This Syrian Couple’s Reunion Will Make You Believe In True Love
Love knows no borders.
posted on Sept. 13, 2016, at 11:15 p.m. “Nothing tastes better than seeing you another time, and to be with you forever and ever. I’ve finally done it!”
Both men were caught between happiness and melancholy, knowing that making their relationship work long-distance would be hard; there was no news on Omar’s resettlement application.
Since same-sex partnership or marriage isn’t legal in their homeland or in Turkey, despite being engaged the couple couldn’t have their files with the UNHCR joined. If they were a heterosexual Syrian couple, the situation would have been a lot easier, and they would have both been saved a lot of mental torment.
Six months pass after Nader’s arrival to Bergen, Norway, and the couple have remained in contact, despite the uncertainty of ever seeing each other again.
At the airport, Nader waits anxiously for Omar’s plane to arrive from Istanbul.
Carrying a single rose for Omar, it’s difficult for Nader to contain his excitement.
Then, the moment finally arrives…
…and after months of separation, Omar and Nader are reunited in Bergen.
On the verge of tears, Omar is led into his new apartment and greeted with a surprise.
Nader has filled the room with candles in the shape of a heart — and in the middle, they’ve been arranged to make the letters “N” and “O,” for their first initials.
The contents of the two suitcases that contained his life show the fluid dichotomy of Omar’s identity as gay and Muslim: bright-pink penis slippers, a Muslim prayer mat, Syrian and Turkish sweets, a dildo, a rainbow flag, a Qur’an, skimpy underwear, winter jackets, and a semi-transparent belly-dancing outfit.Making a new city one’s home takes time. Nader and Omar are both studying Norwegian and have plenty of opportunities ahead of them. Leaving behind the stepping-stone that was Istanbul, a place where Nader initiated a weekly meeting for Arabic-speaking LGBT refugees called “Tea & Talk,” and a thriving city where the couple lived through a thousand different emotions, the two have found a rare happy ending.
On his first morning in Bergen, Omar said, “Look, I didn’t have to come by boat and walk through Europe — I came by plane! When it took off I said, ‘Thank god!’”
Soon reality began to hit the pair, and they found themselves happily holding each other on their sofa, smiling.
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