Rahma Esslouani, a 32-year-old nonbinary lesbian from Morocco, highlights their journey from persecution to liberation. After facing violence from family for refusing arranged marriage and seeking traditional gender roles, they fled to Turkey. There, despite homosexuality being legal, they endured similar violence and were arrested for their sexual orientation. In 2023, Esslouani received援助从Rainbow Railroad，前往加拿大，成为超过300名难民中的一员。现在，在与女性伴侣的关系中，他们在加拿大感到自由和安全，庆幸能够自由地表达自我。
"Now I'm trying to just focus on the future," said Esslouani, who is now in a relationship with a woman and settling into their life in Canada. "I am proud to openly go outside, to hold my partner's hand; that's something that I was dreaming of and it's something that I didn't [think] that I would live it."
In 2019, they tried to force me to marry a man, locking me in a closet and beating me when I refused. That's when I fled to Turkey, but things were no better there.
Last year, Esslouani was one of over 300 2SLGBTQ+ refugees from 36 nations who were relocated with the help of Rainbow Railroad, a Toronto-based international charity that offers support to queer and trans people facing persecution around the world.
Although homosexuality isn't illegal in Turkey, I still faced the same violence and persecution and was arrested for my sexual orientation. I was released after about a month.
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