Abidjan - The tiny bar in Abidjan's Marcory neighbourhood is just one among thousands in Ivory Coast's commercial capital. And, at first, there seems little to set it apart from the others.

The music blares on the tiny dance floor as customers try out the latest moves in front of the wall-length mirrors so important for the perfection of the city's daily-changing dance crazes.

In a corner, a man strokes another's hand, whispering in his ear, then breaks into a smile. On the dance floor, as couples begin to pair up, the difference becomes even more apparent.

That anonymity has helped the city of around five million become one of the principle destinations for gays, lesbians, and transvestites from all over French-speaking West Africa.

Ivory Coast, unlike some of its more conservative neighbours, has no laws banning homosexuality. The country even boasts a gay and lesbian association, Arc-en-Ciel Plus, that has gained official recognition from the interior ministry.

But if homosexuals in Ivory Coast have been able to attain a relatively advanced level of state recognition, social acceptance has been slower in coming.

Two years ago, a gay high-school teacher was found cut to pieces in his home. Earlier this year, a dozen transvestite prostitutes were beaten up by police patrols. At least one was raped.

'One of our friends had rat poison put in his food by an older brother,' says Yann, who was disowned by his family when they learned he was gay, driving him on one occasion to attempt suicide.

The gay community has also been largely left out of Ivory Coast's campaign against HIV/AIDS, one of Africa's best financed programmes in which the US government has shown a special interest.

A dozen members of Arc-en-Ciel Plus have died from the disease so far this year, five in the month of August alone, due to a lack of access to treatment.

So, last week, following an international conference on HIV and Aids in Toronto, he took the decision taken by many other West African gays and lesbians before him. He decided not to come back.

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