The mere title “Gay in Iraq terrorized by Threats, Rape, Murder,”is Kamal’s dismal story in a nutshell. Kamal is a gay in Baghdad who is scarred by the memory of his rape 3 years ago. He never disclosed the unpleasant incident to his family because of its shame. Although in the Middle Eastern culture, there is something far greater than the shame of being raped and that is the infamy of being gay. The article depicts homosexuality as a crime worthy of death in such a culture.

This article reminds me of a beautiful novel I read as a sophomore. It’s called Kite Runner. The majority of the story is also set in the Middle East. The story is told through the eyes of Amir, a boy haunted by the shame of failing his friend Hassan.

I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.
- excerpt from Ch. 1 of Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

This excerpt portrays the immense burden Amir has been carrying since witnessing Hassan’s rape. Kamal and Amir both carry a sense of shame with them, though Amir aims to make it right. Kite Runner is a story about a scarred man’s journey towards redemption. Unfortunately, Amir is the fictional character and Kamal is the one with a tangible problem. It seems the only solution to making Kamal’s predicament “right,” would be changing the outlook of the entire Middle East.