It was “so hard” to leave his family in Afghanistan, Talha told The Daily Beast. Then he began crying, recalling the desperate dash to get out of the country, and saying goodbye to his loved ones. “I cried. My family cried. They were happy and also sad.” Speaking by phone from Canada where he has now been resettled, Talha said, “Having to leave Afghanistan when you are LGBTQ is like having to cut your hands even though you love your hands. You use your hands, you need your hands, but you have to cut your hands. If you don’t, someone else will cut your hands. That’s what it’s like for LGBTQ Afghans right now.” “My family helped me pack my things,” Talha recalled. “My mum hugged me and told me, ‘Goodbye my son.