Gay Moroccan Refugee Shares Harrowing Journey of Abuse and Persecution

Nabil was the victim of sexual abuse by his uncle when he was only 10 years old. "He raped me and when my family found out, they turned against me. I was mistreated and kicked out of the house," he confides to Diario de León. The Moroccan found himself on the street at the age of 12 and began to frequent homosexuals and eventually turned to prostitution to survive. In Morocco, homosexuality is not accepted by society and is punished by law. "We are constantly beaten, humiliated, mistreated... And when the police catch you, it’s the same. We are treated as sinners," laments Nabil.

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Arrested by the police on the street at the age of 18, he was thrown in prison because in their report, the agents specified that he was arrested in a house in flagrant prostitution. A month later, he was released from prison and returned to his family who rejected him. "They insulted me and said hurtful words like: Go away, you fucking faggot! You have tarnished the family’s image in front of the neighbors... You are a miserable faggot," he remembers. He continued to suffer humiliation and other degrading treatment from the neighbors. Unable to bear it anymore, he decided to leave Marrakech and go to Agadir.

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In this city, he continued to frequent homosexual circles and practice prostitution. He was even sentenced to six months in prison for homosexuality. Released, he returns to the street. There he meets the one who becomes his partner and they lived a peaceful life for two years. Until the day they discover that they are both HIV positive. "I don’t know who infected who. We had unprotected sex," says Nabil. But his partner began to accuse him, blaming him for "ruining his life," and to attack him with knives. "I started living in hell. I fled and went back to Marrakech where I was not welcome," he continues.

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Rejected by everyone and desperate, he tried to commit suicide, but was saved by a friend who quickly took him to the hospital. Once recovered, he returned to the street. With the 4,000 euros received after the family inheritance was shared, he decided to immigrate illegally to Spain. After a six-day sea journey, he arrived in Las Palmas in critical condition, as he was not taking his antiretrovirals. He was admitted to the hospital where he stayed for 20 days during which he applied for international protection. This led him to Valencia where he spent two months and finally to the San Juan de Dios center in León. "I am very happy in Spain, even if sometimes I feel pointed at," assures Nabil, who is taking language courses and training to integrate into working life.