Saving Mohammad by Joel Engardio (an important read)

[Duncan Grant]

“Saving Mohammad” by Joel Engardio

Sitting in morning traffic on the Google bus, Kevin Steen wasn’t thinking about founding an international organization to save LGBTQ lives in the Middle East. Work emails and weekend plans with his boyfriend were on his mind.

Then his phone lit up with panicked texts from a friend in Jordan.

Mohammad’s family found out he was gay. His father had beaten him up, badly. He was disowned and kicked out of his house. He fled without anything. He was in the street with nowhere to go.

“I was scared for Mohammad because his dad threatened to find and shoot him,” Kevin said. “It was an honor crime waiting to happen.”

Anxious to help from 7,500 miles away, there was only one thing Kevin could do while stuck on a bus crawling to Silicon Valley. He started googling for resources.

Yet the program manager for the world’s most powerful search engine was stumped.

Kevin couldn’t find any groups supporting people in Mohammad’s situation. Many organizations assist refugees after resettlement, but Mohammad required immediate aid in his home country. He was a young college student suddenly on his own and in danger. He needed housing, food and clothes in Jordan before he could flee to safety.

Kevin wired his own money so Mohammad could rent a room, then ended up paying for a series of rooms. Mohammad had to keep moving because his father was on the hunt...

Full story at link above.

See also: Rainbow Street
Rainbow Street is an international NGO that provides a lifeline for exceptionally vulnerable LGBT people in the Middle East and North Africa. Rainbow Street works with local activists and partner organizations to provide shelter, food, clothing, health care, migration services, community support, and other essential resources to people facing extreme discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender expression.

[irisblue]

1. Thank You for this. nt