HATE CRIME VICTIMS REMEMBERED

The second anniversary of the murders of Soweto lesbians Sizakele Sigasa and Salome Masooa was commemorated in Meadowlands on Tuesday, reports Behind The Mask. The event was hosted by the 07-07-07 Campaign, led by the Joint Working Group.

A tree was planted to mark and remember the lives of these two women who were brutally murdered in 2007, and a bench with their names engraved on it was unveiled.

“I have mixed emotions about this commemoration of my daughter’s death. I am happy that the organisations and the LGBTI community took their time to organise this day, but at the same time I am sad that the perpetrators have not yet been arrested,” Salome’s mother said.

Despite the poor turnout by the Meadowland’s community, LGBT activists called for end to violence against people because of their sexual orientation.

“I am happy to see lesbians coming together to celebrate and remember our fallen sisters, but am also saddened by the fact that our fellow black lesbians are still murdered in their own communities,” said Nancy Castro, Deputy Director of Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA).

“The black community needs to be educated about homosexuality, they need to shift from their cultural beliefs that lesbian and gays do not exist, they should educate themselves and stop these acts of hatred,” she added.