As tough as coming out is in the U.S., in other parts of the world it’s a matter of life and death. In Saudi Arabia, a 15-year-old’s family threatened to kill him after finding out he was gay, leading the youth to take his own life. The boy, Roshan, had tried to flee Riyadh for Dubai, but his father reportedly stole his passport.
In January, Roshan pleaded for help in a Reddit post.
“I honestly don’t know why I even told my parents I’m gay, even though I live in one of the most homophobic countries in the world,” he wrote. “I was literally kicked out the house and my family threatened to kill me if I ever go back home.”
To escape his family, Roshan stayed with a friend, telling their family his parents were just on vacation. “I can’t stay at my friends place forever. And I honestly don’t know what to do. I fucking wanna kill myself.”
As a minor, he couldn’t get a job and felt trapped.
“I honestly have no clue what to do. No friends I can to talk to about this,” he added. “I can’t go to my relatives either cause my parents must have told them about me being gay. I can’t believe one mistake has caused this—I am so done.” Read more via NewNowNext