Guest Post:

Guest Post: An Anonymous Moroccan Man

"A" Wishes To Remain Unlabelled. 

    My friend "A" lives in Agadir, Morocco.  He has a wife, and is expecting a child in the near future.  He has a good job, but it's tough and involves manual labor.  We communicate in a mix of French and Arabic (using google translate on my end).  I understood that "A" does not want to be labelled as LGBT and does not identify as anything but himself.  He told me, and he was not the first to do so, that he identifies by his name.  He is from a relatively poor, religious background, from what I have understood.  So I will respect his choice not to be labelled at all, but still, I will to share the words he shared with me about his discovery and exploration of strong feelings for members of the same sex.

    I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to "A" for his frank and open discussion.  He is a good person with a big heart.  This post will be short, but I think it speaks volumes.  Following is the word for word message he sent me in French, with an English translation below.

    Franchement, j'avais 17 ans, j'étudiais au lycée. Mon ami était avec moi dans la belle salle de classe. Un jour par semaine, nous allions aux toilettes pour un bain, pour que nous puissions juste prendre une douche. Je ne sais pas qu'il était comme moi jusqu'à ce qu'il me dise, "chérie je veux faire l'amour avec toi," et j'ai accepté ses mots et nous avions l'habitude de faire l'amour toutes les semaines, et j'ai trouvé mon réconfort. À partir de là, j'ai commencé à chercher des hommes, mais pas toujours, pas une seule fois, seulement.
    -"A"

   Translation from French: Frankly, I was 17, studying in high school. My friend was with me in the beautiful classroom. One day a week we would go to the bathroom for a bath, so that we could just take a shower. I didn't know he was like me until he told me, "honey I want to make love to you," and I accepted his words and we used to make love every week, and found my solace. From there, I started looking for men, but not always, but not once, only.
    -"A"

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