[New post] Caught Between Borders

Annie Hylton posted: "Malia Politzer | Annie Hylton | Longreads | June 2019 | 25 minutes (6,991 words)   The first time his father tried to kill him, Ismail* was 15 years old. By the time he turned 19, he had escaped four attempts on his life: Once, he was outside an as" New post on Longreads Caught Between Borders by Annie Hylton Malia Politzer | Annie Hylton | Longreads | June 2019 | 25 minutes (6,991 words)   The first time his father tried to kill him, Ismail* was 15 years old. By the time he turned 19, he had escaped four attempts on his life: Once, he was outside an asylum center in South Africa, where he'd hoped to find safety; other times he was in Somalia, the country from which he fled. His father was intent on killing him to protect the family's "honor." No matter where he went, it seemed, his father had enlisted Somali immigrants to mete out his execution. Ismail's crime? He is gay. Slender and tall, Ismail dresses sharply, favoring bright colors and tight cuts. He wears a signature mixture of ladies' perfumes, and carries a silver-chain necklace and anklet in his backpack that he longs to wear but is too afraid to put on. From a young age, Ismail displayed traits that he said were "woman things" — his walk, the way he spoke, how he moved his hands — mannerisms that were not "normal" and provoked his father's ire. His father forbade him from school and kept him under house arrest. Read more of this post Annie Hylton | June 11, 2019 at 6:00 am | Tags: Africa, Annie Hylton, asylum, LGBTQI, Malia Politzer, Pride Month | Categories: Current Events, Featured, Nonfiction, Story | URL: https://wp.me/p4KhvY-wra Like Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Longreads. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://longreads.com/2019/06/11/caught-between-borders/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com