Journalist and author Khaled Alesmael says he has become the primary Syrian to jot down what he calls a homosexual Syrian novel after fleeing the civil conflict at home. The novel “Selamlik,” published via the Swedish Leopard Förlag press, tells the story of two men’s love amid the bombed-out buildings of civil struggle in Damascus. “Nobody desired to touch this problem for several reasons. These topics aren’t properly received in society, and at the same time, homosexuality is forbidden by using religion and customs. It’s taken into consideration a splendid shame to be homosexual. This kind of thing gets its proportion of grievance inside the media, too. Homosexuals can face prison sentences from six months to 2 years,” Alesmael said.
The story of the unconventional hero, Furat, and his journey from conflict-torn Syria to Sweden as a refugee parallels the writer’s existence. But he stresses this is a piece of fiction, no longer an autobiography. “Initially, I picked up my pen to talk about my personal life and commenced taking notes. I began in Arabic. However, I later changed to English out of worry a person might get rid of it and I’d be punished by the regime (of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad). As the story advanced, Furat took shape, and I chose him as the principal person,” Alesmael stated.
“The name comes from the Arabic phrase that means the desire for alternate and freedom. Furat is stronger than I am. In a sense, he’s the individual I want to be. He’s able to revel in his sexuality and talk about it freely. He’s a revolutionary,” he said. This does not imply that Alesmael’s life story and achievements are something to be scoffed at. He described his first foray into journalism at 9 when he took component in a radio display to describe youngsters’ wishes.
His love for the radio continued, and in 2005, he became a founding member and program director at Syria-Tomorrow, one of its first-generation non-public radio stations. He would later be discouraged from taking too energetic a role within the media due to the tight regulations imposed by the Assad government.
The author found his very own sexuality while he changed into analyzing the English language and literature in Damascus, and via writing approximately his studies, he is setting on paper records that until now had remained best a spoken one. When the war made it impossible for him to stay in his domestic us, he migrated to Sweden, waiting for a while in a refugee center inside the metropolis of Åseda.
“I got here to Sweden, which isa a good way to experience safety and extra looseness. But when I came to the refugee home, I was repeatedly within the equal network. It becomes a painful period, but unique, simultaneously,” he said. “I left four years ago, and now and then, I omit it. I pass over the connection between the humans at home; I suppose I must have carried out extra even as I became there. I tried to elevate the challenge of homosexuality on every occasion I should, and attempted very tough to make people admire it even though they couldn’t accept it,” the writer continued.
“It is tough to sleep inside the equal room as a homophobic individual. But I understand them, too; we (Syrians) don’t have a great deal of know-how about this subject matter, we don’t have literature on it, and we don’t speak a lot with each other about sex. Even my women friends don’t recognize an awful lot about periods or approximately sexual fitness,” he said.
In the town of Gothenburg, “Selamlik” started taking shape after Alesmael met a publishing editor talking about warzone journalism. “He became interested in what I’d written. So later, I chose several chapters, translated them into English, and sent them to him. He helped me get these chapters posted as brief memories in a few different journals and newspapers,” said the author. Before long, the publisher had organized a translator to translate the book from Arabic to Swedish.
Once his e-book had come collectively, opinions in Sweden were top-notch: it became featured in some newspapers and magazines and advocated by writers. “I’ve been invited to speak on television and at meetings. People are curious—particularly in the West. They need to realize what takes place inside the East, how human beings live, and what is happening behind closed doors,” Alesmael stated.
It became not usually easy to tell readers his tale in the manner Alesmael wanted: the writer felt that Arabic held a richness of expression that he could no longer locate in Swedish. He stated he often struggled to find words and methods within the translation to relate his relationships in a manner that did justice to the authentic, regularly opting for brief sentences to ease the technique.
