The Many Face's Of Many Hands

I come from the southern part of Africa, where culture and religion govern the daily

lives of the people. Despite having laws intended to protect myself and other fellow

LGBTQ individuals, the attitudes and personal values of many still contribute to hatred towards the LGBTQ community. My work as an executive board member for

the leading LGBTQ charity in my country has exposed me to immense hate and I have become a target for religious groups that oppose inclusive LGBTQ jurisprudence. This has led me to leave my country of origin, leaving a family I love

behind and a movement myself and other fellow activists have worked so much to build!

Ending up in Liverpool was unfortunately not a personal choice. I ended up here

because it was where the Home Office had placed me in asylum accommodation. However, through support systems such as Many Hands and One Heart, I have had the opportunity to access a great community of people always show up for me and who understand, appreciate and love me for who I believe myself to be. I’ve also

received support with my self-development and my mental health through Sahir’s counselling services.

Unfortunately, I still don’t feel completely safe. I was racially abused by someone who live-streamed the encounter. Although he was arrested, I still walk around with the fear that I might be targeted by someone who could have potentially seen the video on social media. I wanted to be involved in this project so I could challenge

myself to be vulnerable and share a part of myself I never did with the world. If I can break myself out of my little shell, anyone can do it! I have always been in the background of things throughout my activism journey but this project made me feel seen!

My Journey was a mix of excitement, nerves and sadness, I still miss my family.  I’m sorry I didn't  like my photo at first because of my weight but now I am very proud that I did it.

At the time I was thinking a lot about what was going to happen and who I was going

to meet for the photoshoot, it was a lot but then I met a lovely caring lady, Laura and she

tried a lot to make me happy and feel comfortable. I felt so important that day. It was

my first time visiting the beach, it was so quiet and the environment was so beautiful

and I like cool places. I'm a shy person, I have no friends in Liverpool but I feel safe

here. I’m grateful that Sahir is part of my life. 

Thank you, 

(Editor) At the time of this shoot Lala went by a different name but the exhibition gave them a boost of cofindence and they now go by their chosen name "Lala". 

My preferred name is HappyBee. I am proud black gay man from a country in Africa called Botswana. On the 16th of October 2023, I made a very big decision to relocate to the UK as an asylum seeker, because of my sexuality. I come from a background and culture where homosexuality is a taboo. The reality of being a gay man in my home country is sad. We are marginalised and penalised for being ourselves and no one is doing anything about it. That is to say, there is no protection from the government or relevant authorities when gay people are being unalived, mistreated and abused. Homophobia has been normalised, and due to this we have received our fair share of hate, mistreatment and abuse in our communities. Since I relocated to Liverpool, I have experienced a positive change in the way gay people are seen and treated. The Many Hands One Heart group is truly the best safe space, especially to us people who left their home countries due to their sexuality and gender identity. This group has been such an incredible inspiration to me, because I get to share my story with these wonderful people. My biggest

influence is from any individual seeking asylum, because I totally understand the journey we have to go through for us to find some sort of comfort, peace of mind and stability. It is an incredibly challenging process and emotionally taxing, and this is the reason why I admire every asylum seeker for their determination and tenacity. It was absolutely phenomenal working alongside Laura McCann on this project of Many Faces. To me, this project is about representation and visibility to everyone who ever feel excluded and marginalised because of their sexuality and gender identity. Taking these great photos made me feel visible and even more proud of my sexuality. Lastly, I want to mention that as people, we need to release ourselves from the authority we tend to exercise over other peoples lives.

I left my country because I was being prosecuted on the basis of

my sexual orientation being a bisexual man and my country is not safe for me. I have to endure

traumatic experiences during my journey to gain a safe space where I can identify freely as a gay man. One of my most traumatic experiences I had was when I had to go through the channel.  When I was in France I encountered language problems, I had no idea of support for people like me. I had to leave France because I was homeless, I was taken by the people smugglers to Boulogne and we were made to fix and make a boat there by ourselves to get over the channel at midnight to set sail for about 1am, in the

darkness. The man said to look at the red light ahead in the distance, he said that was England and we were to just keep heading toward the light. 

The whole boat journey took three maybe four hours altogether, we had no life jackets, the girls did but us men had no jackets and with the boat leaking and darkness it was very scary, we thought we might die.  We had to call 999 in the sea to be rescued and taken to Dover shore. When we got to the shore we were arrested and given a change of clothes from The Police. We all got taken to a detention centre in Bedfordshire where I stayed for about three weeks. At the detention centre, I was able to request a claim of asylum, but I didn’t want to disclose my sexuality as I didn’t trust anyone. I actually came to England to seek asylum in 2022.  At the moment I feel safe living in England, because I am free to identify as myself, explore and live freely without any fear.  I came in contact with Sahir in January 2023, where I started receiving support with my asylum claim and first attended the Many Hands sessions, where I met my family.  I felt safe, I felt more confident and more comfortable in myself and my  identity. I have learnt a lot from the group, the thing that most peeked my interest was getting to see people during a Pride Event that I attended, seeing them coming along with their kids and family members, standing together in solidarity. I would never see a

child waving a rainbow flag in my home country of Nigeria.  I got involved with the Many Faces project so that I can be able to tell my story as a means of encouraging LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum to understand that they are in a safe place, and to boost their confidence and not to be shy.

I come from Nigeria where being LGBTQ+ is not allowed and you also fear for your life because society commends it. Your family, and coming from a Christian home it is not allowed, it is taboo for you to say you are LGBTQ+. It makes it not right for me to be me. I was attacked back home, I got ran over by members of my community when they found out I was a lesbian which has left me with long term physical damage and trauma. I fled to the UK in 2007 to be able to live my life, to be myself and was placed in Liverpool. Since then because of my trauma and abuse I experienced, I am now depressed and struggling to get over it. I am still not free being within the asylum system, I still can’t be fully myself.  In 2014, I had my first interview which was refused so I appealed and in 2015 I was detained for one month in a detention centre. When I left the detention centre, I was made homeless and stayed on the streets of Liverpool.  By 2019 I started accessing Sahir and the Many Hands One Heart Support group which made me feel love, I built friends and I feel supported. We are all like family, my brothers and sisters from Many Hands are always there for me, providing me with help to find clothes and food to help me be alive and stay alive. Sahir have been main support from the start, they deserve a medal for all that they done for me.  Being able to go to the group sessions I feel alive, fresh and able to smile and see the beautiful faces of my family, having a laugh it keeps me going honestly. Sometimes I have bad thoughts about hurting myself and not wanting to be here, but being around Many Hands family and with power from my God I am able to get

through this and stay alive. I took part in the Many Faces project because I want my voice to be heard, want others to know that they can be who they want to be despite the hate, backlash. You should be free to show love to the world, you should be able to feel love no matter who you are.

I first arrived in the UK as a student. But soon after this, the pandemic hit and it felt like my life had been put on pause. I had always known I never wanted to work for the fossil fuel industry, but due to external pressures, I ended up going down that path. My time as a student was difficult, but thankfully I was able to reach out to my university's international student support team who told me that seeking asylum could be an option for me. It was the first time I had ever thought about it or even considered that I could be open about my sexuality or even explore it. In the country I was born in, the laws around queerness have made me feel so alien. Sharing that

part of my life with people felt like handing someone a knife and showing them my back. The reason I wanted to be involved in this project is I wanted to share with other queer people, especially queer Arabs, the option of seeking asylum. It's a hard path, one made even harder by the government here. But the euphoria I felt waking up a few years later knowing I have a job, a place to sleep and a community that wants nothing but for me to succeed is unparalleled. This city and ‘Many Hands’

have treated me with so much care and respect. I hope to one day be able to repay their kindness.