"They marked me as an abomination" says the young man whose parents cut off his lobe for being gay

GAYLES.TV.- Modou, 19 is years old and is Gambia, a country of West Africa Where being gay is punishable by life imprisonment. The discrimination is such that the former president Yahya Jammeh said he would cut off the head of any member of the community LGBTI+. He told his parents that he was homosexual and received a mutilation in response. They cut off half of the lobe to mark it as a «abomination«.

«I was very afraid to tell my family about my sexuality. I could not lie. I thought, maybe, my family will accept me because I am their family. This is what I am. It was the biggest mistake I made»Explained Modou. After the confession he was locked in a room and his father cut off his ear, with a razor blade. The rest of the family called the police.

Certain ethnic groups in the Gambia mark their children so they can be identified. For example, some may receive a mark on their cheeks, around the eye area or on the back. This used to be a popular practice. But this mark, when removing the earlobe, says Modou, is reserved for homosexuals and pedophiles.

Today Modou seeks asylum in Netherlands. En Gambia, homosexuality is illegal and punishable with up to 14 years in prison. The situation for people LGBT + In the African country it is atrocious.