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Victoria Mindova

The procession for equal rights for non-heterosexual couples and transgender people Athens Pride took place for the ninth time in Greece and brought together over 15,000 people. On Saturday, five main organizers supported by over 80 enthusiastic volunteers turned the centre of the Greek capital into a carnival of colours, music and love. Their slogan was "Our Athens" and the aim of the event, as every year, was to spread the call for equality and tolerance.

"This year's event was great. There were more people than we have ever gathered during the festival. We had gathered around 500 participants during the first Athens Pride which took place in 2005. The number is much greater now," Andrea Gilbert, one of the organizers of the festival, told GRReporter.

"The idea of ​​this festival - procession is not only for the people to have a good time by singing and dancing, but to make the public pay attention to issues related to human rights and equality," says Gilbert.

According to her, in many situations, Greek society, and the state institutions in particular, remain blind to the violence and unfair treatment of people with different sexuality. "The terms and concepts related to sexual orientation and gender identity are absent from the political and public dialogue which makes us invisible spirits in society," say supporters of the movement.

"Society follows the trends covered by the media and obeys the law. When neither of these two institutions pays enough attention to a problem, there is no culture for its resolution."

Andrea Gilbert gives the example of several cases involving attacks on men because of their homosexual orientation. "They were attacked not because they had done something wrong or violated the law, but because they are gay. When the victims go to the police to file a complaint, the law does not allow them to correctly describe the incident." Therefore, the first change that needs to be made is in the new law against racism. In her opinion, there must be protection against homophobia like there is a law that protects the rights to origin and religion. This is still absent from the Greek legislation.

The message of Athens Pride is to present the concerns of people with different sexuality and to break the taboos associated with it.

"I can say that in Greece, there is no family or extended family without one homosexual family member at least, whether we are talking about gay, lesbian or about someone who wants to be or is transsexual. Precisely because of the lack of a dialogue in society, many of these people have not yet openly recognized their sexuality before their loved ones or even before themselves."

According to Gilbert, the state is turning away and it does not want to consider the problems associated with the absence of rights of non-heterosexual citizens. They often face difficulties at work and in their private life but do not have legal or social support to overcome the challenges. "I think this is a crime. We are a very large part of the population and society will not develop while the institutions pretend that we do not exist."

A major problem remains the lack of support for young people who find out in their teen years that they do not meet the expectations of their parents. They often understand and accept their sexual orientation but do not know how to share it with their family and the people around them.

"It is most difficult in the country," says the organizer of Athens Pride. There are no advice centres outside Athens and Thessaloniki, society is more conservative, the circle of people is much closer and young people with different sexuality can often become the subject of attacks and violence, both verbal and physical.

If young people do not find support in the family, one of the ways for them to find the necessary moral support and advice is the advice line of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) - 1528. It operates from Monday to Friday from 12 noon to 8 pm and involves psychologists and experts in the field. "This is a very useful initiative but there is the risk that the line may close since the state has no money to support it. The psychologists who are serving it have not been paid for months." According to Gilbert, this is another example that people with different orientations are not considered an important part of society.

The members of Athens Pride want wider publicity as regards the issue of the right for same-sex partners to live together and marry. "We, like all the other people in the world, have the right to family happiness and protection. Therefore, we want to bring to the fore, as much as possible, the issue of legal living together between homosexual couples first, and then, to fight for the right to marry," says Gilbert.

"In a modern democratic society, the state cannot prohibit a certain group of citizens from living a full happy family life, as is true for the rest of the population," the activist is firm.

She does not hesitate to comment on the wide protests and clashes in Paris before the adoption of the law on gay marriage. "Do not think that what we saw as processions and protests against the marriage between partners of the same sex expresses the opinion of the majority in France. The far right forces that are homophobic in nature are very well organized." Gilbert explains that the protest against the legalization of gay marriages had brought together people from across the country to show a strong position but reality is different. She states that granting equal rights to same-sex couples is supported by a large number of heterosexual people who are not as fanatical as homophobes and do not participate in such rallies with such determination.

Andrea Gilbert is a supporter of the Pride movement in neighbouring countries too. She has visited Sofia Pride several times over the past years and says that the tolerance to the LGBT community has improved although there is still much to be done in this regard. In her opinion, although the legislation in Bulgaria is better than that in Greece, it is not yet observed in the country. "I am sending all my love and support to our followers in Bulgaria," says the organizer of Athens Pride, wishing the activists and ordinary people who support the achievement of equality for all, to not give up the dialogue and to not indulge in violence.