World Refugee Day (recognized annually on June 20) and Pride Month are especially meaningful for Rainbow Railroad’s Head of Engagement Latoya Nugent, who began her journey as a queer refugee from her country of origin, Jamaica, to Toronto almost two years ago.
Nugent, who previously was a Social Sciences department lecturer at a Jamaica community college, experienced discrimination at that job due to her sexual orientation. She tried to hide her queer identity to protect herself, but was later outed.
“It was difficult, but perhaps not as difficult as the years before that, when I was ostracized and displaced from my university residence because the leadership in charge of that residence ‘accused’ me of being a lesbian, thereby engaging in illegal activities,” said Nugent. “Fast forward several years later, I became actively involved in LGBTQI+-activism, and in doing so began to publicly affirm my queer identity.
“This came at a great cost. I was the target of homophobic threats, and was eventually unlawfully arrested for my activism. I experienced a very violent and brutal arrest, for which I am still recovering years later. After that brutal arrest, I became a recluse. My emotional well-being was compromised. In simple terms, I stopped living and became a shell of who I once was.”
While staying hidden from the world, Nugent reached out to Rainbow Railroad for help in escaping Jamaica and seeking asylum in another country. Rainbow Railroad relocated her to Canada, where she was able to have a successful asylum claim and seek out work opportunities.
That led to her current position at Rainbow Railroad which she calls “more than the place I work, they are actually my Canadian family.”
Nugent added, “Together we work to help at-risk LGBTQI+ people like me get to safety. The engagement department that I lead is responsible for the implementation of the Biden Administration’s Welcome Corps program — a private sponsorship of refugees initiative, the organization’s refugee leadership engagement programs, our volunteer program and building our brand equity and organizational credibility through communications.”
The UN Refugee Agency estimates that each year there are 120 million people who are forcibly displaced worldwide due to war, climate disasters, violence, persecution and discrimination.
Nugent said, “LGBTQI+ people are uniquely affected by forced displacement, because of homophobia and transphobia sanctioned by the over 60 countries that criminalize their identity. LGBTQI+ people are forced to flee home due to the everyday life-threatening violence and persecution they experience living in these countries. … This is compounded by the cultural attitudes, policy and legislative frameworks that deny LGBTQI+ people full access to their human rights and prevent them from living with the dignity they deserve.”
Rainbow Railroad releases an annual report on the state of global LGBTQI+ persecution on World Refugee Day. It highlights the journeys of LGBTQI+ refugees who have been forced to flee their homes and examines the frequency of homophobia and transphobia among the countries with high numbers of assistance requests. Last year, Rainbow Railroad received a record 15,352 requests.
Since immigration has become both political and polarizing in many countries, Nugent said others forget why some people are forced to flee their homes. She added, “Some people see refugees as a threat to the security of the countries they are fleeing to, or see them as a financial burden on the economies of developed countries.”
Nugent added that this perception is not true in the United States, where refugees contribute revenue to the GDP over time, outweighing the money that is spent on them via asylum and refugee programs at the outset. Without intervention by organizations like Rainbow Railroad, these pathways to safety are complex and inaccessible because “resettlement systems are ultimately set up to control immigration and limit access to safer countries,” and often take weeks, months or years to happen.
“We recently relocated an individual who spent more than two decades in a transit country, waiting to be resettled in Canada,” said Nugent. “In the simplest situations, prospective refugees must complete reams of paperwork, medical evaluations, security interviews and visa applications, often requiring translating paperwork between languages, finding help to fill out paperwork for those who can’t read and/or write and filing exemptions for immigration requirements that may not be met … It’s difficult because the criteria required by the U.S. and Canadian governments often don’t allow us to relocate people from countries where it is most dangerous for LGBTQI+ folks.”
Despite the rise in anti-trans laws in some states in the U.S., Nugent said she has seen solidarity among LGBTQI+ Americans and their allies who have volunteered their time and expertise via Rainbow Railroad’s Communities of Care program. This program ensures that LGBTQI+ refugees are resettled to queer and trans-affirming cities. The volunteers help with housing, healthcare and other social services, and job opportunities among other things.
Nugent’s message to fellow LGBTQI+ people in countries that criminalize queer and trans people is, “There is hope on the other side. We know what it’s like to be persecuted because of who you are and who you love. We know that it is difficult to live through that every day. But we are a resilient community, and we find clandestine ways to survive while agitating for change. Not everyone will be able to flee, but we can work together to effect change so that one day your country will become a hospitable place where LGBTQI+ people can thrive. Rainbow Railroad stands in solidarity with you.”
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