cosmo

donate to help support Palestinian fundraisers, and get some cool art by my wife! $10 nets you two random prints, and $15 gets you a digital sketchbook, too.

here is the link to claim your prints/sketchbook, and here is the list of fundraisers we are sponsoring. we will ship anywhere within the US. please note that these prints have been exposed to cat dander (sorry).

val doesn't have an online store and only sells her prints at local conventions. if you like her stuff, this is the best way to get a hold of it!

shares/rechosts appreciated. thank you so much!!!!!!!!

we mailed out the first batch of these today! we need to restock mailers and then the rest will go out. who wants in on the second round???? ✨✨✨

"My name is Amanda. I'm a trans woman currently trying to escape the ongoing massacres in my home country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I am writing to let you know about the critical situation LGBT+ people are facing here.

Since the beginning of the year, the Congolese army has been fighting an armed rebel group called M23. More than half a million people have been forced to flee their homes in search of safety.

LGBT+ people are disproportionately affected. People blame us for instigating the war. They think the conflict is a result of "God's anger" against queer people and that we hinder a "divine intervention" to end the war. Many of the camps and relief stations for those of us who have been forced out of our homes do not accept LGBT+ people. If they do, we're still at risk of transphobic and homophobic violence.

The only place we can turn to is Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko, one of the few organizations providing emergency support to LGBT+ individuals fleeing the conflict and massacres. They're offering shelter, medicine, food, and other urgent support to those in need. But they are running out of funds.

I ended up at a displacement site near Goma, only to be turned away and beaten when others refused to share a space with me. I was attacked, threatened, and sexually violated. Eventually, fearing for our safety, me and my two trans sisters had to leave the camp and seek shelter on the streets of Goma before finding sanctuary with the Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko organization in Bukavu.

But there are many more people in need of support and safety.

Donate now to help Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko provide essential support like shelter, medicine, and food to LGBT+ individuals fleeing violence in the DRC.

Together, we can offer a lifeline to those in need and show solidarity with the LGBT+ community in the DRC."

SOURCES:
●︎ Escalating Violence in Democratic Republic of Congo Exacerbating Humanitarian Crisis, Special Representative Warns Security Council, Urging Durable Political Solution – UN Press Release, 20 February 2024
● Violence in eastern Congo has displaced millions. Some end up at this camp – NPR, 5 April 2024
● DR. Congo: Violent homophobic ambush in Bukavu – 76 Crimes, 24 March 2024

URGENT:

Donate to Focus on Congo

ten bombs were dropped on Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), at least 40 people have been killed (they are still trying to get information/locate them), the number of casualties is unknown

sources* from people on the ground:
juicebae

pappyorion

twitter link of this post

*i understand if you usually view tiktok through a different frontend but its important that these get engagement. if you are able to make a throwaway account to help the algorithm, itd be appreciated