RESILIENCE AND PRIDE: Our Stories, Our Strength

In 2024, Pride will mark the second anniversary of Queer Asian Pride Ireland (QAPI) since its formal announcement in 2022. Pradeep Mahadeshwar and the QAPI team share how this milestone represents two years of forming a community group and nine years of tireless work behind the scenes.

Since 2015, efforts have been underway to raise awareness of the unique experiences faced by the Asian LGBTQ+ community in Ireland. QAPI is still young, and its two-year journey reflects the complexity and significance of the cause.

The last year has been a period of significant achievements for QAPI. At the end of summer 2023, a dedicated committee was formed, and this collective effort has led to several proud initiatives, including; QPoC mental health workshops, QAPI’s distinctive t-shirts, QPoC Peer Support Training, and the Queer Spectrum Film Festival. Each of these contributed to a more inclusive environment for Asian LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants and QPoC intersections in Ireland overall.

The Asian LGBTQ+ community in Ireland is one of the most diverse, encompassing individuals from South Asian, East Asian, and Southeast Asian backgrounds. This diversity is reflected in various cultural norms, religious beliefs, political views, languages and perspectives on sexuality, gender identity, mental health and sexual well-being.

Additionally, the community’s varied immigration statuses— from asylum seekers and refugees to first-generation citizens, long-term residents, students and work permit holders—shape their unique experiences and challenges.

QAPI plays a crucial role in addressing these intersectional realities. Many migrate to Ireland seeking a safe space for self-discovery and coming out. Each community outreach program reinforces the organisation’s responsibility to meet the unique needs of its members. However, the journey has its challenges. The LGBTQ+ community in Ireland has more to do in acknowledging and understanding the challenges of Asian intersection. This, coupled with the homophobia faced within our own ethnic groups, makes QAPI’s work all the more essential and relevant.

Ireland is making strides towards better understanding immigrant LGBTQ+ and QPoC communities, but there is still underrepresentation in mainstream queer leadership and decision-making, community discourse, art, academia and policy-making, which often leads to individuals being overlooked. Some face multiple layers of biases and discrimination, including racism, sexual racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia and more. QAPI is keenly interested in bringing these topics to the surface for a better future of Asian queerness in Irelandfor us, intersectionality matters.

In this context, QAPI strives to create visibility and foster a safe space for all QPoC through unique and engaging ways. The organisation’s foundation rests on five pillars; Open, honest, respectful communication; Inclusivity; Collaboration; Respect and Empowerment. These principles are crucial in building strong community relationships and ensuring every member feels welcomed, acknowledged and valued.

One area of particular interest is the intersection of arts, culture and migration. Migration has often been viewed primarily as an economic phenomenon. This perspective usually overlooks the cultural contributions of migrants, which are vital for their sense of belonging and mental well-being. Mainstream Irish society often expects migrants to function solely as workers, disregarding their roles as producers and equal participants of arts and culture. QAPI addresses this through cultural activism, with the Queer Spectrum Film Festival (QSFF) in Project Arts Centre being a prime example.

QAPI plans to take QSFF across Ireland. We also dream of hosting filmmaking workshops with our QPoC peers and look forward to producing a zine dedicated to QPoC stories in Ireland.

Future plans include QAPI’s QPoC WorkPride and QAPI’s QPoC Pride at University. In Ireland, immigrant LGBTQ+ workers’ and students’ issues have been long ignored. QAPI would like to create a safe platform for them.

In 2023-24, QAPI collaborated with Project Arts Center, Outhouse, GAZE International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, and Rainbow Minds. We also received valuable support from The Rowan Trust, The One Foundation, LGBT Ireland, GCN, Dublin Pride and INARIrish Network Against Racism. With this support, we are working towards a more inclusive and supportive environment where the Asian queer identity and QPoC experience are celebrated and respected.

As QAPI celebrates the second anniversary of its ongoing journey, each milestone brings the vision of a more inclusive, understanding, and compassionate society closer to reality. QAPI is very young, and we can’t wait to see its growth and success.