Where love is illegal: What it's really like travelling Sri Lanka as a gay couple
euronews.compartner, struggling to make out his expression, and feel the light-hearted mood drain away into the inky darkness.It's the first time in my life I have had to hold back from making any physical contact with him.
Why? Because doing so could get us arrested or sectioned.Sri Lanka still criminalises homosexuality under the 1883 Penal Code - threatening both men and women with a 10 year prison sentence.These post-imperial laws are often naively dismissed, viewed as nothing more than an unpolished relic of Britain's colonial obsession.But only last year a gay couple were arrested here for their sexuality, and sent off to a psychiatric unit for 'evaluation'.Panic stirs in my stomach, and I'm no longer laughing along at the fact that I have somehow won the fifth round of cards.At 6pm the power comes back on.
Air con units kick back up, the pool lights flicker on, and the warm glow of lost fireflies dissipates into the thick, humid air.The candle is extinguished and I resist the urge to turn to my partner and blurt out my thoughts.
Instead, I feign an unconvincing smile towards Taranga and excuse myself to our room.Did we make the wrong decision? Are we stupid for coming to a country that effectively sees us as criminals?
