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The story shows that Ibrahim :
• Is exposed to abuse in a traditional social environment .
• Experiences several assaults over time in his home country and during his flight .
• Is abused by a woman .
• Struggles with nightmares and flashbacks even though he is now safe .
• Is treated in a humiliating and degrading way .
• Fears for his own life .
• Suffers the loss of close relatives and safety .
Today , Ibrahim lives in Europe . He misses the time when he lived with his family . His parents were poor , and he and his siblings often had to sell small things on the street , occasionally begging for food , but he went to school most days . He had friends , and life was good when they played football together . Many of his friends were in the same situation , so he experienced his life as quite normal .
When Ibrahim was about 13 years old , his parents met an elderly rich man , a “ Commander ” in the north of the country . He offered to help the family with money and give them a better life . Ibrahim was to work for him in return . The family agreed to the deal , and Ibrahim moved in with the Commander . He started by cleaning the man ’ s restaurant . After a few months , Ibrahim was told to practise dance steps with a dance teacher , and not long after that he had to dance in women ’ s clothes and entertain male guests at private parties . He became a “ bacha bazi ” or dance boy . Being forced to act as a woman made him feel very confused . Also , he was afraid that his masculinity was being taken away from him and that he would never become a real man . Ibrahim remembers that the men at these parties smoked hookahs . He remembers loud music , noise and laughter .
Ibrahim , Afghanistan
The evenings usually ended with the men bidding for Ibrahim to spend the night with one of them . When men sexually abused him , he tried to “ leave ” his body , to create some distance to what was happening . During the nights he tried to dream the acts away , to think of the past when his life was better . Even though he was abused , his body sometimes reacted or was aroused in a way he found very painful . It was very confusing to him . It felt as if his body betrayed him .
What happened during these nights became blurred with time , and often he could not recall it , which he thought was a relief .
Gradually , Ibrahim became withdrawn , and often had stomach aches and headaches . He had never imagined that “ work ” would be like this , and he was deeply ashamed of what he did at night . But he felt he had no choice . He was afraid of being killed if he resisted , because the Commander yelled at him , threatened him , and occasionally beat him . Besides , he wanted a better life for his family . Ibrahim would not ruin them , which the Commander said would happen if he resisted . The Commander also told him that his parents would be angry with him and would refuse to receive him if they found out what he was doing . Ibrahim was filled with shame and believed his family would no longer love him if he returned home .