Two Brazilian Army sergeants were arrested Tuesday, June 3, yesterday at a TV Network studio in the greater São Paulo area, Brazil, after publicly admitting their homosexuality.
Sergeants Fernando Alcântara de Figueiredo and Laci Marinho de Araújo, who had already admitted being gay, last week, to í‰poca, a Brazilian leading weekly magazine confessed on national TV at a national show called "Super Pop" they were engaged in a stable homosexual relationship.
Both sergeants have maintained a serious relationship since 1997. According to sergeant Laci, since admitting being gay, they have suffered strong persecution in the Army Forces, which led him to seek medical treatment for depression, as the number of personal attacks against them have increased.
"We did not want to talk about our private lives, however if you are single and have been in the Army for seven years, everybody starts questioning you, and you become a target of jokes and laughter, all we want is to be free," said Araújo.
Army Forces police arrived at the TV studios around 11:30 pm in Barueri, in the greater São Paulo. The whole area around the TV network was surrounded by the Army forces, reports say.
Local newspapers have also announced that Luciana Gimenez, TV Show hostess, was in shock and disbelief. When sergeant Laci Marinho was informed of the presence of the forces, he cried and asked for help:
"They are going to kill me, even the Army Promoter of Justice Claudia Rocha Lama is aware of that, they have tried to do this for a very long time," screamed Marinho.
According to the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, the TV hostess replied: "What do you want me to do? You came here of you own free will. In tears, sergeant Laci and his companion were taken to the Army headquarters.
According to Andre Fischer, a journalist and gay activist who was interviewed by the Rede de TV, where Super Pop goes on every week, we should not be so quick to judge, as it appears there may be other factors:
"There may be other disciplinary measures taking place within the army, that we may not be aware of," he said.
Reports from Rede de TV Show this morning, Bom Dia Mulher (Good Morning, Woman), presented by hostess Olga Don Giovanni, inform that the sergeant is also being accused of being an Army deserter.
The TV show also admitted that prejudice against gay people is very common in Brazil as a culture and as a society, and it is far from being resolved as many other types of prejudices in Brazil.
Edison Bernardo DeSouza is a journalist, having graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University in São Paulo, Brazil. He lived in the US for close to 10 years and participated in volunteering activities in social works agencies. DeSouza currently lives in São Paulo where he teaches English as a Second Language, and is pursuing further advancements in his career. He is particularly interested in economics and human rights articles.
