CANADA SAVES GAY SYRIAN REFUGEE

By Samuel Leighton-Dore

Keeping with their international reputation as being the nicest people on Earth, a rare warm-hearted story has emerged this week of a 32-year-old Syrian man being welcomed to Canada after facing threats from local authorities which included imprisonment, castration and rape.

Rasheed (who chose not to disclose his full name as he hasn’t come out to his family yet) has now found safety in Toronto after copping ongoing abuse since 2012 – in one case being kidnapped, blindfolded and beaten with electrical cables. This wasn’t the worst of it, either, with police officers regularly taunting that he would “never see this world again”.

Fortunately for men such as Rasheed, Canada is one of a growing list of countries following the United Nations High Commissioner’s guidelines in identifying gay men as priorities for government-assisted resettling. Toronto-based organisation Rainbow Railroad has recently seen the number of requests for LGBT refugee assistance grow from 3-4 every month to at least 1 or 2 every day.

As Justin Taylor, the executive director of Rainbow Railroad, explains, gaining sponsorship or refugee status can be a more complicated process for those facing sexual discrimination in countries such as Syria.

“These people we help are in conflict with their families,” he said. “They are facing violence from their own community… Because they’re LGBT. These are very special cases that often are still in a lot of risk while they’re waiting to be resettled.”

Despite having minor difficulties finding affordable housing, on his new home, Rasheed tells The Toronto Star, “I find it very respectful. Whenever I say I’m gay or whenever I go to gay places, in the society itself, they respect you for being gay”.

They might be commonly mocked for their weird accents and meme-d for their overly attractive Prime Minister – but Canada is certainly doing something right.