With a few comments about lovely Colombia.

Ha'aretz - Foreign workers, and gay, too. It isn't easy: An out-of-the-ordinary beauty pageant took place at the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv last month. Eight Filipino men competed before an audience of about 200 for the title of "Miss Gay" in English, or "Miss Feminine Man" in Tagalog, the official language of the Philippines. [.....] A. and M. heard about the Filipinos' beauty pageant and speak of it with open envy. In Colombia, such an event would be impossible. In South America, there are places where until recently anti-homosexual laws stood on the books, and even where such laws did not exist, it is a great deal safer to stay in the closet. "Colombia was a varied country. There are places where there is more openness, or where they at least leave homosexuals alone," says M., trying to defend his homeland.
     A. reminds him of a woman whom both men knew, an openly avowed lesbian, who was murdered because of her sexual preference. "It's true," M. sadly admits. "Since there is such chaos in Colombia, and there isn't really any public order, every so often groups form and decide to enforce their own order. The call themselves "clean-up crews," because their object is to purify society from social phenomena they consider negative. For instance, they may decide to put an end to the phenomenon of panhandlers in the street. And then the beggars really do vanish - out of fear, of course - and anyone who doesn't vanish fast enough, pays for it with his life. Or else he simply gets a severe beating. The homosexuals are on the black list of these groups, which at times finger them as a target for purification."