Time flies, doesn’t it?

Let’s look back and remember! Take a moment to close your eyes and think about where you were.

We left Facebook, changed our phone numbers, locked our doors. We became homebodies, even though we were never like that before. We changed our style; we tried to change everything that we thought made us suspicious. Some of us even fled. We reported hateful videos and posts day and night, worried daily that they would release our photos. We have endured that hateful campaign against us, and here we are.

How many ganged up on us? From social media friends to the neighbor, from the passerby to the religious leader, from the TikTok influencers… I wanted to say government, but we don’t even have any legal protection anyway.

In spite of all this stress and anxiety, I also want us to think again about our unity. We were able to talk to queer people we didn’t know very well. Many of us became queer activists and became our neighbor’s keeper. They made us speak louder. Even those of us who never had pseudo accounts created one to defend our community. Humor and sarcasm from our own helped us get through the day with laughter and the spirit of togetherness. Through social media campaigns, we heard ally voices; they told us they have our backs and encouraged us to keep pushing. Amidst this, some found a lover (A romance birthed during the battle of homophobia: Hateful campaign haha), and some found friendships. The hatred we faced was intense, but it has passed. It sounds simple to say, “all shall pass,” but that is our hope! Life went on after what worried us and gave us anxiety. This doesn’t mean that there is no hatred, but the level of internal fear and terror that existed yesterday no longer exists because we have survived it and will continue to do so. We win by existing. One step forward! Our unity in checking on each other and holding space for one another has made us stronger.

I hope that there will be nothing we won’t be able to defeat.

Unity Breaks Hate!

The fight continues.