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The Pacific Islands and the Fight for Decolonization of LGBTIQ+ Rights

Ymania_Brown_Kulturen_und_Kolonialismus_Konferenz_©Hirschfeld-Eddy-Stiftung

Video message (YT) by Ymania Brown, at the Conference “Cultures and Colonialism”, 24 Oct 2024

Talofa lava, kia orana, bula vinaka, and warm Pacific greetings to you all. It is my profound honor to stand before you today, in a foreign country doing the work I do to help decolonise minds and hearts and laws – when in my own country of Samoa—our cherished heart of the Pacific—there is a historic gathering of CHOGM happening right now. The Commonwealth. The heart of Victorian Era laws that criminalise who we love and who we start a family with, laws we are all trying to reverse.

Look I’ll be honest with you all, @CHOGM, they are gathering because this is a time when leaders unite to chart the future of its member nations.

I’m humbled to be part of this moment, to speak to all of you about a matter close to my heart: the decolonization of our lands, our laws, and most importantly, our identities. As a Pacific Islander, I carry with me the voices of our ancestors—those who navigated these vast oceans with wisdom, courage, and hope, long before colonialism cast its shadow over our shores.

These ancestors lived in societies where gender and sexuality were embraced in all their diversity, where people like the fa’afafine of Samoa, the leiti of Tonga, and the māhū of Hawai’i – the hijra of India, the Bakla of the Phillipines, the Katoyes of Thailand, the Muxes of Mexico — were not only accepted but revered. But colonialism changed everything.

Colonialism, for the Pacific, was not just an invasion of our lands. It was an invasion of our cultures, our beliefs, and our very ways of being. When the missionaries and colonial administrators arrived, they brought with them rigid Victorian ideals that criminalised anything they considered outside the narrow confines of heterosexuality and binary gender.

Our identities, which had thrived for centuries, were condemned. The British colonial laws that criminalised same-sex relationships—calling them “unnatural offenses”—were imposed across the Pacific. These laws, rooted in ignorance and fear, were designed to erase the rich diversity of gender and sexuality that our ancestors celebrated. As Tongan scholar Dr. Jione Havea once said, “Colonialism not only stripped us of our land but also sought to strip us of our dignity, our identities, and our humanity.”

Today, the legacy of these Victorian-era laws still haunts many Pacific nations. In Samoa, Tonga, and Papua New Guinea, many others — homosexuality remains criminalised. These laws have outlasted the colonial powers that imposed them, perpetuating discrimination, stigma, and violence against our LGBTIQ+ communities.

These laws are more than just outdated statutes—they are chains that bind us, remnants of a colonial system that sought to control not only our lands but our bodies and spirits.

It is crucial to understand that decolonisation is about more than reclaiming our land. It is about reclaiming our right to love, to exist, and to express our true selves without fear. These laws, these relics of a past that sought to define and restrict us, must be dismantled.

They do not reflect who we are, and they have no place in our future.

Across the Pacific, there is a growing movement to break these chains and decolonise not just our legal systems but also the way we think about gender and sexuality.

Activists in Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Samoa, and Vanuatu are leading the charge, pushing for legal reforms, advocating for the recognition of gender diversity, and dismantling the colonial mindsets that still linger in our societies.

But this fight is not just for LGBTIQ+ rights. It is a fight for the very soul of our nations. As Māori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith reminds us, “Decolonization is about reclaiming what was taken. It is a battle for our minds, our voices, and our future.”

We are not merely trying to undo the harm that was done; we are working to build something new, something that honors our ancestors and the values they upheld—values of inclusion, respect, and dignity.


Here, in the Pacific, we often turn to the ocean to describe our journeys. Decolonisation is like navigating a vast and stormy sea. Our ancestors were master navigators, reading the stars, the winds, and the waves to guide them through the unknown.

Today, we face a different kind of storm—the storm of colonial legacies and systemic oppression—but we, too, have our compass. Our compass is our culture, our community, and our unwavering belief in the right to exist as we are. Let me tell you, the Pacific is not just rising against the tides of climate change—it is rising against the tides of colonial oppression. We are reclaiming our stories, our rights, and our identities.

The resilience of our people, especially our LGBTIQ+ communities, is a testament to the power of resistance, survival, and solidarity.
We cannot forget the strength of the fa’afafine in Samoa, the leiti in Tonga, and the māhū in Hawai’i. These communities have endured centuries of erasure and marginalisation, yet they continue to stand tall, proud, and visible. Look at me! Our existence is an act of defiance against the forces that seek to silence them. Our resilience is a beacon of hope for all of us who continue to fight for justice.

Here I am far away from all of you today, but there in spirit, I ask each of you—leaders, activists, allies—what role will you play in this fight for decolonisation? How will you support the Pacific Islands as we strive not only to reclaim our lands but also our rights, our identities, and our future?

The time for passive observation is over. We need action. We need solidarity. We need allies who will stand with us as we break free from the chains of colonial oppression. 

Let this be a moment of reflection and a moment of commitment.

As you leave this space today, I hope you carry with you the urgency of our struggle.

Know that the fight for LGBTIQ+ rights in the Pacific is not just a fight for equality—it is a fight for survival. It is a fight for our dignity, our humanity, and our future.

CHOGM Is in Samoa now and I am on the other side of the world in Colombia, and you are all on the other side in Berlin — remember that the ocean connects us all.

The same waves that crash upon your shores carry the resilience, the hope, and the voices of the Pacific people.

Let us rise together, decolonise together, and build a future where all of us—regardless of our gender, our sexuality, or our identity—can live freely, with dignity and pride.

I finish with the words of African American novelist and essayist, Octavia Butler! What I just said was my vision. I have Vision because my ancestors have Memory!

My ability to dream, to envision a future beyond our present struggles, is rooted in the lived experiences, resilience, and wisdom of those who came before me.
My strength that flows through generations is a recognition that the memories, sacrifices, and stories of my ancestors empowers me to imagine and create new possibilities. Fa’afetai lava, thank you.

Tuisina Ymania Brown, Executive Director of TGEU 


Video message by Ymania Brown, at the Conference “Cultures and Colonialism”, 24.10.202 (Linking to youtube)

Find conference Inputs, article and photos here:
Konferenzbericht / Article (German only)
Invite and program / Einladung und Programm
Photos
Grußwort / Welcoming adress Postkoloniale und dekoloniale Strategien in der Menschenrechtsarbeit
, Axel Hochrein
Keynote Decolonize foreign policy, Stella Nyanzi (PhD)
Keynote Dekolonialisierung und die Menschenrechte
, Max Lucks

This conference is part of the project “Cultures and Colonialism ‒ The struggle for LGBTIQ+ human rights in light of the decolonization debate” from the Hirschfeld-Eddy Foundation.

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