If I were straight I would have lived in my
country with people I love and be happy.
I grew up thinking that homosexuality
was a mental disease.
Because that's what I read in books.
That's what my family told me.
All my teens, during my teens years I really hated
myself.
I came out to my mother in 2009.
She took me to her doctor. She just said that
he helped me and my doctor will help you too.
There is hope out there that you will be you
will become normal.
I hate myself for making my mom so
ashamed and embarrassed.
But I failed her. I failed my mom.
My father heard about this and
Because honor killing in Azerbaijan is
is huge
I couldn't go back and I decided to go for asylum.
I'm really grateful to America for
providing this to me for saving my life
however being an asylum seeker is
really really bad really bad.
I came here to ask, to beg you for my
safety.
When you put me in jail and keep me when
I didn't do anything when I hadn't
committed any crime. When you put me in
jail and keep me completely naked in a
freezing room like refrigerator
you don't expect that from this.
I kind of expect that from Azerbaijani
police
I knew that these things
take place.
You are nothing. When you are just like
asylum seekers who's sleeping on someone's
couch and having no idea where you're
going to spend the next night.
I don't want to be
that. I'm tired of being that
