p.s. My friend had no gay people in her life before this, and now runs the local PFLAG group and is a tireless advocate for equality. Amazing how having a gay person close to your heart can change it so much for the better.
Please share widely!
Reality-based commentary on politics.
I’ll ask around town and see what I can find.
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I’m sure there must be some Belarusian restaurants in the Boston area….I’m a “Foodie”…..So I’ll check the Boston Restaurant scene. I’ll start today at lunch.
See if a breakdown can be provided of Belarussian H2B visas for the Mass. area.
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Also – they don’t HAVE to be gay if they are willing to provide affadavits that the attitudes and likelihood of invasive treatment are as you describe. In fact, testimony from non-gays may be viewed as more disinterested and therefore more complling.
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(and there’s one ‘s’ in asylum)
The Belarusian person doesn’t need to be gay, but they do need to have personal knowledge of, preferrably as a witness, of anti-gay violence. Second-hand stories and news items unfortunately won’t cut it (they already have got those). In fact, I wonder if an affitdavit from a (hopefully former) gay basher wouldn’t be the most compelling. Maybe I should remove “gay” from the title of the diary…
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Thx for the spelling correction. What I wouldn’t give for a spelling checking feature in soapbox!
has a feature that red underlines misspellings no matter where you’re typing…even in this comment box.
How long does the kid have before he has to go back?
the hearing is soon, but i’m not sure if the decision comes on the spot or later. then, if he is denied, i believe there is an appeals process, but i’m not sure where he must be physically during an appeal. it’s a good question, and i’ll try to find out.
I’m not sure if it matters or not, or if it helps. But a kid is a kid.
although i don’t know how old he was when he first applied for asylum – could have been pre-18. but whichever, the facts are as they are. he still has to convince the adjudicator that he would be brutalized if he were sent back.