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Two people grabbed me by the arms, another two by the neck and the seat of my pants.
And I see my mom crying and I ask her why she is doing this?
Because I knew these people were not cops, I knew that was a lie.
And I asked her why she's doing that and she says, "I don't know what you did, what did you do?"
On September 15, 2010, Michelle was brutally seized from her home.
Her parents were involved in the kidnapping.
I didn't know if maybe someone was looking at my mom's face
or something, and I was being kidnapped, for ransom or something.
I had no idea, I was dead worried. And at that moment, when the taxi
drove off and we left, I realized that indeed I was being
kidnapped for loving another woman.
Clandestine clinics have for some months now been detected in Ecuador
that claim to cure homosexuality for men and women.
It is estimated that 300 centers of this kind operate without
any of them having been closed so far.
Luis Angel Saavedra, a human rights advocate and director of an
international foundation, says he has rescued many women,
victims of this procedure.
Once Michelle's mother found out that Michelle was a lesbian and that her partner
was Natalie, a classmate who frequented the house,
what she did was contact, through an Evangelical Church,
this clinic called "A Light in the Storm."
Then with the clinic and the minister of this clinic,
they organized this kind of kidnapping.
I knew that Michelle was there and knew that she had heard
her mom talk about her being in seclusion. The biggest problem for Michelle,
the reason why she was being sent there, was to cure her attraction toward women.
Natalie had been looking for her until she found her through calls
Michelle managed to make from the clinic. And then she informed various
organizations in the GLBT community.
Several women gave their testimony to this human rights foundation
about the alleged abuse of which they were being made victims.
This is how many people in Ecuador found out that there are clandestine
"clinics" in their country where people are committed against
their will to be "dehomosexualized."
These practices clash with progress that has been made
and enshrined in the new Constitution of Ecuador
for the LGBT community.
Yet there are people who consider that the law cannot be above beliefs and faith.
God says very clearly in his word that he created man and woman.
Adam and Eve, not that God created Adam and Steve.
God made it clear in his Word that He created man and woman. Now, it so
happens that man strays from his sexuality.
This evangelical minister, who was also a candidate for President
of the Republic of Ecuador, warns that what the current constitution enshrines,
and the acceptance of homosexuality in the country,
violates biblical precepts.
This corrupt Constitution that we Ecuadorians have, instead of recognizing rights to all,
what it does is give privileges to a few, and that's where we mess it up.
Homosexuals have rights because they are Ecuadorians, but they have no privileges.
He also admits that there are centers specialized
in curing the homosexuality of men and women.
There are foundations that through a process of therapy, or rather treatment,
can help, but this is not an overnight process, like, at the snap of the fingers.
This is a treatment that can take two or three years for a man
or a woman who is sexually deviant to regain their identity as
God commands in His Word.
The government of Ecuador also acknowledges the existence of
these alleged therapy centers.
A large majority of them take advantage of
centers for the rehabilitation of drug addicts, and the families authorize
these centers to virtually kidnap people who have a
different *** identity and try to implement inadequate practices
to reverse the *** identity of individuals.
There is even talk of inhumane and violent treatments.
In the context of these clinics, there are very harsh depersonalization
programs of patients or lesbians who are committed to these institutions.
We have found that they use cruel, inhumane methods,
including being locked up, baths, and forced exercise.
Do I have to, in the name of tolerance, let my children see depravity?
But there is also talk of sanctity, faith and healing.
How is it that a drunk has ceased being drunk? By the mercy of God!
How is it that a man who's been unfaithful to his wife now is faithful, a good man who loves his wife?
By the mercy of God. Homosexuality is no worse than any other sin.
And Jesus Christ, who is the savior of the world,
He changes lives. That's the beauty of it, that a lesbian or gay person can understand
that God does not condemn them.
This Evangelical minister and this human rights advocate are
joined in the same purpose, the rescue of a victim.
The former, through faith and the Bible, the latter, through
the Law and respect for differences.
How is it that a drunk has ceased being drunk? By the mercy of God!
and is now a nice man who loves his wife, by the mercy of God,