As we have reported on several previous occasions, one of the categories of refugees we are taking now are gay men and lesbian women (Bi’s and Trannies too) who have been persecuted by their fellow Muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere. Here is news, with no further comment, from Boise State Public Radio (emphasis mine):
The US Department of State pledged to lead the world in accepting refugees from Syria at a meeting in Geneva this month. The organization says it is currently reviewing about 9,000 UNHCR referrals from Syria and is receiving approximately a thousand new referrals each month. A Boise refugee support organization anticipates many of those people will come to Idaho.
But one Syrian man has already arrived as a refugee and believes he’s uniquely positioned to help the incoming population of people from his home country — even though the reason he left Syria is different from why many people are leaving now.
Shadi Ismail fled the region about two-and-a-half-years ago because he feared his family would kill him for being gay. He says he always knew he liked boys.
“I see a friend take shirt off or something,” he explains. “It’s like ‘Oof!'”
Ismail says being gay was unacceptable in Syria, especially in his family.
What follows is a long discussion of the abuses he suffered at the hands of his family and the Muslim community. However, another gay man suggested he apply to America as a refugee, and here he is.
After many months of waiting, Ismail was accepted as a refugee and sent on his way to Boise, Idaho.
He plans to help his fellow countrymen (and give them a message) when they start arriving real soon in Idaho:
The Syrians coming to Idaho as refugees escaping the war will have very different reasons to flee than Ismail. But Ismail is the only Syrian refugee he knows of in the Boise area. So he feels a duty to help newcomers fit into their fresh American lives. He plans to explain to them how life works, and he knows what he’ll tell them about how they should treat lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans people.
“You have to accept me [in] America,” he said. “I left everything to be who I am. If you want to still have your mind crazy [about sexual intolerance], go back to your country. Do your thing there.”
For more on the booming resettlement state of Idaho…
Go here for a map of the US and links to federal refugee contractor offices including those in Boise.
Here (all states listed) are the resettlement contractors in the State of Idaho (a Wilson-Fish state which means the contractors and the feds run the program with no state government control):
DFMS (Episcopal Migration Ministries)
ID-DFMS-01: Agency For New Americans
Address:
1614 West Jefferson Street
Boise, ID 83701
Phone: 208-338-0033-X25
IRC (International Rescue Committee)
ID-IRC-01: International Rescue Committee
Address:
7188 W. Potomac Drive
Boise, ID 83704
Phone: 208-344-1792
WR (World Relief)
ID-WR-01: World Relief Treasure Valley
Address:
6702 Fairview Avenue
Boise, ID 83704
Phone: 208-323-4964
USCRI (US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants)
ID-USCRI-01: College Of Southern Idaho Refugee Programs
Address:
1526 Highland Ave E
Twin Falls, ID 83301
Phone: 208-736-2166