Overview

A glimpse into the lives of LGBTQ migrants in Johannesburg, in their own words Seeking Sanctuary brings together poignant life stories from fourteen lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) migrants, refugees and asylum seekers living in Johannesburg, South Africa. The stories, diverse in scope, chronicle each narrator's arduous journey to South Africa, and their corresponding movement towards self-love and self-acceptance. The narrators reveal their personal battles to reconcile their faith with their sexuality and gender identity, often in the face of violent persecution, and how they have carved out spaces of hope and belonging in their new home country. In these intimate testimonies, the narrators' resilience in the midst of uncertain futures reveal the myriad ways in which LGBT Africans push back against unjust and unequal systems. Seeking Sanctuary makes a critical intervention by showing the complex interplay between homophobia and xenophobia in South Africa, and of the state of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) rights in Africa. By shedding light on the fraught connections between sexuality, faith and migration, this ground-breaking project also provides a model for religious communities who are working towards justice, diversity and inclusion.

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9781776147113

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Reviews

Any reader with an interest in issues of LGBT sexualities and faith would enjoy reading this book, as the stories are highly intimate and insightful. The collected stories offer the reader a profound insight into the life experiences, both past and present, of the storytellers, and through their stories the reader is given a deeper understanding of the politics of sexuality in contemporary Africa. The stories are highly relatable because they are about human experiences.--Adriaan van Klinken, Professor of Religion and African Studies, University of Leeds, and author of Kenyan Christian Queer Precisely because of its grounding in personal narrative, and the clarity of its prose, Seeking Sanctuary is a book that will be of deep interest and great use to general readers, faith communities and activists.--Mark Gevisser, author of The Pink Line

Author Information

John Marnell is a researcher at the African Centre for Migration and Society at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. His work uses various forms of storytelling to interrogate the lived experiences of LGBT migrants on the African continent.

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