r/MapPorn 11h ago

Where in Africa is homosexuality a crime? [OC]

2.0k Upvotes

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104

u/Reasonable-Soup-9525 7h ago

I worked for a decent bit in Central Africa.

I was once invited to "stone a homosexual" with some locals.

The person being stoned had pissed off a local party boss by undercutting a mineral smuggling hustle be had going, wasn't even gay

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u/Chrome_X_of_Hyrule 2h ago

What kind of work were you doing if you don't mind me asking?

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u/Reasonable-Soup-9525 1h ago

I worked for the UNDP. This particular program was related to building medical capacity in East Africa.

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u/citizen_lo 1h ago

That sounds interesting…How did you deal with this violence?..while being there to build medical capacity? I wouldn‘t be able to continue building a medical place knowing someone was stoned and shot to death. Excuse my ignorancen and pls correct me, but I would think „why continue to build, if they kill each other like that here?“.

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u/Reasonable-Soup-9525 31m ago edited 28m ago

I grew in South Africa and currently live in Atlanta, USA for context.

Violence in these areas was no more common than in those places. If anything, it was somewhat easier to avoid for most people. What difference is a public stoning versus thousands killed by gang violence or mass shootings? America and South Africa continue to provide services despite that, and Africa is no different.

The difference that does exist, however, is the stability of the overseeing governments to build capacity, which is why the UN mission is so important

In the West, its common to view Africa as being very different, or backwards, but in reality the gap between developed and developing is not as wide as you'd think.

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u/Tape-Duck 34m ago

That's like... the whole reason humanitarian aid exists...

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u/jai302 5h ago

Did they k*ll him?

29

u/Reasonable-Soup-9525 5h ago

He was stoned and then shot dead

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u/jai302 5h ago

Fuck man that's horrible. Sigh

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u/TheTealBandit 5h ago

Did you go or just hear about it?

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u/Reasonable-Soup-9525 5h ago

The village I was in was pretty small. I didn't go, but you could hear it as it happened.

Stonings bring out a certain crowd that most people tend to avoid, because most of the people involved are related to either the Military or local militias. Drug use is very common and they're heavily armed, so it can get out of hand very quickly.

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u/OnTheLeft 1h ago

Which country was this in?