ROAR - Reaching Out Assisting Refugees
@roarrefugees.bsky.social
Based in Nanaimo, British Columbia, we are volunteers dedicated to providing a safe haven to LGBTQ refugees facing serious persecution.
In a year marked by escalating attacks on transgender people, the Trump administration seems eager to outdo its own cruelty at every turn.
In the Face of Anti-Trans Escalation, We Need More Than Legal Strategies
The swiftness with which Trump dismantled decades of meager, hard-fought protections exposed the limits of legal work.
truthout.org
January 1, 2026 at 5:16 PM
In a year marked by escalating attacks on transgender people, the Trump administration seems eager to outdo its own cruelty at every turn.
Thia kind of repression reflects the Azerbaijani authorities’ broader efforts to exert total control over all independent groups.
While the government does not openly promote homophobia in society, it uses it as a tool of pressure and regularly carries out similar raids against the queer community.
While the government does not openly promote homophobia in society, it uses it as a tool of pressure and regularly carries out similar raids against the queer community.
Police detain 106 people in Baku raid targeting LGBTQ+ community
According to witnesses and those detained, police used violence against them, subjected them to degrading treatment, and issued threats.
jam-news.net
January 1, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Thia kind of repression reflects the Azerbaijani authorities’ broader efforts to exert total control over all independent groups.
While the government does not openly promote homophobia in society, it uses it as a tool of pressure and regularly carries out similar raids against the queer community.
While the government does not openly promote homophobia in society, it uses it as a tool of pressure and regularly carries out similar raids against the queer community.
18,000 refugee claimants were deported from Canada between 2019 and 2024. This represents the highest volume of removals in more than a decade — a 55 per cent spike since 2019.
Asylum seekers deportations in Canada hit decade high - Businessday NG
Aisling Bondy, president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, has argued that the Canadian government is becoming increasingly...
businessday.ng
December 30, 2025 at 6:23 PM
18,000 refugee claimants were deported from Canada between 2019 and 2024. This represents the highest volume of removals in more than a decade — a 55 per cent spike since 2019.
Reposted by ROAR - Reaching Out Assisting Refugees
When queer refugees are supported, community thrives. At Free Block Creatives, we gather to share, heal, and celebrate joy while advocating for safety, dignity, and sustained support for LGBTQ+ refugees. 🌈🏳️⚧️
#QueerJoy #LGBTQRefugees #CommunityLed #Kakuma
@roarrefugees.bsky.social @amnesty.org
#QueerJoy #LGBTQRefugees #CommunityLed #Kakuma
@roarrefugees.bsky.social @amnesty.org
December 29, 2025 at 6:31 PM
When queer refugees are supported, community thrives. At Free Block Creatives, we gather to share, heal, and celebrate joy while advocating for safety, dignity, and sustained support for LGBTQ+ refugees. 🌈🏳️⚧️
#QueerJoy #LGBTQRefugees #CommunityLed #Kakuma
@roarrefugees.bsky.social @amnesty.org
#QueerJoy #LGBTQRefugees #CommunityLed #Kakuma
@roarrefugees.bsky.social @amnesty.org
Reposted by ROAR - Reaching Out Assisting Refugees
In 2025, more than half of Canadians (56%) believe the country accepts too many immigrants. This sentiment continues to reflect the majority view across most parts of the country
Canadian public opinion about immigration and refugees - Fall 2025
www.environicsinstitute.org
December 27, 2025 at 5:44 PM
In 2025, more than half of Canadians (56%) believe the country accepts too many immigrants. This sentiment continues to reflect the majority view across most parts of the country
Malaysia malaise.
Drop charges against men arrested in raid and end attacks against LGBTI people - Aliran
Responding to charges against eight men for offences including committing “acts of gross indecency with another person”, Rachel Chhoa-Howard, a regional researcher at Amnesty International, said: “Cha...
aliran.com
December 27, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Malaysia malaise.
Queer asylum is not only a migration issue; it is a human rights imperative. When states fail to document persecution, civil society must step in. Accurate, verifiable reporting can mean the difference between life and death.
LGBTQ rights reports 'mean the difference between life and death'
Factual reporting on LGBTQ rights abuses is crucial when refugees from violence-plagued nations seek asylum in more peaceful lands.
76crimes.com
December 27, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Queer asylum is not only a migration issue; it is a human rights imperative. When states fail to document persecution, civil society must step in. Accurate, verifiable reporting can mean the difference between life and death.
“AHRC expresses grave concern over this conviction, particularly given the sweeping and vague language of the new law, its application against a vulnerable foreign national, and the penal severity including post-sentence expulsion.”
Burkina Faso issues first sentence for 'homosexuality and related practices'
<p>Burkina Faso has issued its first known conviction for homosexuality.</p>
www.advocate.com
December 25, 2025 at 5:12 PM
“AHRC expresses grave concern over this conviction, particularly given the sweeping and vague language of the new law, its application against a vulnerable foreign national, and the penal severity including post-sentence expulsion.”
Bill C-12, “Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act,” allows Canada’s governor general (acting with the advice of the Cabinet) to cease the acceptance of immigration applications for processing, as well as to suspend or terminate the processing of currently pending applications.
Bill C-3 takes effect, giving many a clear pathway to Canadian citizenship
Thousands of lost Canadians previously affected by the first-generation limit (FGL) to citizenship by descent are now eligible to gain Canadian citizenship. On December 15, 2025, Bill C-3, “An Act to ...
www.cicnews.com
December 24, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Bill C-12, “Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act,” allows Canada’s governor general (acting with the advice of the Cabinet) to cease the acceptance of immigration applications for processing, as well as to suspend or terminate the processing of currently pending applications.
Reposted by ROAR - Reaching Out Assisting Refugees
US seeks to cancel thousands of asylum cases, CBS News reports reut.rs/3LhiigO
US seeks to cancel thousands of asylum cases, CBS News reports
The Trump administration launched a nationwide campaign to void asylum claims of thousands of people with active cases in immigration courts by arguing that they can be deported to countries that are not their own, CBS News reported on Tuesday.
reut.rs
December 23, 2025 at 2:40 PM
US seeks to cancel thousands of asylum cases, CBS News reports reut.rs/3LhiigO
Canada spent $78 million deporting 18,000 people in 2024 — according to a report in the Toronto Star.
December 22, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Canada spent $78 million deporting 18,000 people in 2024 — according to a report in the Toronto Star.
Reposted by ROAR - Reaching Out Assisting Refugees
Opinion: ‘End our suffering’: refugees from Africa face inequity and delays resettling in Canada
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/1...
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/1...
‘End our suffering’: refugees from Africa face inequity and delays resettling in Canada
In 2023, Canada’s auditor general found that backlogs were larger and processing times longer for refugee applicants in Africa due to under-resourcing of visa offices. Two years after that report,…
www.hilltimes.com
December 21, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Opinion: ‘End our suffering’: refugees from Africa face inequity and delays resettling in Canada
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/1...
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/1...
“An unprecedented attack on asylum in the EU. This shameless attempt to sidestep international legal obligations further shifts EU responsibility for refugee protection to countries outside Europe and is far from a humane migration policy that upholds people’s dignity.”
EU: New Rules on Asylum and ‘Safe Countries’ Undermine the Foundation of Refugee Protection
Reacting to the agreements between the European Parliament and Council on new EU asylum rules, which undermine the very foundation of refugee protection, Olivia Sundberg Diez, the EU Advocate on Migra...
www.commondreams.org
December 19, 2025 at 4:09 PM
“An unprecedented attack on asylum in the EU. This shameless attempt to sidestep international legal obligations further shifts EU responsibility for refugee protection to countries outside Europe and is far from a humane migration policy that upholds people’s dignity.”
Trans people continue to experience discrimination and oppression worldwide, while they simply seek to be acknowledged, respected, and granted the right to live with dignity and peace. This involves allowing trans people to freely practice their religions without forcing them to change.
In Malaysia, Muslim Trans Women Find Their Own Paths
An anthropologist traces how trans women in Malaysia navigate state-sponsored religious programs aimed at “rehabilitating” LGBTQ+ Muslims.
www.sapiens.org
December 19, 2025 at 6:11 AM
Trans people continue to experience discrimination and oppression worldwide, while they simply seek to be acknowledged, respected, and granted the right to live with dignity and peace. This involves allowing trans people to freely practice their religions without forcing them to change.
Three months after the West African nation of Burkina Faso enacted a law against gay sex, it military-dominated government has sentenced the first man for violating that law and sentenced him to two years in prison.
Two years in prison for homosexuality in West Africa
West African nation of Burkina Faso begins enforcing its new anti-LGBTQ law
76crimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:46 AM
Three months after the West African nation of Burkina Faso enacted a law against gay sex, it military-dominated government has sentenced the first man for violating that law and sentenced him to two years in prison.
Canada’s new immigration law should be withdrawn, critics say.
Canada is repeating a century of anti-migrant scapegoating ⋆ The Breach
Carney’s immigration law C-12 is a new chapter in an old Canadian playbook of scapegoating migrants while serving the corporate elites
breachmedia.ca
December 15, 2025 at 7:17 AM
Canada’s new immigration law should be withdrawn, critics say.
A decade after Canada fast-tracked Syrians to safety, settlement workers and advocates say the system facing current refugees is far slower and constrained.
From hope to hurdles: How Canada’s refugee system has changed since 2015 | CBC Radio
A decade after Ottawa did much to help resettle displaced Syrians, refugees and advocates say wait times have lengthened, funding has dwindled and federal policies may tighten the path to safety.
www.cbc.ca
December 14, 2025 at 6:10 AM
A decade after Canada fast-tracked Syrians to safety, settlement workers and advocates say the system facing current refugees is far slower and constrained.
For LGBTQ asylum seekers, “safety” does not switch on when their countries’ laws change or a conflict stops. States can look stable on paper while people remain unsafe in their family homes, neighbourhoods, workplaces and at police stations.
What Labour’s migration reforms mean for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers
For LGBTQ+ people, ‘safety’ does not switch on when their countries’ laws change or a conflict stops.
theconversation.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:45 PM
For LGBTQ asylum seekers, “safety” does not switch on when their countries’ laws change or a conflict stops. States can look stable on paper while people remain unsafe in their family homes, neighbourhoods, workplaces and at police stations.
Reposted by ROAR - Reaching Out Assisting Refugees
Rich countries are turning their backs on people fleeing violence & repression, so no surprise they’re forced to use smugglers.
Both having to flee at all & the means they use to do so are primarily problems for refugees themselves & no-one else.
Nothing’s going to change till we recognise this.
Both having to flee at all & the means they use to do so are primarily problems for refugees themselves & no-one else.
Nothing’s going to change till we recognise this.
Hardline migration policies are fuelling people smuggling, report finds
As leaders try to break smugglers’ business model, research suggests strategy so far has had opposite effect
www.theguardian.com
December 4, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Rich countries are turning their backs on people fleeing violence & repression, so no surprise they’re forced to use smugglers.
Both having to flee at all & the means they use to do so are primarily problems for refugees themselves & no-one else.
Nothing’s going to change till we recognise this.
Both having to flee at all & the means they use to do so are primarily problems for refugees themselves & no-one else.
Nothing’s going to change till we recognise this.