News from Steven

An interesting story or potential for Disaster?
So you probably know from my status updates that I am currently in Iraq for work. Tonight I had a very sobering reality check that I thought I would share.

Tonight my coworkers and I had a dinner with some high ranking Iraqi Air Force military. The Iraqi airmen are guys that we work with on a regular basis here and I have gotten to know on a personal level, they are incredible men that have faced many hardships and tragedies over the years but are incredibly friendly, hospitable and have some amazing stories that they like to share. During our traditional Iraqi dinner the topic of American TV shows came up and it turns out that they love many of our programs specifically Reality TV. One of my team members thought it would be fun to tell them that I had been on the show Big Brother and began to tell the story when our Team Lead quickly changed the subject and basically stoped the story from being told. I understood why, if the Iraqi men did any research they might find out that I am gay which is completely not acceptable in the culture here. Again, I completely understood this and was a bit relieved that the whole subject wasn't discussed. What had not crossed my mind was the potential for disaster if the facts of my personal life were revealed in this environment. Here is why: There is a new agreement that has just gone into affect here in this country that deals with civilian contractors working for the US military. Basically under the agreement any civilian here is completely subject to Iraqi law while in the country, even while residing on a US military installation. Although I don't know the exact wording of the law, basically it is illegal to be a homosexual in this country and any accused can be jailed and from what I understand even executed for this "crime". Had it gotten out to the Iraqi gentlemen that we work with, if they choose to, they could have the Iraqi police come into the US military installation and arrest me. I would like to believe that these men have become my friend and would never do this to me, but I still have to sit back and wonder what if. Suppose they have strong feelings against homosexuality and decided it was best to report me, I could potentially be locked up here and prosecuted for simply being who I am, even if I was never actually caught in a homosexual act (not that I am getting any here).

This makes me so thankful that I live in a country where I am free to be exactly who I wanna be. We are such a lucky people and we should never take for granite the freedoms that we have. Even though we are still fighting for some equal rights, such as marriage, we have to all realize that we could have it so much worse. I would ask that everyone reading this please take a few minutes and find a way to express your gratitude to our politicians that continue to pursue equality for everyone in our country regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. In addition, find a way to thank the military personal that put their life on the line to uphold our freedoms and way of life. As Americans we are truley a blessed people and need to remember this everyday of our lives.

Thanks for taking the time to read this..
Steven