A gay man who escaped persecution in Syria and settled in Canada is now using his experience to help other LGBT+ refugees.
Basel Abou Hamrah told CBC Radio that coming out in his home country, or in the refugee camp in Lebanon where he spent two years, would have been too dangerous.
He said: “I came from a culture where LGBTQ people are a topic that no one discusses.
“I would be disowned by my community, by my father, by my family. If they figured out that I had a boyfriend, maybe I could go to jail.
“It’s tough to be part of the LGBTQ community back home. We lived secretly.”
Abou Hamrah eventually made it to Edmonton, Alberta, in 2015, but he still lived with the trauma of having to live in secret and was still fearful of coming out.