[ti:Fear in Uganda’s Gay Community after Death Penalty Threat, Arrests] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Twenty-one-year-old Shamim Pretty has found shelter in a Kampala safe house for the past three years. [00:09.84]Shamim Pretty is not her real name. [00:13.16]She told VOA when she was 16 years old, her mother kicked her out of their home [00:20.45]after learning that her daughter was transgender. [00:24.50]Her mother also called the police. [00:29.08]"When they took me to the police, my mother was there waiting for me," said Pretty. [00:34.64]"They really mistreated me. There was an officer who was very homophobic. [00:40.44]He got hold of me and beat me up." [00:44.52]A group called Icebreakers Uganda provides help to members of the country's LGBT community. [00:52.64]The term LGBT is short for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. [01:01.60]Icebreakers Uganda set up the Kampala safe house in 2012. [01:07.52]That was the year before Ugandan lawmakers voted to increase the punishment [01:13.80]for homosexuality from life in prison to death. [01:19.92]Under pressure from Western governments, Uganda overturned the Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2014. [01:30.52]But gay sex remains illegal and members of the LGBT community are commonly harassed in the country. [01:41.12]Elvis Ayesiga is the programs director at Icebreakers Uganda. [01:48.28]"You don't have anywhere to go, you don't have money for rent... [01:52.92]so we offer space here, usually for one month," Ayesiga said. [02:00.44]Last month, Uganda's ethics minister, Simon Lokodo, [02:05.32]announced plans to bring back the Anti-Homosexuality Act. [02:10.24]So, many homosexuals now live in fear of renewed attacks. [02:16.76]Pepe Julian Onzima works with a non-governmental organization called Sexual Minorities Uganda. [02:25.84]"Already, most (gay) people do not have homes, [02:29.36]they do not have education, they are not employed, they are homeless. [02:34.61]So, when something like this comes, it threatens even the little safety that they had," Onzima said. [02:43.84]A Ugandan government spokesman has denied any plan to bring back what some call the "Kill the Gays" bill. [02:53.80]Even so, the LGBT community is frightened by the arrest of 16 gay activists. [03:02.84]They were arrested because they had condoms [03:06.24]and medicines to prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. [03:13.64]A gay Ugandan man told VOA "you do not know who is watching." [03:19.39]He is always careful not to show that he is gay. [03:24.96]I'm Susan Shand. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM