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What the world can learn from a Sri Lankan LGBT rights activist

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“Whatever you do in the States resonates in the rest of the world.” Rosanna Flamer-Caldera knows this better than most.

As she reveals in this interview with Humanosphere’s East Coast correspondent Tom Murphy, she was inspired to come out to her parents and take up LGBTI rights activism by her experiences in San Francisco. The life and death of Harvey Milk (the progressive gay activist and politican, assassinated in 1978) had a profound influence on her.

Now, she’s the co-founder of Equal Ground, one of Sri Lanka’s leading LGBT rights organizations. And she’s leaving a legacy of her own, considering polls done by Sri Lankan major newspapers showing support for queer rights on the rise and the way her government has gone after Equal Ground with raids and closures. There’s a lot we can learn from the pragmatic but principled approach she’s taking to advancing the LGBT cause.

In the headlines segment, Tom and I discuss the 100 million reasons you should love vaccines, why Katie Couric really ought to know better, the happiest country in Africa, and the death of Nelson Mandela.

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About Author

Ansel Herz

Ansel Herz is a freelance multimedia journalist whose objective is to “go to where the silence is." His work has been published by ABC News, The Nation magazine, the New York Daily News, Al Jazeera English, Free Speech Radio News, Inter-Press News and many other publications. A Seattle native and survivor of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Ansel is producer of Humanosphere's podcast, among other things. You can contact him at ansel.herz[at]gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @Ansel.