Different Views

Last night I had the hardest but best conversation yet of my time in Senegal.

In Senegal, homosexuality is ...

Unacceptable. Shameful. Sacrileges. Disgusting. Not natural. Not right.

Just recently there was a group of young men in Senegal who were beaten and imprisoned for staying in a hotel and being accused of "performing homosexual acts."

Upon our arrival here, we were warned--avoid the subject, and if you are homosexual, DO NOT admit to it, for it could be a serious danger to your safety and/or life.

It's no exaggeration to say Senegal is a truly homophobic state.

One of my Senegalese friends and I have been talking a lot recently--exchanging thoughts on cultural differences, personal beliefs, values, etc. In our few conversations, he's talked a lot about the universal bond between mankind, how he sees no difference between black and white--we're all just people. So taking him for a pretty widely accepting person, I felt disappointed but not surprised when I asked him about his views on homosexuality.

My friend explained to me that though he doesn't hate homosexuals, he is definitely not a fan. He said it's against his religion (Islam), doesn't think it's right, and just seems to want to avoid homosexuals if at all possible (an extremely tame and peaceful perspective compared to some others I've heard in talking with Senegalese students).

Again, knowing him to be such a compassionate person, it really hurt me to hear he didn't extend his love and acceptance of mankind to include homosexuals.

I shared my own personal experience in the United States having friends of all ages who are homosexual and how difficult it is to come to Senegal and be met with such hatred for some of my dearest loved ones. To turn the tables, I asked him to imagine what it'd be like for him to come to the United States and have people express hatred and desire for physical violence toward black people, knowing his closest friends and family fall under that category.

It'd be hard to understand. Why such animosity toward those you care about and know to be good people?

The whole conversation was a really respectful exchange, and we both listened and tried to understand the other's perspecitve. So thankful for that.

At the end of the conversation he actually thanked me for teaching him something new. In his 25 years of living, he said he has not once met a single person who said they accepted homosexuality. He has ALWAYS been taught that it's wrong, and he has never (to his knowledge) come into contact with a person who is homosexual, and thus has no personal experience with which to challenge what he has always known as truth.

Given those circumstances... how could you think differently?

It was helpful for me to understand some of the logistics of where this stigma stems from. Still, it's a hard pill to swallow.