Fri 11 May 2012 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
A marcher with a pink parasol The Queer Avengers have carried out their second Queer The Night march from Wellington's Waitangi Park to Cuba Mall. They say there was "lots of pink and glitter" on display as they make their way to Cuba Mall. "We have pink parasols, and rainbow cloaks and we're beautiful! And we're here to recruit you!" the group tweeted as they set off. They marched to raise awareness of bullying ahead of next Friday's Pink Shirt Day. Marchers chanted slogans such as "How many of our kids must die? Family values are a lie" and "2 4 6 8 don't be sure your kids are straight." In Cuba Street there were speeches, and Sara Fraser from the Queer Avengers pointed out suicide, self-harm and homelessness are far too common among glbti youth. "We need to stand up and take care of our youth," she said, before urging everyone to wear pink on Pink Shirt Day. Young people shared personal stories, including a trans guy Lucas who says he was homeless until he was helped out by School's Out. He revealed his two best friends took their own lives, and said he had been to eleven different schools in the space of three years. Lucas told the crowd gathered about the importance of their support, stating "you give me hope". The official speeches finished with Kassie Hartendorp from Wellington youth group School's Out saying "We don't know how many slip under the radar. Schools say they have no gay students - that's just bad maths." She expressed the importance of solidarity with other groups, saying "We can't do this on our own."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 11th May 2012 - 6:56pm