Jeremy Boulat
Switzerland
He/Him
I am an English and French teacher in my 40s, openly gay since 16 and recently, and happily, diagnosed with autism. My work with LGBTQ refugees grew out of personal connections and a desire to support individuals facing extreme hardship. Outside of teaching, I focus on travel, photography, plane-spotting, and art.
Steps to Liberation
The Refugee Who Saved Me
In 2019, Jeremy began a small LGBTQ+ blog that led him to Sultan, a young gay man from Yemen living in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Jeremy set out to help Sultan find safety, learning as he went how to navigate a world of refugee support, resettlement, and survival.
But their relationship became something neither expected. While Jeremy was helping Sultan with the practical challenges of life in the camp, Sultan was quietly helping others—and, eventually, helping Jeremy himself.
When Jeremy’s own life began to unravel during the pandemic, Sultan kept answering the phone. He listened, encouraged him to seek help, and remained present through Jeremy’s recovery.
The experience changed Jeremy’s understanding of solidarity. The person he thought he was helping became someone who helped carry him back into his own life.
Sultan remains in Kakuma, still waiting for a future he cannot yet see. Jeremy continues to support him, but no longer thinks of their relationship as charity.
He calls it reciprocity—two people, separated by thousands of miles, holding each other up.
