Important update

I wanted to give you a heartfelt and urgent update about what’s happening with me and my queer refugee community here in South Sudan. Recently, the government gave us just 10 days to leave Gorom Refugee Camp, threatening forced removal at gunpoint if we don’t comply. The situation has become very tense and frightening. The authorities have made it clear that they do not want any LGBTQ+ people in Gorom. They’ve labeled us “illegal” and insist we vacate without offering any safe alternative.We’ve been working around the clock trying to find a way forward. Thankfully, a neighboring country had initially offered temporary refuge, and we began raising funds to move there. With the support of our friend Mason in the U.S., we successfully raised funds through GoFundMe which gave us hope. But then, due to our videos going viral on TikTok and catching the attention of both the government and local homophobic individuals, the situation worsened.We’ve since made the decision to go private on TikTok for our safety, but we do not regret raising awareness. We still stand firm and committed to telling the world what’s happening.More recently, there have been promising developments. Thanks to increasing international pressure including messages and calls from the global queer community UNHCR was pushed to act. After several meetings with them and even with Amnesty International, they have convinced the government to let us relocate to Juba, instead of being expelled from the country. The government has apologized for the threats and agreed to let UNHCR process our cases further for possible resettlement in countries like Canada and Australia, who have shown interest in taking some of us in.Right now, we’re waiting for urban documentation from UNHCR to be finalized hopefully by Monday or Tuesday so we can officially move to Juba. We’re trying to secure housing before that, which is a challenge due to the high cost of living and the fact that UNHCR is not covering any of these relocation costs. Thankfully, we’ve started receiving some of the funds we raised and are beginning to make progress. IT is still a very tough and uncertain time, but your support and that of people like you continues to give us strength. Please keep standing with us, sharing our story, and being part of this fight for survival.