Homosexuality is illegal in Senegal. When Patrick Driscoll found this out before he departed for his Peace Corps service, he was immediately a bit nervous about the next 2 years of his life. Patrick had come out during his senior year of college and was generally accepted by everyone and was quite content. Then, he was moving halfway around the world to essentially “jump back in.”

Photo from Patrick’s Story

Patrick Driscoll’s Peace Corps Story

My name is Patrick Driscoll and I served with the Peace Corps in Senegal from 2014-2016.

It took me a while to come out to my fellow American volunteers. I still had a boyfriend, Manuel, and we had decided to do the long distance thing. Around the end of training, I finally told a small group of some of my closest friends, and news traveled pretty quickly. By the time I got to my site where I would serve for 2 years, I think every volunteer in the country knew that I was gay and had a boyfriend. The gossip in the Peace Corps knows no bounds.

During our 3 month language, technical, and cultural training, the topic of being an LGBTQ volunteer was addressed. We were essentially told that we should stay in the closet for our own safety. The safe haven of volunteer events was to be the only times that we could express ourselves. Over the course of my service, the other LGBTQ volunteers and I all got together pretty frequently to express our frustrations and to hang out. Without them and my straight ally peers, I don’t think I could have made it through the entire 27-month commitment.

In Senegal, we live with host families. Mine was truly wonderful. They accepted me, helped me with language, and treated me as part of the family (as much as they could). They were Muslim, as is 92% of the country and the topic of homosexuality was rarely discussed in the household. My host brother, Malick was around my age and we quickly bonded. He was the only local person I ever thought about telling about my sexuality. However, my mind changed right after marriage became legal in the States. Malick made a comment about goor-djigeens (man-woman), the derogatory term for homosexuals, and how the states could ever let this happen. In this moment my mind raced as I tried to come up with a response that would dispel his negative viewpoints. I thought about coming out to him, but quickly remembered that another volunteer had just been evacuated due to his community finding out that he was gay. The Peace Corps deemed it a threat to his safety.

I decided to ask him how he would feel about one of his family members or closest friends telling him that they were gay and in love with another man or woman. He told me that was impossible as that did not exist in Senegal. I asked him, then why was it illegal in Senegal if it does not exist? He responded that it probably does exist, but only in the large cities. We went back and forth for a while and I do feel like I normalized the concept a bit for him, but I was concerned that the second I left at the end of my service he would revert back to his prior thinking about homosexuality.

A few months before this conversation with Malick, my boyfriend, Manuel, came to visit. In Senegal, it is very common for people of the same sex to share a bed. This worked in our favor throughout our cross-country travels and our stay with my host family. Hand-holding is also normal between two men or two women. I spent many evenings walking hand-in-hand around town with the mayor of our small community and with Malick. Unfortunately, I was far too nervous to hold hands with my boyfriend while we were there. I was too terrified of being found out and jeopardizing the town’s perception of me. I was just beginning to make good friends and earn the trust of my neighbors.

My Senegalese family loved Manuel during his visit. After he left, he was the only one that they continued to ask about throughout the rest of...