What's like to be a gay refugee? | Brish Council

Contents:

• ‘MR GAY SYRIA’: FILM DOCUMENTS LIV OF LGBTI SYRIAN REFUGE
• GAY LIFE SYRIA: AN INTERVIEW WH A GAY 'REFUGEE'
• WHAT'S LIKE TO BE A GAY REFUGEE?
• MR GAY SYRIA
• GAY AND SYRIAN: ONE REFUGEE’S JOURNEY TO SAN FRANCIS
• GAY SYRIAN REFUGEE UPLE BUILD A NEW FUTURE GERMANY

‘MR GAY SYRIA’: FILM DOCUMENTS LIV OF LGBTI SYRIAN REFUGE

And the day one young Syrian told his parents he was gay was the last time he spoke to anyone his untls fellow untrymen and women fleeg the civil war, many LGBTQ Syrians have lost their homeland, livelihoods and often hope self. One nservative Syrian imam nfintly told NBC News that there are no homosexual Mlims and that the act was punishable by al-Essa me out as gay after he fled war-ravaged Syria and settled down Turkey 2017.

”He says he eventually worked up the urage to ll his parents who stayed Syria om Turkey — where is relatively safer to be openly gay — and “face them wh the tth.

6 ln people have fled Syria sce 2011 to pe the bloody civil are no exact figur on how many Syrian refuge who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer or qutng (LGBTQ) have left the untry vastated by years of numbers are not wily documented as even human rights anizatns, such as Amnty Internatnal and Human Rights Watch, have told NBC News they had been unable to do much work on LGBTQ issu Syria due to limed rourc on the ground. Acrdg to Abo Abdulrahman al-Ansari, a nservative imam and member of the Shariah uncil the northwtern Syrian cy of Idlib, homosexualy is strictly forbidn. ”The relig and societal stigma surroundg homosexualy Syria means that for many fai, havg a son or dghter who out after pg the untry n brg enormo Hassan’s son Ammar me out as gay after he fled to Germany 59-year-old broke down tears talkg about his son on the phone om Idlib Syria, where he liv wh his wife and other children.

GAY LIFE SYRIA: AN INTERVIEW WH A GAY 'REFUGEE'

[3]Sample: 70 LGBTQ+ Syrians, aged 22-36 years old, ridg Turkey, Europe, and Canada, cludg 50 homosexual mal, 18 transgenr women, 2 homosexual women. Syria’s legal and reprsive polil system crimalise homosexualy and outlaw most forms of LGBTQ+ activism and mobilisatn (see: the sectn on Challeng below.

A/HRC/29/23, 4 May 2015; Graeme Reid, “The Double Threat for Gay Men  … Contue readg The documented ab clu forced nudy, rape, and anal or vagal “examatns” rried out by Syrian Government forc (and by armed groups), often as a tool of ercn or punishment tentn facili. Homosexual men, particular, have faced addnal prsure to leave the untry due to the dividualised risks that acpany forced ary service. [16]One Free Syrian Army fighter was quoted as sayg: If someone said homosexuals should be stoned to ath as Iran and Sdi Arabia, I would not object.

WHAT'S LIKE TO BE A GAY REFUGEE?

” See: Ree Erlich, “Gays jo the Syrian … Contue readg Wr large, throughout the nflict, terrori held by armed surgent groups have arguably been the most overtly hostile environments for LGBTQ+ Syrians, particularly areas held by vlent extremists. S/2016/361, 20 April 2016; Michelle Nichols, “Gay Men Tell UN Secury … Contue readg Although sweepg claims should be approached utly, foreign-born armed group fighters were generally more zealo and punive LGBTQ+ matters than Syrian batants the same groups.

Unverified anecdotal reports dite that such ndns likely drove some gay men to jo IS, whether as fighters or admistrative functnari, as a form of preemptive protectn.

[21]As reported by numero key rmants; Hannah Lucda Smh, “How Jihadists are blackmailg, torturg, and killg gay Syrians, ” (2013): … Contue readg. [22]Dan McDougall, “It n’t get any worse than beg gay Syria today, ” Sydney Morng Herald (2015): … Contue readg Such nunciatns often end executn. Although the Autonomo Admistratn has adopted human rights charters and -crimalised homosexualy, homosexual acts ntue to be treated as an offence.

MR GAY SYRIA

[27]Razan Ghazzawi, “Delonisg Syria’s so-lled ‘queer liberatn’, ” Al-Jazeera (2017):; Ayman … Contue readg SDF manr Mtafa Bali subsequently downplayed the apparent PR stunt: “while emphasizg our ep rpect for human rights, cludg the rights of homosexuals, [we] ny the formatn of such a battaln wh the amework of our forc. Followg the flux of Syrian refuge to Turkey the early years of the nflict, the untry me to host what was arguably the first anised Syrian LGBTQ+ movements and associatns, lnched large part by gay men Istanbul (see set: Milton of the Syrian LGBTQ+ Movement Turkey).

Several important factors have facilated mobilisatn wh the Syrian LGBTQ+ muny Turkey: Homosexualy has long been crimalised the untry, although social stigma persists, pecially more nservative, outlyg areas.

[29]In 1858, Sultan Abdul Majid I crimalised homosexualy, th grantg homosexual adults the right to engage sexual activy whout threat of legal, Turkey has a long rerd of receivg and grantg protectn stat to sexual mori om plac such as Iraq and Iran; the untry has creasgly acted as a crossroads for migratn om Asia and Ai to Europe, which — recent years — has cid wh a rise the numbers of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers. Members of the Tea and Talk group rry plards Istanbul durg the banned Pri events signs Arabic read “I’m Arab, I’m gay” and “We’re here, get ed to . Perhaps the cultural high-water mark of the Syrian LGBTQ+ muny’s overt public prence Turkey me 2014, wh the Istanbul Gay Pri Para.

GAY AND SYRIAN: ONE REFUGEE’S JOURNEY TO SAN FRANCIS

Perhaps one day we will reach full awarens about our existence as homosexuals and about the rights we are entled to enjoy as any member of society. We also want to claim our right to rpect, digny, and protectn — I am gay and I want to live wh rpect and digny – I am jt like you. ” This ncept unrwrote LGBT Rad, a statn that was meant to lnch on 17 May (the Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia) 2013, as the first Arab rad statn addrsg gay issu.

[38]Amélie Zacur, “Gay Refuge From ISIS, ” The Daily Beast (2017):; “‘No place for people like you’: An analysis of the needs, … Contue readg LGBTQ+ refuge Lebanon report that employers, abers, and others explo their fear of lol thori to erce them to hostile, unsafe, and abive profsnal and personal relatnships. However, Islamic law as is applied the untry prohibs homosexual behavur and relatnships, although no f or penalti n be enforced unr crimal law. [44]“The Global Divi on Homosexualy: Greater Acceptance More Secular and Affluent Countri” Pew Reaerch Center (2013): … Contue readg Such attus have rulted stigmatisatn and harassment, vlence, and honour killgs.

GAY SYRIAN REFUGEE UPLE BUILD A NEW FUTURE GERMANY

Notably, no legal provisn specifilly prohibs women om wearg men’s cloth for the oppose purpose, an illtratn of the way that homosexual women are ls visible than their male unterparts — even legalised persecutn. For stance, some LGBTQ+ Syrians have lled attentn to the divisns among Syrian homosexual men over attus ncerng perceived masculy and femy. [63]Ree Erlich, “Gays jo the Syrian uprisg, ” DW (2012):; Hannah Lucda Smh, “How Jihadists are blackmailg, torturg, and … Contue readg.

For stance, when the popular uprisg epted 2011, affluent Damascene gay men were well-known wh LGBTQ+ circl for hostg LGBTQ+ parti at farms and villas near the pal, unr the watchful observatn — and implic protectn — of thori.

[64]Acrdg to multiple KIIs and reliable anecdot circulatg among gay men om Damasc, as discled durg terviews nducted for this report. In general, the cultural ele Syria’s most smopolan ci, Damasc and Aleppo, have shown some toleratn for semi-overt exprsns of homosexual inty, yet this acceptance has been extend only to the privileged few, and has not translated to a regnn or acceptance of llective LGBTQ+ inty more broadly.