Italian LGBT Catholics raise funds to relocate gay refugees from Turkmenistan and Tajikistan

The Italian Catholic LGBTQ+ association La Tenda di Gionata has completed a fundraising campaign to relocate two gay refugees from Central Asia to a safe country. Twenty-seven-year-old Azat from Turkmenistan and twenty-five-year-old Mansur from Tajikistan had previously left their home countries due to persecution based on their sexual orientation.

Both young men were temporarily residing in Georgia, awaiting the expiration of their legal documents. As reported by the Catholic LGBTQ+ resource New Ways Ministry, the donations collected during May were sufficient to relocate both refugees, although the campaign was initially intended to assist only Azat. A local community in Georgia and other refugees also participated in the fundraising effort, which was coordinated by Alessandro Previti.

Previously, La Tenda di Gionata had organized the relocation of another gay refugee from Turkmenistan to France. Azat and Mansur will now be able to apply for international protection in their new host country.