Arsham Parsi, founder of the Iranian Queer Organization, talks with Lindsay Campbell on MobLogic.TV about gay life in Iran, and how Google made him realize that being gay is normal. 

From Parsi’s website:

Arsham Parsi was born on 20 September, 1980, in Shiraz, Iran. After completing his basic education, he wanted to continue studying veterinary medicine at university; however, financial pressures forced him to stop his studies.

While living in Shiraz and after coming to terms with his sexual identity, Arsham began to do advocacy work for the queer community. Part of this work consisted of helping a doctor and his research assistants in a study of HIV in the local queer community. His advocacy work earned him the attention of the Iranian authorities, and Arsham was forced to flee Iran on 5 March, 2005. His train took him first to Turkey, where he was able to register as a refugee at the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ankara. Ashram was one of the fortunate few whose case was actually accepted by the Commissioner. Three months after arriving in Turkey his case was accepted, and two months later he was invited to Canadian Embassy in Ankara and eight months later he was arrived in Canada.

A founding member of IRanian Queer Organization-IRQO, Arsham began working for the advancement of civil rights for lesbians and gays in 2001. In 2003, he helped organize a Yahoo chat group for gay Iranians. 

Though now living safely in a democratic country, Arsham still considers himself Iranian and never forgets that he is in exile for sexual orientation. He considers this a big responsibility. Arsham wants to return to a democratic, open Iran, and is working actively to make that dream a reality.