Indonesia Paints Towns Rainbow to Fight LGBTQ Persecution
Indonesia is still one of the places with the worst LGBTQ persecution, but in honor of Pride, some poorer villages are being painted rainbow as a show of support.
According to New on Next, impoverished cities like Kampung Wara-warni and Kampung Tridi started the trend of painting all the buildings in the town in rainbow colors. Kampung Pelangi has even become known as “Rainbow Village.” The town spent $22,000 repainting and converted 232 buildings into colorful symbols of Pride.
So far, in addition to spreading a message of love and acceptance, this is prompting a rise of tourism in impoverished areas. People are flocking to these towns to do photo shoots or take selfies, and local economies are getting a boost. This could in turn inspire even more towns to follow suite, leading to a larger message of LGBTQ positivity.
All of this is to fight recent persecutions in Indonesia. Some areas have adopted Shariah Law, and there was a raid on a gay spa just last month. New on Next also reports that in West Java the police force has declared that homosexuality is a “disease of the body and soul” and developed a special task force to identify and persecute LGBTQ individuals.
In the midst of all this tragedy and horror, these rainbow cities offer hope and a sense of belonging and strength to those living in fear.
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