One night, as they chatted on Skype, Allami’s relatives overheard them and realized he was gay. The night he got his US visa, they sat up all night in a candlelit room, hugging each other and crying.Īs much as it crushed him, Hrebid flew to Seattle in December 2009, leaving Allami behind.īut they kept their promise to stay in touch. Hrebid’s application was approved eight months later. In March 2009, Hrebid applied for asylum as part of a program that gives preference to Iraqis and Afghans who translated for the US government overseas. When the two men were separated by continents, Hrebid would draw sketches of him and Allami. His name was added to a militant hit list posted on the streets of Ramadi. But word got out that he was gay, and that he was a US translator. During those moments, war and bloodshed did not exist.Īt the base, his American buddies called him David to protect his identity. Even during the days of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, when the US did not officially allow gay people to serve in the military, Hrebid says a base officer allowed them to spend time together at the American base. They knew loving each other openly could be deadly. At the time, he didn’t know that Hrebid loved his calm demeanor and the way his dark hair shone in the sunlight. Hrebid did not say a word, but drew him close and kissed him.Īllami was so excited, he didn’t eat for two days. ISIS, which held large swaths of Iraqi territory until recently, has also targeted gay men, tossing many to their deaths from tall buildings.ĭespite the risks, Allami took a chance two weeks after they met.

LGBT people in Iraq risk harassment, beatings, and brutal killings – sometimes by family members. Iraq is not a country where same-sex attraction is discussed in the open. Neither Hrebid nor Allami knew the other was gay. Few countries, if any, collect such statistics, he says.

The UN does not have the number of applicants who claim asylum based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Last year, only 14,700 Iraqi refugees were resettled worldwide, says Andrej Mahecic, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency. Their love story would take them through two continents as they joined the 22 million refugees in the world, all fleeing war, grinding poverty and in their case, persecution from militants and relatives. Nayyef Hrebid and Btoo Allami at their home in Seattle on August 13, 2017.

Black gay skype