©Toni Reed via Unsplash
In the Belgian capital, a popular festival ended badly.
This weekend the Pride Parade took place in Brussels highlighting the LGBTQIA+ community. Unfortunately, three artists who took to the stage during Brussels Pride on Saturday afternoon became victims of homophobic violence. This was reported by the Brussels news platform Bruzz. The artists were allegedly attacked after their performance by about 20 youths who beat and scolded them. Artist Diva Beirut shared the shocking story on his social media.
"After performing during Pride in Brussels, when we were walking back to the car - just 7 minutes away from the Pride stage - we were attacked by a group of young people, aged 14 at the most. At first there were seven of them, but then they started calling others in, and suddenly there were more than 25 people on the street attacking us," artist Diva Beirut wrote on Instagram. "They threw a bike at me, pushed me to the ground and started hitting me as they shouted at me."
"It was the first time in my life that I was attacked on the street for being gay. And this after 10 years of performing in Lebanon," he continued. "I'm still in pain and in shock. I wanted to share this story with all my sisters, our community, our allies and all straight people who ask why we still need a Pride month and Pride day. Here's why. To remind everyone that we still have a long way to go."
For now, it is unclear whether the perpetrators have been caught.
©Toni Reed via Unsplash - illustration image