Be gay in Middle East...

» Struggle for gay rights in the Middle East

"BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- We were filming an interview on a Beirut street with Youssef, a 21-year-old Lebanese man from a conservative Shia family. A car slowed down. "Foufou!" the driver screamed in our direction.

"He called you foufou?" I asked. "Yes," Youssef answered. "Foufou means 'fag.'"

Youssef then told me that when he came out to his family, two of his brothers kidnapped him at gunpoint and held him hostage in the family home for weeks. "It was their honor in the garbage," he said.

Youssef is a rarity in the Middle East. He is openly gay and says he doesn't care who knows it. Most gays and lesbians in the region would only agree to speak to us anonymously. It took months to find willing participants. Often, we would meet in hotel lobbies and film interviews in silhouette, hiding identities and distorting voices."

Youssef é um dos poucos que pode dar a cara, numa sociedade, que culturalmente, socialmente, politicamente e religiosamente discrimina a homossexualidade. Uma sociedade onde os gays não têm nome, os locais que frequentam não são publicitados, e existe o medo constante da sua condição sexual ser descoberta.