I’m getting driven through Beirut, and I soon figure out I’m headed to the Hbeich detention center – the infamous Hbeich that I’d heard so many horrors about during college.
Hbeich's floor arrangement – Ground floor is 'Storage house for the Drugs department’ (!!), 'Mores' on 2nd, ‘Drugs’ on 4th, ‘Gambling’ on 5th, ‘Civil Matters' on 7th |
Hours later, my head is still buried under my shirt as I’m desperately trying not to breath the smell. Occasionally I stick my nose through the tiny window opening in the door, which serves both as the only contact with the outside world (them) and the only air ventilation for the room.
I feel humiliated and miserable like never before, and still don’t realize what’s going on. It must be around 5 am when life takes yet another strike at me. Between two sobs, it sounds so quiet outside that I can hear the sound of my car coming out from the street: it’s this unmistakable noise that it’s been doing when I drive it at low speed.
Oh great. Now they’ve brought my car over. They’re gonna search it down. They’re gonna find the little piece of hashish I forgot in the hand compartment. I’m gonna be in for drugs too. I’m gonna be in months. Someone please help me die. I burst into tears.
--by GiL. Photo by GiB#2
I don't wanna sound bitchy but why on the earth were you having illicit substances in your car ?? Why consuming it ? Not only it is very unhealthy but it is against the law too !!! I just hope you learned a good lesson from what happened to you. I feel sorry for your decadence , sincerely :( You could have been straight and still be caught simply for detaining drugs...
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to ask but can you tell us all how you were arrested?
ReplyDeletewhere were you? what were you doing?
well i hurd alot about hbeich . and thankfully i have never been into any law serving department , anywho your only mistake was drugs , but if we look at it in another way , the way that they treat homosexuals in lebanon.. drugs is something expected . i dont encourge the use of drugs . but "duh" treat homo's better and drugs wont be an issue
ReplyDeleteHey Jimmy. I hear your point. It's slightly judgmental but I can't say you're wrong. But in any case you'd be missing the point of this post series if you blamed it all on the drugs - Remember I was not busted for drugs in the first place.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous asking "how you were arrested?
ReplyDeletewhere were you? what were you doing?" - It's all in Parts 1,2 and 3 of the series.
But you intended doing sex in a public sex even though it was dark and you were in an empty cosy place. I know the Freeway area quite well I used to live 10 minutes away from it and I used to go alone to the Gym situated on that road behind Freeway and used to get back home alone in the early hours of the night and believe me every time there was a car that would stop on that empty road and the guy inside would ask me if I wanted him to take me somewhere...I used to be so much afraid !!! it was in the years 2002-2003 and I was still underage !!!! And a few times the car used to follow me , I got the fright of my life several times on that road...with me wondering how these men knew I was gay etc...I never knew that this area is a gay cruising place at that time...
ReplyDeleteFurthermore , public sex is not only prohibited in Lebanon but nearly everywhere , even here in France , the police raids cruising places either gay or straight.
But what worries me the most is that from all the infractions that happens every day in Lebanon , the police concertrate their efforts on this type of minor infractions...rather than fighting against Drug dealers and Hashish plantations in Bekaa. I tend to think that it IS a homophobic attack even if these police men are doing what should be done...
again sorry for my bad english
Jimmy, I was by no means completely innocent...
ReplyDeleteBut since when is it ok to arrest someone for his or her INTENTION of MAYBE doing something wrong??
Since when is it ok to use an ENTRAPMENT TACTIC to get people into doing this wrong thing and then arrest them??
and since you're bringing up France, they would never do something like this if the person was not caught red-handed in the act or if the person didn't offer money for sex...
I hope you do realize how very backwards all this is...
Yes , after re-reading the 7 parts of your story , I can only agree with you...It was totally homophobic and you didn't deserve all what you've been through and their way of functionning is vicious and medieval. I hope we won't hear stories like that any more.
ReplyDeleteWhat can I say more ? Alla yse3edkoun...
Jimmy, I am thrilled that you can read through the posts the real message, that it's not just about the drugs or having gay sex in public, more about their hypocrisy and backward mentality...
ReplyDeleteIt almost sounds too good to be true coming from you, I hope it's from the heart ;)
... hey Jimmy since you're getting off topic, how about you take this ON-topic for posts of your own? You seem to have a lot of opinions and good stuff to say about gay life in beirut and your english is much better than you think :P
ReplyDeletewe would really welcome your contributions... whatchasay? think about it and then --> gayinbeirut@gmail.com ;)
I didn't forget eh ;-) just wait till I end my exams and then I will see what I can prepare , I love the way you write btw
ReplyDeleteYEEEESSSS Jimmy :)) yalla get these exams over with (do well), and we'll be waiting (and excited)
ReplyDelete