07 May 2010
Our girl in Lithuania V the gaybashers
D-day hasn't even arrived but there are already fireworks. As Vilnius City Council decides whether to prohibit Saturday's Baltic March for Equality, EuroWitch caught up with Erica Jennings our very own cailín in the Lithuanian capital who manages to combine a music career there with raising two kids and rousing heterosexual support for the march.
Erica is the lead singer of the über successful Lithuanian hit-makers SKAMP. When her economist dad landed the family there on that first sub-zero winter's day in 1992, little did she think she would be charmed into staying put or end up becoming a celebrity in a country where she didn't even speak the language.
For Erica, fame comes with some responsability and therefore when trouble started brewing for the first March for Equality in Lithuania she felt morally obliged to intervene. "It was when I saw the footage of a Lithuanian parliamentarian threatening to take his rifle and shoot attendees at the the march that I thought I needed to support this. I am straight, so I thought I'd appeal to other straights and organised a Facebook Event called Straight Supporters of the March for Equality".
So far, 234 people have signed up to join her at the march IF it goes ahead that is. Curiously, there are fewer men than women among the ranks and Erica admits that in Lithuania "straight women are not threatened by gay people, unlike straight men". As for her gay celebrity friends, Erica won't be drawn but admits they are delighted the march is happening but "not all of them can attend because they are not all out of the closet".
Right from the beginning, SKAMP has tried to offer social guidance to its fans and organised competitions to raise awareness of the importance of tolerance of difference. Erica's last foray into social activism was called Augink Atsakingai (Raise Responsibly) and was a project which focused on raising children responsibly. It remains to be seen if having well-known faces in the crowd on Saturday will deter the "unemployed skinheads" that the local authorities envision from attacking the marchers. As I write, the march is on temporary STANDBY.
Social commentators portray Lithuanians as rather disinterested in the subject of homosexuality. They are certainly not homophobic by nature although the European Parliament and other bodies have criticised the Lithuanian government for some of its recent legislation which veered dangerously towards withdrawing gay people's rights. With high-profile guests such as Swedish EU-minister Birgitta Ohlsson, and Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Lithuania Joep Wijnands as key-note speakers, it could turn into a PR nightmare for Vilnius City Council and ultimately the Lithuanian government who risk falling foul of Europe yet again.
Read more here:
http://www.balticpride.eu/news
http://www.lithuaniatribune.com/2010/04/21/teachers-and-pupils-lgbt-lithuania-and-nordics-by-fredrik-rydstrom/
http://www.lithuaniatribune.com/2010/05/05/court-revoked-permission-for-gay-parade/