Nepal’s national lgbti support group the Blue Diamond Society is doing its best to support community members who are living out in the open, without access to toilets. Its buildings, including a care home for HIV positive people, are also severely damaged after Saturday's devastating earthquake. Damage from the earthquake is extensive The death toll from the 7.8 magnitude quake has now passed 4,000, with the desperate search for survivors continuing. Someone who worked at the Blue Diamond Society’s care support centre is believed to have been killed at a teaching hospital. Another of the group’s members remains missing. All other staff members are said to be safe, but not all members of the Blue Diamond Society have been contacted due to the issues with phone lines and networks being down. Two people who came to New Zealand for the Wellington Asia Pacific Outgames and made friends in this country are safe. Shah Milan, who moved many with his story of the discrimination he faced in the military, has been marked safe, along with his partner Durga. Roshan Mahato, who GayNZ.com helped bring to Wellington and made a strong connection with, is currently studying in Massachusetts, from where he has been following developments in his home nation. Blue Diamond Society spokesperson Parsu Ram Rai says at the moment in Nepal most of their members are staying outside in tents due to the fear of more quakes. “There has been no support from outsiders. The daily wages earner has no means to sustain their livelihood.” There is also significant damage to the buildings of the Blue Diamond Socity, which Rai says are cracked in many places and have walls which are almost about to fall. “The ground floors of both the building are damaged and have huge cracks that can tumble at any time.” One of the buildings is a care home for HIV positive lgbti people. The organisation’s founder, former MP Sunil Babu Pant, says access to facilities is a major issue. “Many transgender [members] report having problems of accessing toilets has been a big problem as they spend nights in the open in Kathmandu,” says Pant, who is currently outside Nepal, but has been relayed information. “In Makwanpur districts also LGBTI s spending nights in the open. LGBTI s from Bhaktapur and Patan are also spending nights in the open, every transgender expressed problems of accessing toilet... Food, blankets are not reaching like many others have not been reached in in Nepal. Like many women who are in need, lesbians who have to spend nights out, also finding difficulty to access toilets.” Pant says the homes of three transgender people are completely destroyed. He says the group needs help with relief and rehabilitation of lgbti people in Nepal. Information on donating is available on the group's website here (Note, for smaller donations it may be better to band together as a group due to transaction fees)
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 28th April 2015 - 12:17pm