A new report says that large numbers of teenage Iraqi boys are being
forced into the commercial sex trade there. The number of victims
could
be close to 4,000.

A new report says that large numbers of teenage Iraqi boys are being
forced into the commercial sex trade there. The number of victims
could
be close to 4,000.

In order to get the young men to work for them, Iraqi gangs use money
or threat to out the young men to their families. 16-year-old Hassan
Feiraz told IRIN, "Every day I cry at night. I'm a homosexual and was
forced to work as a prostitute because one of the people I had sex
with
took pictures of me in bed and said that, if I didn't work for him,
he
was going to send the pictures to my family. My life is a disaster
today. I could be killed by my family to restore their honour."

The intoleerant attitude toward homosexuality in Middle Eastern
countries was revealed most recently by the report of the hanging of
two youths for homosexual crimes last month in Iran.

Young men in Iraq's sex trade are said to receive $10 for each person
they sleep with while the gangs that oversee the business take five
times that amount. The leader of one gay sex ring, who goes by Abu
Weled ("father of the boys") said, "Iraqis love boys and our work is
to
offer pleasure to them. They are all gay and, in Iraq, the homosexual
is something cheap and bad, but we make them feel special when
working
with us."

Families have reportedly held their children back from school for
fear
that their sons would be lured into the forbidden business. One
father
said, "If I found that my son was doing something like that, I would
kill him straight away, because it is an offence to our God and a
crime
against our honour. Homosexuals are nothing more than animals."

Enlightened, eh?

While the government says it has begun a crackdown into the business,
the trend shows no signs of slowing. Its massive growth has been
spawned by the American invasion, as families feel increased economic
pressure to survive.

I'm sure this is not the kind of "liberation" many were expecting. No
doubt, when capitalism creeps in, there are those who will use the
free
market to its full and ugly advantage. It's just tragic, however,
that
this is the only alternative other than death or exile for some of
these young men.

A new report says that large numbers of teenage Iraqi boys are being
forced into the commercial sex trade there. The number of victims
could
be close to 4,000.

A new report says that large numbers of teenage Iraqi boys are being
forced into the commercial sex trade there.

A new report says that large numbers of teenage Iraqi boys are being
forced into the commercial sex trade there. The number of victims
could
be close to 4,000.

A new report says that large numbers of teenage Iraqi boys are being
forced into the commercial sex trade there. The number of victims could
be close to 4,000.