I still live in fear and when I saw their injuries I felt very sad because it can still happen to anyone. We get rejected a lot and sometimes I ask myself this question, what did we do so wrong?
My whole family rejected me, for who I was. Since the age of 12 I have been attracted to girls, but I had my first experience at 23. All these years I have been stifled. At the age of nine I was sent into a forced marriage, it was at the age of 20 that I was able to escape from there, from the clutches of my parents. I suffered the worst humiliations possible and at least today I have my freedom even if I have a very long way to go, I know I will get there.
My story is very long, here is the short version. I ask my LGBTQI+ community not to abandon me, I am moving forward but I don’t really know where I am going. I need to integrate, have a job to support myself and at the same time Greece traumatises me a lot due to the way in which I am treated in Samos. I hope the future will be different, otherwise I ask my community to take me to any country. I dream of having a girlfriend, traveling and living freely.
Aled’s Story “Welcome to the Open”
Two years ago, when I was 23, I was accidentally outed as gay and I had to flee home. I had some time to see my best friends and say goodbye before leaving them for good…
I was physically and sexually enslaved so that they could earn money from me
The same goes to my twin sibling and my very old parents who would never accept seeing a homosexual person on TV/internet, let alone a family member sharing the same roof.
It escalated so fast. I literally had to arrange the flight/goodbye gathering all together – in the airport. Even though I was leaving my family, my job and just before I was due to start my masters I felt so lucky I could make it out safe and alive before the news spread. (more…)