Even dead gay men aren't safe in some African countries

I read this article with a huge amount of shock and sadness:

Even death cannot stop the violence against gays in this corner of the world any more.

Madieye Diallo's body had only been in the ground for a few hours when the mob descended on the weedy cemetery with shovels. They yanked out the corpse, spit on its torso, dragged it away and dumped it in front of the home of his elderly parents.

The scene of May 2, 2009 was filmed on a cell phone and the video sold at the market. It passed from phone to phone, sowing panic among gay men who say they now feel like hunted animals.

. . . In the last year alone, gay men have been arrested in Kenya, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. In Uganda, lawmakers are considering a bill that would sentence homosexuals to life in prison and include capital punishment for 'repeat offenders.' And in South Africa, the only country that recognizes gay rights, gangs have carried out so-called "corrective" rapes on lesbians.

And according to the article, Diallo is the fifth man to be done this way:

In the past two years, at least four men suspected of being gay have been exhumed by angry mobs in cemeteries in Senegal. The violence is especially shocking because Senegal, unlike other countries in the region, is considered a model of tolerance.

Supposedly, increased visibility of Senegal's gay community is leading to a backlash in Islamic communities.

It has been said that a backlash is a sign of progress. To some, it means that a community who have been on the outs of society has the powers-that-be so scared that they act irrationally.

I guess it's something to remember if you attempt to pull a positive out of this situation. But I don't think that notion should make anyone feel better right now.

There is a certain degree of hatred which goes into abusing the body of a dead man. I've read how some Haitians dug up the body of their late leader "Papa Doc" Duvalier and how some Italians viciously abused the body of the late leader Mussolini after he was executed.

In those cases, these folks were acting out on the hatred they felt after being abused and victimized by the corrupt governments of Mussolini and Duvalier.

Maybe someone can tell me what exactly have gays done to be treated like hateful dictators.

Related posts:

African gays and lesbians becoming victims of 'corrective rape'

Lesbians in South Africa getting raped as a corrective measure? What the hell?

'I would kill a gay son'

Martin Ssempa claims to be misunderstood