CockTail d’Amore’s monthly parties in Berlin have rightfully earned their place as one of Citys’ top alternative parties. Hosted by Discodromo, whose prime motivation is their passion for music, a passion they’re sharing with open-minded friends in a carefree atmosphere. Behind CockTail d’Amore’s whole visual twisted aesthetic is Pindaros Andriopoulos. However, if you went tonight you would have the chance to pick up one of these stunning T-shirts designed by Stefan Fähler to raise funds for an essential cause that we should all be very concerned about.
In September 2017, Lebanese rock band Mashrou’ Leila (fronted by an openly gay vocalist) had a very crowded concert in a Cairo suburb. The concert went by in peace with great music, good vibes and people waving rainbow flags for what might be considered the first time in public in Cairo. Photos and videos where shared, uploaded and sent. The backlash was fierce, with many people calling for arrests to be made, and an end to western ideologies being imposed in Egypt. Again, the neo-Egyptian identity crisis came into play and within two days, people were rounded up and arrested.
This was the apparent spark of both international outcry and Egypt’s wider crackdown on homosexuality: Amnesty International reported dozens of arrests in the fall, including many Grindr users lured into “dates” by undercover cops. Thanks, in part, to protests organized by the Berliner collective Free LGTBQ Egypt, the Bundeskriminalamt has finally ended their training program, but Egyptian lawmakers want to enact even harsher penalties: up to ten years in prison for engaging in or simply promoting same-sex relations.
Human Right Watch: https://www.hrw.org/news/
The name on the Tshirt KHWAT / خوات is a sort of wordplay on the Arabic words for “crazy”, “gay” and “brothers”, and all proceeds will go directly to those affected.
No news yet if the T-shirt will soon be available online but send a message and tell them you want to buy one because you know you do. https://www.facebook.com/cocktaildamoreberlin/
