Pride Week continues in Kelowna, with this year's theme being "pride in diversity."
With that in mind, Anas Qartoumeh, an openly gay Syrian refugee, has been named the grand marshal for this weekend's annual pride parade.
Before the Central Okanagan Refugee Committee sponsored Qartoumeh to come to Kelowna last November, he had kept his sexual orientation a secret for 30 years, since homosexuality is criminalized in Syria.
"When people had doubts, or saw that I'm single, they asked 'where is your partner,' and I tried to hide it," says Qartoumeh, who appeared on the Early Edition Thursday morning. "It's a very difficult feeling,"
Qartoumeh says many members of the LGBTQ movement are still suffering in that part of the world. There have even been reports of ISIS militants throwing people off of rooftops for being gay.
Now that he's living in Canada, Qartoumeh says he's relieved to no longer have to repress who he is.
"It's a message to the Middle East: 'look at Canada and how they deal with this guy, and how he's now open,'" says Qartoumeh. "I lived for 30 years there, and now within 8 months (in Canada) I can be me. I love it and I'm so lucky to be here."
The pride parade kicks off in Stuart park at 1 PM this Saturday, August 18th.