In a small town in Syria, Rafiq is having dinner with his family when he gets a text from a male lover. The father suspects something and he finds his son and the other guy kissing after they hook up. The father burns his arm in the name of protectional Rafiq moves to Damascus, where he is now working in a restaurant. There he meets Zain, a local effeminate gay man, who tells him that he’s filled out his asylum papers and will be moving to America soon. Although afraid to be seen with him, Rafiq finally finds a friend who understands him for who he is. But all along Rafiq's brothe has been looking for him. One morning Rafiq goes to the restaurant only to find that Zain has been badly beaten and that the restaurant is completely destroyed. Given he is not safe, Zain asks him to move to Jordan immediately and to straight to UN and apply for asylum and just wait. Months pass, Zain is now in US while Rafiq is still waiting for his asylum approval. After months of waiting, his asylum request is approved. He finally makes it to Zain’s quaint house and the two embrace before heading out together to a gay bar. As he looks on in wonder, he sees people embracing their sexuality openly – something he’s never seen before. At the end we are told that Rafiq met the love of his life in the same bar and that they are married now.
Most of us are very aware of the fact that even today, homosexuality is considered a big sin and many families to go to any extent to not be shamed because of this in many parts of Africa, middle eat and Asia. So, it is not surprising to see what Rafiq goes through in Syria. But this specific episode is about hope and comfort. In his very hard and treacherous journey, Rafiq learns the true value of friendship and solidarity, while indulging in some much-needed freedom of his sexuality. Actor playing Rafiq has been seen in many shows and films before and the short 35 minute episode captures the essence very well. The actor playing Zain is the star of the show. Unapologetically and fabulously gay, who claims if he could hide this flamboyance, he would. Zain's initial attempts at breaking through Rafiq's walls make the latter call him trouble, but Rafiq eventually comes around and decides to give the friendship a chance. And that the best thing to have happened to Rafiq. It’s incredible the empathy Rafiq shows for his family despite the harsh treatment that he can still send them a letter letting them know that he is okay. It’s a harsh world out there and this episode perfectly captures how much the Western World takes for granted sometimes without feeling overly preachy or pretentious. (7.5/10)
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