Then there’s the fact that Ukraine’s neighboring nation, Poland, to which over a million Ukrainians have fled, is notoriously homophobic as well, with the nonprofit advocacy group ILGA-Europe ranking the country dead last in its ranking of the most gay-friendly countries in the EU. Indeed, LGBTQ+ refugees fleeing Ukraine are hoping to escape compounding threats: the Russian invading forces themselves, as well as the intense homophobia of the Russian government. And while most people are on apps like Romeo for decidedly less involved connections, the seemingly unlikely home for a refugee aid group actually makes perfect sense, given that such clandestine apps are often the only modicum of queer community that exists in more conservative countries. So far, plenty of users have proved willing to help, hailing from locales as wide-ranging as Athens and Amsterdam.
Here are organizations to support and simple ways to help during the ongoing refugee crisis.
