Rainbow Railroad

{{Short description|Canadian LGBT relocation support agency}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = Rainbow Railroad

| logo = File:RR_Logo.webp

| logo_size = 250px

| type = NGO

| status = Charitable organization

| tax_id = {{Plainlist|

• {{flagicon|Canada}} 827142530RR0001
• {{flagicon|US}} 47-4896980

}}

| founded = 2006

| location = Toronto, Ontario and New York City, NY

| leader_title = Executive Director

| leader_name = Kimahli Powell

| website = {{URL|https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/}}

}}

Rainbow Railroad is a North American charitable organization that helps lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) individuals escape violence and persecution in their home countries. The organization was formed in 2006, with its name and concept inspired by the Underground Railroad that was used by enslaved African-Americans to escape into free states.{{cite web|last1=Manglone|first1=Kendra|title='Rainbow Railroad': Toronto charity helping LGBT people escape violence|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/rainbow-railroad-toronto-charity-helping-lgbt-people-escape-violence-1.2428479|publisher=CTV|access-date=23 July 2017|location=Toronto|date=18 June 2015|archive-date=17 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717050250/http://www.ctvnews.ca/rainbow-railroad-toronto-charity-helping-lgbt-people-escape-violence-1.2428479|url-status=live}} Rainbow Railroad has assisted nearly 15,000 individuals since their founding in 2006, including over 1,500 persons supported through emergency relocation assistance. It received charitable status from the Canada Revenue Agency in 2013,{{cite web|last1=Taylor|first1=Jillian|title=Syrian man arrives in Canada thanks to the Rainbow Railroad|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/rainbow-railroad-lbgt-upside-down-tree-1.3876845|publisher=CBC|access-date=23 July 2017|date=2 December 2016|archive-date=24 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124214237/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/rainbow-railroad-lbgt-upside-down-tree-1.3876845|url-status=live}} and received 501(c)(3) charity organization status in 2015. The organization is based in Toronto and New York City.{{cite web|title=American Friends of Rainbow Railroad Inc.|work=Exempt Organizations Select Check|url=https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/pub78Search.do?ein1=47-4896980&names=&city=&state=All...&country=US&deductibility=all&dispatchMethod=searchCharities&submitName=Search|publisher=Internal Revenue Service|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115082842/https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/pub78Search.do?ein1=47-4896980&names=&city=&state=All...&country=US&deductibility=all&dispatchMethod=searchCharities&submitName=Search|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=About|url=https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/about|access-date=2022-07-27|website=www.rainbowrailroad.org|archive-date=1 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101222842/https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/about|url-status=live}}

After the revelations about the anti-gay purges and concentration camps in Chechnya (and on a smaller scale in neighboring Ingushetia and Dagestan), Rainbow Railroad began to mobilize emergency efforts to help LGBT people get out of the region in collaboration with the Russian LGBT Network.{{cite web|last1=Lamont|first1=Will|title=Rainbow Railroad Announces Emergency Response Plan for LGBTQ People at Risk in Chechnya - urgently requests Canadian Government assistance|url=http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/rainbow-railroad-announces-emergency-response-plan-for-lgbtq-people-at-risk-in-chechnya---urgently-requests-canadian-government-assistance-619716213.html|publisher=CNW Group Ltd.|access-date=23 July 2017|date=18 April 2017|archive-date=1 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701171943/http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/rainbow-railroad-announces-emergency-response-plan-for-lgbtq-people-at-risk-in-chechnya---urgently-requests-canadian-government-assistance-619716213.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Avery|first1=Dan|title=An LGBT "Underground Railroad" Is Working To Evacuate Gay Men From Chechnya|url=http://www.newnownext.com/chechnya-rainbow-railroad/04/2017/|publisher=NewNowNext|access-date=23 July 2017|date=20 April 2017|archive-date=1 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801144218/http://www.newnownext.com/chechnya-rainbow-railroad/04/2017/?|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Canada Secretly Sneaks LGBT Russians Out Of Chechnya|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/09/08/549549949/canada-secretly-sneaks-lgbt-russians-out-of-chechnya|access-date=14 November 2017|work=All Things Considered|publisher=NPR|date=8 September 2017|language=en|archive-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115015323/https://www.npr.org/2017/09/08/549549949/canada-secretly-sneaks-lgbt-russians-out-of-chechnya|url-status=live}}

After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021, Rainbow Railroad raised concerns about the situation for LGBTQ people living under the Taliban.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/the-latest/statement-on-the-situation-of-lgbtqi-people-in-afghanistan|title=Rainbow Railroad - Statement on the Situation of LGBTQI People in Afghanistan|website=www.rainbowrailroad.org|access-date=27 July 2022|archive-date=27 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727201544/https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/the-latest/statement-on-the-situation-of-lgbtqi-people-in-afghanistan|url-status=live}} Between August 2021 and June 2022, Rainbow Railroad helped to resettle 247 LGBTQ+ Afghans in Canada, the U.K., and Ireland.{{Cite web|title=How Canada is failing LGBTQ+ Afghan refugees|url=https://xtramagazine.com/power/politics/afghan-refugees-rainbow-railroad-224567/|access-date=27 July 2022|website=Xtra Magazine|archive-date=9 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609150038/https://xtramagazine.com/power/politics/afghan-refugees-rainbow-railroad-224567|url-status=live}}

Rainbow Railroad's main goal is to help those who identify with the LGBTQ+ community. Their mission is to save those who cannot be themselves openly in their country and bring them to a new country where they can be who they truly are. Rainbow Railroad believes that governments around the globe should enact and enforce laws and policies that protect LGBTQ+ individuals and enable them to live in freedom and safety in their own country. However, until that day arrives, the organization is focused on providing solutions for LGBTQ+ people who need immediate assistance because they are facing a serious threat to their lives and safety.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/|title=Rainbow Railroad - Home|website=www.rainbowrailroad.org|access-date=19 April 2020|archive-date=17 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417221912/https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/|url-status=live}}