All language subtitles for Out of Iraq (2016).en

- They're all against gays.

They'll do anything to
to destroy them,

to kill them,

to torture them.

- The Middle East has a huge
humanitarian crisis.

If no countries
are accepting refugees,

a lot more people will end up
killed in their home countries

when they're trying to flee.

- Ramadi was the most
dangerous area in the world.

I never thought I'm
gonna find love

in this place.

Since I was born,
I always know I'm gay.

I'm different.

My family is more open

from other Iraqi families,

but not, of course,
about gays or straights.

[children singing]

In Saddam time,

if two gays have sex together,

they put them in jail
for 15 years.

Or the tribe
and the families,

they don't want people
talking bad about them,

so they make them run away
to get the shame out.

I don't want to shame my
family.

So when I was in high school,

I start to go to the mosque.

I start to pray,

and I start to change
how I talk.

I want to be so manly.

I want to be
like other people

or better than them.

I change a lot of myself.

My father, he asked me
to buy cigarettes for him.

And I told him,
with Arabic dialect,

I'm not gonna buy
the cigarettes for you,

because it's a poison,

and it's gonna poison
you and gonna kill you.

And he was like,
"Are you crazy?"

because the way--how I talked
with him.

And I was wearing--I was
wearing, like,

a--like, a shemagh.

And he say
to my youngest brother,

"I don't know what's
going on with your brother."

The way how I walk in
and sit like it,

like--it was, like, funny,

if I remember it now.

But in that time,
I was very serious.

I was like, "Yes,
that's the new Nayyef now."

And that last maybe two weeks.

This is not me.

So I need to explore,

try to find gay life.

In 1997, I get accepted
by Baghdad University,

in fine art college.

There was a lot of students.

They come from Jordan,
from Libya, from Yemen,

from Lebanon.

So in that time, I meet a lot
of other gay guys,

and I felt like,

"Oh, my God, this is
the heaven for me."

I start wearing
different clothes,

like skinny jeans.

I start doing stuff
with my hair, you know,

start wearing my contacts.

And I was having
my first relationship

with other guy.

So the gays back in Baghdad,
we still have same problem.

Even if it's a more open area,

two guys together,
they're gonna put you in jail.

The funny is,
if there's two guys

holding hand each other,

that's normal
between two straight guys.

They just friends.

When the Americans come to
Iraq,

they think all the guys are
gay.

I never hold friends' hands,

because I'm really gay.

[explosions booming]

[sirens wailing]

- My fellow citizens,
at this hour,

American and coalition forces

are in the early stages
of military operations

to disarm Iraq,
to free its people,

and to defend the world
from grave danger.

- 2003, after I graduate,
the war start.

American troops
come inside Baghdad.

We never thought
Saddam will be gone.

All my life, I know
how powerful he is.

It's like the walls have ears.

They can hear you,
even if you talk with yourself.

So we don't believe
it's happening.

I moved back to the South,
and I was looking for a job.

Two friends start working
as translators with Americans,

with the Dutch,
with the British.

They give them $5 every week.

$5--it's enough for me
the whole week.

I was looking to them,

and I just wish talk
with someone English,

so I can test my English.

And I start talk
with some foot patrol,

and I told them
about my background.

I was in the college.

And he say, "Okay,
just come tomorrow,"

and I start.

They give me a chance.

They're not kick me out--"Oh,
you know what?

You're not speaking English
very well, so just go."

They start teaching me,

and I start learning
military things.

A friend of mine went to
Ramadi.

He said, "They pay you,

in a month, $1,200."

This was a big step for me,

and I decide
to go there in 2004.

They take us by big convoy
to Ramadi,

protect with guns
and armor cars.

We'd move in the night,

so the terrorists,
they could not see us.

The trip was six hours

between Baghdad and Ramadi.

We didn't know
what's in the way.

You heard about the IED bombs

all the time,

so I was very, very scared.

And next morning, the commander
for the translators

says, "We're here
helping the soldiers

to clear the city
from the terrorists."

- Throw the grenade
in the bunker.

- They start training
me--shooting, run, fight.

They give me American uniform,
they give me a weapon,

and I looked like one
of the American troops.

I have a nickname.

I not give my real name.

My name was David.

Americans teach us this
for our protection.

Because we're teaching
the Iraqi new army,

we don't know if Iraqi soldiers
work with the terrorists.

And we find, actually,

some of them was a spy
for the terrorists.

- The most dangerous part
of Iraq remains the region west

of Baghdad, especially
the city of Ramadi.

- Half the total number
of U.S. servicemen

killed in Iraq during March

gave their lives in Ramadi,

now the last great stronghold
of the Iraqi insurgency.

- Grueling fighting
continued today in Ramadi.

The U.S. military
says it appears

some of these enemy fighters

are foreigners who possibly
entered Iraq from Syria.

- In the first week I'm there,

there is a tower--a
watching tower

and a cam--and two soldier
Iraqis was there.

They get shot by a sniper.

And I heard all the soldiers.

They start screaming.

- Fire over there!
It's locked in!

- Target!

- They find out
where the shot come from.

It's a normal family building.

The sniper make a hole
in the window,

and he was shooting us
from the family.

- Watch that building!

- That's when I realized
how dangerous Ramadi is.

- People give us names.

And those names work
with the terrorists,

or they have weapons.

They kick the door
when people sleeping.

- Get the fuck up!
- Get up!

- Put it down!
You--put 'em down.

- Get him back!
- Get the fuck down!

- Get--get the fuck down!
Go!

- They all scared,
they all scream, kids cry,

and I have to talk with them.

I try to do my best

to tell the family everything
will be fine.

They say,
"What are you guys doing?

It's wrong.
You guys are gonna kill us."

And if one of the names we
find,

we have to handcuff him
and take him with us.

- You're going to jail tonight
for a very long time.

- Which is make all the girls
screaming loudly.

They try to hold him.

I have, as translator,

to tell the Americans

what I feel about this
person--if he say the truth

or he's lying.

And I have to deal with this.

It's so difficult
to judge people.

And what about
if my feeling is wrong,

and he's a good guy?

What about if I think
he's a good guy,

but he's not?

To be in the military

is not easy,

because I have
to deal with weapons,

and I have to see dead bodies.

I see thousands of them.
I don't want to see them.

I don't want to see blood.

I don't want to see knives

or anything period--any human.

I'm an artist. I like to make
people feel good.

When they see flowers,
when they see

beautiful, colorful
painting--that's how--

that's how I am.

That's what's inside me.

Ramadi was the most
dangerous area in the world.

I never thought I'm gonna
find a love in this place.

When I first saw this Iraqi
soldier...

It was afternoon,
and I still remember

his black
hair shine with the sun.

I go back,
and I tell my friend,

"Oh, my God, I saw
the most handsome guy ever."

- Because I'm translator,
everyone looking at me.

Everyone want to talk with me,
because everyone

want to know
more about the Americans.

So I thought Btoo
was just--when he look at me,

it's just like other soldiers.

In 2005, we started going
to mission together.

And we stayed 15 days
in a house.

- Oh, my God,
this cute guy,

he start talking with me

and inviting me for dinners.

I just want to see him
every night,

to talk and relax.

- One night in garden,
I start to talk with him

about my friends.

I not tell him details,

because I don't know

if he's gay or not.

- We were sitting next
to one of the Humvees,

which is dark at night.

Just the night visions
work there.

- I look at him,
and he look at me.

And after that,
we have first kiss.

- Before, I have been in Ramadi
to help my family.

But after I meet Btoo,

I'm staying
as translator in Ramadi

just to be with him,

so I can see him every day.

We go vacation together.

- So it's a war.
It's dangerous.

But I'm so excited,
because I'm with my boyfriend.

Iraqi soldiers,
they have small encampment

in camp separate from
the Americans.

- Every time we have mission,
I'm worried about him,

if he's gonna
come back or not.

I check his battalion to see
if he's back,

if nothing's happened to him.

Sometimes, I go
to the operation room,

and I can hear his voice
about where he is

or he's doing fine
or nothing happened to them.

- One day, we was have
a foot patrol,

and there's just
dead cow in the street.

- Pick it up.

- The other soldiers
was walking in front of me,

and--it fly.

- Get up!
- Dust.

- Get up!
- Shock.

- Ahh!
- Get up!

My ears have this sound like.

There was IED bomb
inside the dead cow.

- Go! Go!

- We have two soldier
killed in that time.

If I maybe go a few more feet,

I may get killed.

With the days,

with the years,

with love, relationship
going more serious.

But in all the time
spent in Ramadi,

I still cannot tell him
my real name.

He still call me David

till 2008.

My sister, she was
dying in a hospital.

I don't want him come,
meet my family,

but I just want to see him
in same time.

I told him, "Please come."

- He come from Baghdad
to Basra,

which is long,
long hours drive.

And I meet him at the hospital,

and I cry.

- When he come
and meet my family, me

and him stayed in this hospital

for 11 day,
till she die.

My mom, she already
lose a lot of the family.

And before she go
to bring a lunch to us,

she told me to take care
of my sister.

How I gonna meet my mom,
tell her my sister,

she die already?

And my--

She was
the most close person

I can speak with.

She loved me so much.

And he hugged me,
make me calm down.

And that's when
my feelings get stronger.

Because he's with me
in a bad situation,

not just in a good situation,
which make me--"Yes,

this is the person I want to
spend all my rest life with."

So I told him my real name,

where I'm from,
and why I lie to him.

And he said he know,

and he completely understand
why I did this.

I feel like
a big problem just gone,

and now I'm honest,
and I'm free.

- The situation
for gays in Iraq

changed to more bad
after Saddam.

Muqtada al-Sadr, he's a son

for one of the big
religious people Saddam killed.

After the war,
when Americans come in, Muqtada

make his own army
called Mahdi army.

They judge people,

killing them
for listening to music,

killing them
for what they're wearing.

And that's also
what they did with gay guys.

In 2007, there was
a gay guy's birthday

with a bunch of gay guys
belly dancing--

very feminine and all that.

They shot a video for fun.

This video get shared
all over Iraq,

till someone
with the Mahdi army find out.

Religious commanders
decide to make them example

for the others.

They torture them.

They kill them.

They take videos

so everyone can see
what happens if you are gay.

- But all this situation

is in fact
my relationship with Btoo,

and what'll happen
if they find out about it.

What'll happen
if his family find out?

His family's
a religious family living

in a very religious area
in Baghdad.

What'll happen
if my family know

and I give them shame?

So I start thinking

about a life outside Iraq.

I'm thinking about the future.

I start to dream
I will marry Btoo one day,

but this is gonna
be impossible in Iraq.

I can't continue with him
or live with him here.

- So now it's time
to say good-bye for the family.

My mom, she was like,
"I lost your sister

and now you."

So I was sitting in a taxi

to take me to Baghdad,

which is--Btoo
is waiting me there.

I saw her fall down
on the ground.

Because she cannot stand
on her feet

with her son leaving.

I think, like,

"I'm the bad person now here."

And with all the pain my mom,

she have, I give her more pain.

But I could not stay,

because there's no future
for me and Btoo here.

They're never gonna
let us live together.

- We not sleep that night.

And we was talking together,

remember all the years
we spent in Iraq.

And I was telling him,
"I'm not gonna forget you.

"I'm not gonna leave you.

"I will do my best to get him

as soon I could, behind me."

And we could be together.

- It's time
to say good-bye to him.

I want to--I just want
to remember him exactly

how he look.

The sun just coming out,
and I take this picture,

and he have

this very sad face.

And I hug him and tell him,

"We're gonna see
each other very soon,

and we're gonna be together."

I was thinking to go
to San Francisco first,

because they said it's
the capital of the gays.

But I have two friends.

They already live in Seattle,

and I move there
because they live there.

And when I get to Seattle,
I land at night.

I saw the city,
and I saw the downtown,

and I was, like, in shock.

Oh my God, how beautiful.

That was my first time

I saw that much big buildings.

I saw the Space
Needle--it looked

like 3-D movie--
and get excited.

But my happiness
is not complete.

I'm missing Btoo.

- When I first come,
I speak with my caseworker,

how I could bring
my boyfriend here.

And she said it's difficult.

He's not your husband.

He's not your son or brother,

so it's gonna
be difficult to bring him.

- To make him not feel lonely,
I send him iPad

so we can have
video chat any time, anywhere.

I'll do anything just
at least touch him again

or see him again,
look at his eyes,

or just to be inside him again.

So I will do anything.

I write to Obama when he get
president first time.

I tell him about Btoo.

I even write to Oprah.

She help a lot of people
and make them surprise.

And I was imagine Oprah,

she bring Btoo to me,
and I surprise,

and I find Btoo in front me.

But I'm getting more hopeless

to not see him,

till I meet Michael.

I met Michael at a friend
party.

I was telling him my story,
and he get interested.

He start helping me.

- My name is Michael Failla.

I grew up in Michigan,

then I went and became
a psychologist.

And then after that,
I became a chiropractor.

And then I started
a software company,

which became big,
and I sold that last year.

And during the course
of my career,

I also spent a lot of time

helping refugees
from all over the world.

I began helping survivors
of the killing fields

from Cambodia.

Then I started helping
the Ethiopian community.

Before I met Nayyef,
I would occasionally hear

about a execution

of a gay person
in the Middle East.

But I didn't know

how common executions were,

because most of the executions

aren't publicized,

because they're not carried out
by the government.

The governments don't have to.

The people do it themselves.

There's willing executioners
on every block

in every neighborhood
who kill gay people,

and the government just
sheds a blind eye toward it.

So Btoo was living in
a tremendous amount of fear.

When I met Nayyef,
they had pretty much exhausted

most of their options

to try to get him over legally.

- Okay,
we're gonna eat dinner.

- And they were pretty
hopeless.

Where there's a will,
there's a way,

so I just started looking
at all the different ways

that we might be able
to get him out.

- I want to, when I open
my eyes--like before,

when I open my eyes,
I see his face.

So I make it huge,

so when I--when I wake up
in the morning,

like, the first thing I saw.

I say, "Good morning,
Btoo."

- That was a very bad
situation for us,

because if he get married,
he'd have to stay there.

And also, in that time,

his brother find out about us.

He called me, and he said,
"What do you want

from my brother?"

- Faced with this information,

I said, "Btoo needs to desert
the military today.

Get out of Iraq."

Lebanon was our place of
choice,

because you can get
a 30-day tourist visa

if you're an Iraqi.

So I wired Btoo the money,

we got him 30 days
of hotel bills paid,

and we got him
a round-trip airline ticket

between Baghdad and Beirut.

- I was very worried.
I was calling him all the time.

"Okay, did you get the ticket?

Be careful.
This is last chance for us.

Don't tell anyone
where you're going."

- I was awake all the night.

He called me around 3:00
in the morning.

He said, "I'm safe.

I'm in Lebanon now."

I was crying and screaming.
I said, "Are you sure?

Take a picture and send it to me
so I can believe you."

He did that for me.

He left everything,

because we dreaming
all the time

to build our future.

And he did it,
and he get out.

So that was a huge, big moment
for us.

- After Btoo was safely
in Beirut,

I made an application for him

for refugee status

with the UNHCR office in
Beirut.

The UNHCR stands
for the United Nations

High Commission for Refugees.

Essentially, what happens is,

if you escape
from another country

and you end up
illegally someplace else,

if you want to become resettled
to another country,

you have to apply
for refugee status first.

And so the UNHCR screens
refugees for resettlement.

The UNHCR accepts people

who prove to them

that they have
to flee their country.

But one mistake
in interpretation

can mean
that person is finished.

Their life might be over.

They might end up
being sent back

and being killed
in the country that they fled.

- The new Hezbollah-backed
prime minister of Lebanon

has begun to form his cabinet,

following two days
of widespread protests.

Thousands of Sunni Muslims
poured onto the streets,

burning tires, throwing rocks,

and accusing the militant group

of a coup.

- We set off
early in the morning

for his meeting
at UNHCR headquarters.

There were checkpoints
all across the city,

so it was very, very hard

to get to the UNHCR offices,

because Btoo was illegal.

He couldn't make it
through a checkpoint.

I have a U.S. passport
and an Irish passport.

I can get
through any checkpoint.

But Btoo,
if he had been caught,

he could've been
sent back to Iraq,

where he would've been killed.

- After some difficulty,

we made it
to the UNHCR headquarters.

Finally, about 4:00
in the afternoon,

they called Btoo's name.

The interviewer told me
that I could not accompany him,

so I said to the interviewer,

"One of the things
I want you to understand

"is that Btoo
is being persecuted,

"and his life is threatened,

because he is gay."

And the UNHCR interviewer
looked at me.

He says, "We don't
care about gays here.

Gays are not our priority."

And then Btoo was taken back

for his interview.

- When I heard from Btoo,
I was feeling very, very bad.

He's a soldier.

He's gay.
He's in danger.

But do you think
this is important for the UN?

I'm not sure.

- With the situation
he's living in,

running away from the soldiers
and from checkpoints,

it's very difficult to show him,

like, "Oh, look how I live."

But in the same time,
I was telling him

how we could live.

Skype was very important
for us,

because we could see each other

and feel
like we're living together,

but--we not really
live together,

but how is our life will be.

- I wish he can be with me

and holding each other.

This was gay pride,
and they put the rainbow flag

in the top of the Space Needle
for three days.

And I was like,

"That--they really
like gays here," you know?

And I was like,
"Oh, my God."

And I was, like, feeling myself,

like I'm proud
that I'm gay,

whatever--you know,
something like not usual to me.

And you see
all those thousands people,

they're just proud
that they're gay.

And I danced all the day.

I look like slut here.

When we're separate,
I start doing music video.

I want a way to show him

what's going on
for me without him.

- I'm waiting tomorrow
to finish,

not just today.

I just want--want to hope.

I just want to close my eyes

and open my eyes,
and I saw you next to me.

I don't want anything else.

When he feel lonely
and get drunk and cry,

I always feel like I'm guilty.

I put him in this.

I not care about my family.

I not care about travel.
I not care to Baghdad.

I just care about to see you

and miss you--this the important
things.

I feel like someone just
hold my hands and my legs

and I cannot move anymore,

when I see him like this.

I want to just hug him.

He would feel better.
He would feel safe, you know?

So this is what make
me--killing me every day,

and try to fight
to do anything

just to get him--to get him
from there.

- Btoo had several interviews
during his refugee process.

And the UNHCR
has such a huge job to do,

because almost all refugees

who are seeking asylum
to another country

through the UNHCR

and--sometimes
those waves of refugees

are beyond what
they can handle.

So we were waiting,

and we were waiting.

- That's my Christmas--just me

and this tree--and I don't know

what I have to do.

- And we were waiting,
and we were waiting.

Finally, the UNHCR office

told me that Btoo was
being recommended for exclusion.

Exclusion means
that his application

will never be accepted
for resettlement as a refugee.

And then they finally
said that,

because of some things that he
had said in his interview,

that they thought
that he may

have been
a witness to torture.

And they could never
accept somebody

who was aware of torture
happening in a military unit

that they served in,

or if they were
a witness to torture,

they would be considered
a war criminal.

Hello?

I asked them
to send me the transcripts,

and they refused to send me
the transcripts,

so I started calling
and emailing the UNHCR

and kept requesting
another interview.

Everybody's afraid to get
this one interviewer.

They're afraid that
she will say

that they said things
that they didn't say.

- It's been two years,

and any time he will be caught

by the police or the army
and sent back to Iraq,

and he'll be killed
by his tribe and family.

They're all looking for him.

So I-I would love
the UN in Seattle

to help us in this case.

This is--this is terrible.

This is terrible.

He have to be with me,
or I have to be with him.

- We're looking forward
to hearing what you have to say.

The UNHCR process
was looking pretty hopeless.

I knew we needed a plan B.

I heard of a program in Canada

where you could get
a group of sponsors together

who would pledge to be
responsible for that person.

If that person
had medical problems,

they would cover
those medical problems.

If that person
had--got into any trouble

with the government,
they would be responsible.

So I contacted some
of my friends up in Vancouver

who agreed
to participate in this,

and we got
the paperwork rolling.

And then, once again,
we were waiting.

- I was like,
"Oh my God,

I have to be with him
in interview."

And Michael, he said,
"Happy birthday.

I have a ticket
for you to go see Btoo."

And that was most happy news

I ever get.

There's a lot
of stuff I buy him.

See, I buy him this.
He'll love it.

The grey and the blue is the
most favor--his favorite colors.

And it's with feathers,

so he like that stuff.

I love the underwears
in America.

And you go--they just
stretch with your body,

make your shape.

I get him shoes and something
he can wear in the home

so he not feel cold.

I have this, so I can sleep
in the--in the airplane.

We're seeing Btoo.

My feeling is so weird.

It is like--it's like missing,

happy, scared.

It's a lot together.

I tell him,

"You look--you look so big.

What are you eating?"

I told him,
"There's no Skyping anymore."

We don't need Skyping.

- If you answer
any of this wrong,

even a little bit,

they will exclude you.

Now, Mr. Sinan,

did you ever
arrest any terrorists?

- Never,
never cross your arms.

Okay, so this is what
they're saying you said.

During the interrogations
or the questioning,

they were subjected
to very harsh treatments

that could amount occasionally
to torture.

- Okay, this answer was close,
but not like this.

- Nope.

You sound angry.

- So his answer was
what makes this a problem,

because he not say,
"No, they not,"

and he not say,

"No, I don't know."

He say, "I'm not sure

if they--this is not
my responsibility."

So if you answer
someone like this,

he will think,
you know, something's up.

- Yeah,
so that is the problem.

So let's talk about
how we get around that problem.

So the answer here--you know,

he was never aware of anybody

that the people
that he handed over

or anything
that he was involved with

or anything with his group--that
he was ever aware

of any harsh treatment
or torture.

Who arrested the prisoners?

- The coalition forces.
- American forces, okay.

Where did they take them?

- He said--okay.

- They are going to try
to get you emotional.

You cannot get emotional.

You have to turn on the charm.

When you get angry, you know.

So if this person
doesn't like you,

this person
has the power to say,

"I'm going to exclude you."

You can do this tomorrow,

but you need to do it tomorrow

with a smile,

good eye contact,

love in your heart.

If you start to--if
you start to find

yourself getting nervous...

Stop.

It's better to be silent

than to be angry.

Tonight, you guys enjoy, relax.

No alcohol--no alcohol,

but lots of sex and lots
of massage tonight.

But I also want you rested.

We arrive at UNHCR offices.

The office is a beehive filled
with mostly Syrian refugees

who were fleeing
the civil war in Syria.

So we were in a very,
very tiny room

with paper-thin walls.

We had expected
that the interview

was going to last
about 3 hours,

but the interview lasted
a total of 11 hours.

During the interview, he went
through Btoo's entire history,

from as a child.

And then he focused in
exclusively,

almost month-by-month

on Btoo's entire
military history.

I had been wondering
and asking for months

and months and months,

"Why do you believe that he was
a witness to torture?"

In the interview,
it became clear to me,

what they had believed

and what a previous interviewer

had said
about Btoo was

that he had been
a witness to the torture

in Abu Ghraib
by the United States.

It turned out that,

in an earlier interview
two years before,

when he was first applying,

they asked him
if he had ever known

or seen anything of Abu Ghraib.

And he explained that he had
gone into the American office

and saw that on a monitor--on
a TV screen.

And the interviewer told that

in her story about Btoo,

but she left out that he saw it
on a news report.

She made it sound
like he saw it in person.

And so for this reason,

they had recommended him
for exclusion.

- Here his only knowledge

all along about Abu Ghraib

was a news report

that he had seen in an office

on a television screen
on the American base.

- We know that
his military history,

and the records of
where he was at,

does not put him anywhere
near Abu Ghraib.

And after 11 hours,
we left the interview,

and it was up
to the interviewer.

We didn't know
whether he believed Btoo

or whether
he didn't believe Btoo.

- He called me at 3:00 in
the morning,

and he's saying,
"I got accepted."

I said, "What do you mean,
you got accepted?"

He said, "I got
accepted in Canada."

I said, "Are you kidding?

This is not gonna be happening
in one interview."

We've been all these years,
fighting with the UN.

- Oh my God, he's
almost one step away.

- Hey.

- And I call Michael
around 5:00 in the morning,

and I told him what's
happening.

I cannot believe it.

- Oh, wow.
- I cannot believe it.

- Best news--
the best news ever.

- I know, it's the best news
ever. This is Btoo.

- Oh, Btoo! Hey, Btoo.

How are you?
Congratulations.

- How are you?

I am fine.

But [indistinct]
has the flow.

- Flu.
- Flu.

- I start counting how many days

left till he will come
and live in Canada.

- How is your family?

We are all fine.

- Very good.

The moment I saw him
in the--in the airport,

that was a big,
beautiful moment.

I was the most happy person
in my life.

- So you're finally together.

- Yes, we are.

- Here's your new home.

Pretty beautiful, huh?

- And life
is gonna be

what you make of it.

- Of course, every immigrant
has an amazing story

about their journey here
to the United States.

But we talked to a man

who made it all the way
here from war-torn Iraq.

We first spotted Nayyef Hrebid

waving the flag
of his new country.

He escaped to here after
working as an interpreter

for the United States
military in Iraq.

- I hereby declare on oath,

each of you is a citizen
of the United States of America.

Congratulations.

- Since Btoo
started living in Canada,

I've been going there
every single week

and focus all my vacations

and everything
to be with him.

He said yes!

Since me and Btoo are safe now,

we decide to help
other people come here.

The situation now
in Middle East

is going more bad and bad,

especially from the IS

and from militias.

They all against gays,

and they would do anything
to destroy them.

- We need a new generation
to change the thinking

about gay people
in Middle East.

We're not like
what they're saying.

We're not bad.
We're not evil.

We're just normal people.

That's the way
how we're born,

and that's the way--how
we want to live.

They're not gonna stop us.

- Btoo and Nayyef have one of
the most beautiful love affairs

I've ever seen.

What's unique
about Nayyef and Btoo

is their bravery.

I can't tell you.

I feel so happy
that I was a part

of helping them have
a new life together--a life

that they deserve.

- I've been dreaming
about the wedding

since a long, long time ago.

And finally, we get
to make our life

how we dream it.

- I promise you to love you,

protect you,

honor you,

and respect you

for the rest of my life.

I love you.

- It's been 10 1/2 years.

Four years
of them was very difficult.

But there was never
a time I thought,

"It's not gonna be worth it."

This relationship has shown me
what love can be.

I love you so much.

Yours is big.

- By the power vested in me

and by the state of Washington,

I pronounce you married.

- The funny--every time
I dreamed about something

I wish, it happens.

I wanted to get accepted
to fine art college.

I did.

When the war start,
I dreamed about

living in United States,
and I did.

I dreamed me and Btoo get safe
and get married,

and I did.

I have one more dream--me
and Btoo adopt kids.

Kids really need family,

and I start dreaming
about building our own home.

We can do a lot
for the family.