Gay envoy (Dutch) and his black lover flee welter of abuse (Estonia)

Gay envoy and his black lover flee welter of abuse

June 8, Times Online

The Dutch Ambassador to Estonia has resigned his post because of the racist and homophobic abuse directed at his black boyfriend. Hans Glaubitz, who had represented his country with his Cuban partner without problems in Brazil and South Africa, demanded a transfer because Raúl García Lao could not stand living in Tallinn any longer. They arrived in the Estonian capital last September.

Mr Glaubitz said: “It is not very nice to be regularly abused by drunken skinheads as a ‘nigger’ and to be continuously gawped at as if you have just stepped out of a UFO.” The abuse increased after a local magazine wrote that the appointment of a gay Ambassador with a black partner had to be seen as a Dutch provocation

...

Mr Glaubitz met his partner while serving in Havana. He was posted to Pretoria in 1997, where the couple broadly were accepted. South Africa introduced strong anti-discrimination laws after the end of apartheid that covered racism and homophobia. They then served in São Paulo, Brazil, where, during one royal visit, Mr Glaubitz acted as host to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and Señor García Lao acted as the official host for the Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife, Princess Maxima.


Mr Glaubitz and his partner will be transferred to Montreal. It is the latest in a series of incidents that have sounded alarm bells about xenophobia and homophobia in Eastern Europe.

http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,307387,00.jpg

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2215718,00.html

So what was the political climate in Estonia in the 30's and 40's?

For real.

My sister's best friend's family (mother, uncle, grandparents) escaped Estonia via a small boat right after WWII. Why? Fleeing the Communists. As a kid, I always figured it was because Commies=Evil, so it made sense. Then, as I got into high school, I realized some stuff: he had a special "Estonia" room in the basement, where he would drink and sing songs... songs that my sister's friend translated -- they were evil, fascist, anti-semitic songs. He would wear his old uniform and brag about killing Jews. Come to find out after I became an adult and moved from there, he left Estonia because there was a huge price on his head.... he had been in charge of one of the local, fascist brigades that rounded up and killed Jews. All of his buddies in the area were the same. It was like a real-life version of "The Music Box" (which has its own eerie real-life backstory).

My sister's friend as a child was sent every summer to "Estonia Camp," where they learned Estonia, cultural stuff, and fascist propaganda. They were also taught survival skills, in case the Jews came to kill them.

Quite a history those Baltic countries have...

"The Music Box" was an incredible movie.

It seems like Raúl García Lao is a lot more than just a "boyfriend." Newspapers need to update their style manuals and use a more accurate term, such as husband or spouse.

something like a boil on the ass of a tapeworm.