Pink Trash Cans Gifted by Gays Cause Furor In Zimbabwe City

by Melanie Nathan, Dec 20, 2011

Just when we thought we had heard it all from Zimbabwe this week – The notorious gay hating Robert Mugabe being challenged by a politician flip flopping to pro LGBTI equality – to a member of Parliament being arrested for calling Mugabe a homosexual –  all here on O-Blog-dee-O-Blog-Da – and now this Pink trash cans a gift to one of the most homophobic cities in the globe as given by an LGBTI group!!

Residents of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city, are reportedly refusing to use pink “rubbish bins” ( translated: the Colonial word for trash cans!) donated to the city by a local gay rights group.

According to NewsDay, the 20 bins, which are painted pink and bear the logo of the Sexual Rights Centre (SRC), have raised the ire of the Bulawayo United Residents’ Association.

“The issue of gays and lesbians is a very controversial national problem and council was, therefore, supposed to consult the people as accepting the donation could be misconstrued to mean the local authority subscribes to gay rights,” Bulawayo United Residents’ Association Secretary-General Samuel Moyo told the newspaper.

It was reported that the bins had been received by Bulawayo Mayor Thaba Moyo at a function at City Hall. He defended his acceptance of the bins: “We are a city of various citizens, we will not consider a person’s religion, sexual orientation, race, gender, class or whatever. Gays have the right to donate to council and we have the right to receive from them, he said.

“The reception of a donation from gay people does not mean that this is a sign that we support the idea of homosexuality, but it shows that we do not discriminate against them based on their sexuality.”

The fate of the bins, however, is unclear.

The SRC said the bins had been placed around the city centre but had disappeared the following day and had not been seen since.

Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has reportedly succumbed to pressure and withdrawn the 20 litter bins donated by a gays and lesbians’ group two weeks ago following complaints from residents and civic organisations who described the gift as culturally improper.

SRC board member Ricky Nathanson told NewsDay that she was disappointed by the removal of the bins. “Council has the final decision on how these bins would be used, we just simply donated them,” she said.

Mayor Moyo said that he was not aware of the fate of the bins.

Gay sex – along with members of the same sex holding hands, hugging or kissing – is illegal in Zimbabwe with penalties of up to three years in jail.

Cross Post source:-  http://www.mambaonline.com/article.asp?artid=6479  and http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-12-15-gays-donation-vanishes/