I faced oppression as an LGBTQ+ man in Syria. We need to keep fighting for a brighter future

As a queer Syrian man, Khaled Alesmael remains “cautious” about the rebel leadership who have taken over his home country. Having watched LGBTQ+ people jailed for their sexuality throughout his lifetime, and forced to flee to Europe himself, he believes there is a long way to go before Syria accepts his community.

“I lost trust in people who are in power in the past 12 years,” Alesmael says. “The revolution started in 2011 peacefully. People were on the streets with flowers, demanding freedom. It was a civil movement and uprising against a dictator. We believed all the promises from international communities and the media, and trusted that Syrians who are vulnerable would be helped. 

“But as we saw, Syrians are vulnerable and under threat of expressing their opinions. We trusted Arab leaders as part of the Arab Spring [a series of uprisings and anti-government protests across the Arab world in the early 2010s] that they would make some change, but our trust in people in power is broken. It will take time.”

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Syrians celebrated the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime this month. He had ruled for 24 years and succeeded his father Hafaz, who ascended to power in 1970 and turned Syria into a police state. The Syrian civil war broke out with large-scale protests against Assad’s dictatorship in 2011, which was counteracted by the government, amounting to a full-blown civil war.

After rebels took over in early December this year, Assad fled to Moscow and thousands of political prisoners were freed. But for Syrians like 44-year-old Alesmael, who have faced oppression their whole lives, the future of their country remains uncertain.

“I hope we don’t Syrians don’t jump from a bad guy towards a worse situation,” Alesmael says. “Now is the time for the international community to show their intention towards this country. Syrians, after living under a dictatorship and 13 years of a war, are exhausted. They are tired. They need support.”

Alesmael, who is a writer, journalist and filmmaker now based in London, says the “first thing” he learned about the constitution in Syria was Article 520, which said that homosexuality is a crime, and people who are found guilty of having same-sex relations can be jailed for up to three years.

“When you are born in a country where the law doesn’t protect you, you can’t stand up for your rights and sexual identity and the person who you are,” Alesmael says. “So you can’t tell your family. First, decriminalise it, then you deal with family and society because you feel protected.”

Alesmael felt “oppressed” growing up in Syria. “My family talked politics and were always in opposition with the regime, but we were afraid to speak up and speak loud and express our opinion. The walls have ears in Syria. This is how we were raised,” Alesmael says.

He is a graduate of English literature at Damascus University, and was a co-founder of one of the first private radio stations in Damascus – Syria Tomorrow FM.

Alesmael fled Damascus following the 2012 uprising for “many reasons”, including fear of being shot by Assad’s military. He explains that LGBTQ+ people in Syria felt “jailed between two jaws” under the Assad regime, and many queer people do not wish to join the army. Refusal to arm themselves against the people of Syria is another reason many are imprisoned.

As a refugee in Sweden, Alesmael felt that people were “aware of the safety, democracy and rights” that LGBTQ+ people should be offered. He felt seen and accepted by society. “It’s kind of sad, at the same time, that you have the right to be who you are, just in a different home,” Alesmael remarks.

He recalls a colleague offering to introduce him to a queer friend, and Alesmael says he replied: “I have many queer friends. What has been new for me is to have a person who identifies as heterosexual but accepts me as a friend and a homosexual person. 

“In Syria, in the underground scene, I have many queer friends. I have many queer friends from all around the world because of social media, but I feel different when I can be the person who I am in a diverse environment.”

Alesmael’s partner is British and they live in London, and they are settled and looking forward to their life here.

But Alesmael still works to create change for LGBTQ+ people in Syria. His debut novel Selamik, published in English this year, gives a “queer insight into the Syrian war and Syrian modern history” – shining a light on the often untold queer narrative of war.

His second novel Gateway is about 10 gay men from countries which witnessed the Arab Spring. “It’s a queer Arabic perspective of the past 10 years in the Middle East and North Africa,” Alesmael says. He hopes it will be published in English soon. 

Although he is cautious, Alesmael is still hopeful for a brighter future in Syria – including for the LGBTQ+ community.

“I want peace. I want democracy. This is what I dream of, but I think now the word ‘dream’ is gone – I think now we have to say we want democracy, we want freedom, we want peace for the people and equality,” Asmael says. 

“Democracy brings everything, and LGBTQ+ rights are a part of this. All Syrians were oppressed. I understand when people say to me that not only queer people are repressed, and they are right, but we need to recognise this group now. We need to talk about them. 

“Things will not change tomorrow, next week, or even next year. It needs time. But it happens when people keep fighting today. A lot of queer people in exile have revealed their sexual identity, are proud of it, celebrated by arts, dance and writing. We all should come together.”

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