An Evening in Damascus returns to Vancouver to celebrate, help LGBTQ Syrian refugees

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – This fall sees the return of RBC Presents: An Evening in Damascus.

It’s an event that both creates a safe space for the community and presents a road to helping refugees coming to Canada from places where being queer is illegal.

“I grew up in a community where I wasn’t safe to be hanging out around people of my kind. The internet was the way that I communicated with queer folks out there — it was my only safe haven. And it is safe, and it is accessible. But there’s nothing that beats the beauty of gathering in physical space with other folks and feeling that everybody around you accepts you for who you are,” said organizer Danny Ramadan.

The event, which has been held almost every year for the past few years, is an evening where seemingly dueling identities don’t clash — they weave together intricately for a night that celebrates both being gay and Syrian. It serves as a fundraiser for the Rainbow Refugee initiative that’s also a haven for those who’ve been missing a space to celebrate themselves.

“I think that’s something that we are starting to lose actually in the gay community, our bars are closing our clubs are closing we are losing our spaces and that’s sad because part of that allows us to keep our identities through those gatherings,” Ramadan told CityNews.

Long before the annual event, Ramadan was running an underground gay community centre out of his Damascus apartment in 2010. The community met in secret.

“We had a sharing circle where we would talk about your days, your experiences about your family. We had movie nights where I downloaded illegally some queer-focused movies and I would screen them on a projector on the wall,” he explained.

“We had educational experiences and we had parties — we had a lot of parties. And I wasn’t trained in any of this. Nobody told me this is how you run an underground LGBTQ centre in Damascus. I was just doing what felt natural. And that togetherness felt natural.”

The last big event was a Halloween party. Though some smaller gatherings were held after, it wasn’t long before Ramadan was arrested. He spent weeks in jail and fled Syria as a refugee.

No matter where he ended up, Ramadan says he took it upon himself to create a safe space for others in the LGBTQ community to come together.

When he arrived in Canada, he says he once again felt the need to do something. Ramadan explains An Evening in Damascus is an extension of those get-togethers, where people don’t have to meet in secret and can celebrate who they are openly without judgment.


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The pandemic forced it to switch to a virtual format last year. While the internet allowed the event to still proceed, Ramadan admits there’s nothing that can replace the real thing.

“Again, the internet is fantastic. We raised a lot of funds last year on the internet, and a lot of people connected through the internet over the last year and a half, and of course if it’s safe, that is the safe option. But, at the same time, I think having that soul-to-soul connection, that moment of hug, that ability to shake hands, or even to stand three metres apart from each other — that means something. I think we missed that. I think a lot of people missed each other,” he explained.

As the community prepares for An Evening in Damascus, members say there’s excitement and a need for it to return in person this year.

“It’s really cool to see this resurgence within our community and within event spaces, events are coming back and the few that I’ve been in Vancouver so far are so cool. It almost feels like the roaring 20s, you’ve heard that kinda been thrown around,” said Kendall Gender, a drag queen who performs at An Evening in Damascus.

“It’s really important, especially for those that didn’t have this experience for those that didn’t have a voice to tell who they are,” added Anas Qartoumeh, a Rainbow Refugee.

CityNews Vancouver and NEWS 1130 are proud media sponsors of An Evening in Damascus, which takes place on Oct. 1 at the Terminal City Club.

Tickets are on sale at EveninginDamascus.com.

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