate and would consider the people affected “one of us” - LGBTQ+ people in wealthier nations - are focused on the rise in transphobia in the US and UK right now. Trans Rescue already has a presence in the region in Eden House, the...