By telling us your country of residence we are able to provide you with the most relevant travel insurance information.
Please note that not all content is translated or available to residents of all countries. Contact us for full details.
Shares
Amir was the perfect host. He let us raid the tiny kitchen in the small German apartment. The soft drinks and cookies he found for us seemed like a gourmet meal after traveling through the country side all day. I would have loved to lay down and nap before we met our friend for drinks in Düsseldorf, but Amir seemed so eager to show us his hospitality we couldn’t resist sitting down to talk with him. He told us the owner of the apartment rental we booked had decided on a last minute trip to Italy and left him in charge. He led us to a dimly lit room that was both living room and dining room, most of which was taken up by a dining table and the rest by books. What books weren’t on shelves were piled on tables in the room. The conversation began with my partner and I, where were we from, why were we here, what had we seen, but slowly he began to reveal his own travel story. It was 2017 and the world was watching as thousands of refugees were finding new homes in Europe, or so they hoped. Amir had traveled from his home in Pakistan to his refuge in Germany. He spent his days in classes learning about German society and the German language. As long as he worked hard and stuck to the plan he was given, he told us, he had a real chance to stay in Germany. Because the alternative might not be an option. As he revealed to us next, only one person back home knew his secret. When he spoke to his family in Pakistan he never mentioned why he had to leave. Not because of war, or poverty, but because he chose to love a man instead of a woman. He would never live the “traditional” life he was supposed to. I had heard stories like this before, about people in other countries having to make this tough decision. To stay and hide themselves, or leave and possibly never see their home again. It became so much more real to have him sitting in front of me. I could see both the pain and the joy of the journey he was on, when he spoke. As the time grew closer for us to meet our friend in the city we decided to invite Amir along. " Amir, you should come with us. It would be fun." He looked surprised and delighted. Of course he would come. We met our friend in the street below the flat and introduced Amir. We ran to the train with the cold night air around us like we were kids again. It was the type of night I hadn't experienced in a long time. It was freeing, like I had no cares in the world. As we hoped from bar to bar we met what seemed like the world in one night. A tough South American twink, a gorgeous transgender African queen, and a lonely Spainard looking for a little company on a cold autumn night in the city. We drank, we danced, we laughed and our new friend Amir was happy to go everywhere we dragged him. We all soaked in the gay culture of this German city, a refuge now, just as it had been before it’s checkered past had put everyone into hiding. The night began to wind down. A combination of traveling and the alcohol started to make us tired so, we decided to head back to the flat. We told Amir to stay and enjoy, but he was a loyal friend to the end. He told us if we were ready to leave then, so was he. We hopped a late night city train back to our part of town and breathed a sigh of relief as we hit the last stair of the walk up flat. As we each said our good nights, Amir had a few last words for us. He told us he hadn’t been out with anyone for a night like this since he had arrived in Germany and was so happy that we could help to bring him out of his isolation and into a whole new freeing world.