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I appreciate your concern Harel.<br>
<br>
Warm thank yous<br>
<br>
Ant<br>
<br>
On 8/11/11 10:50 AM, Harel Cain wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAFDy62KOiZ+XYCMBBN-i19dvtLfcXqw_dRVz1KOXo1WS0-gqMQ@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">We at Wikimedia Israel are not ignoring the stories
told on this thread, actually we're taking them very much to
heart.<br>
<br>
We are now considering a strong letter of complaint to various
government agencies and a demand for formal written apology.
Details will follow once we have decided on our course of
action. <br>
<br>
<br>
Harel Cain<br>
Secretary, Wikimedia Israel<br>
<br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Aug 11, 2011 at 11:07, James
Hare <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:messedrocker@gmail.com">messedrocker@gmail.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
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<div class="h5">On Aug 11, 2011, at 9:49 AM, "<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://church.of.emacs.ml" target="_blank">church.of.emacs.ml</a>"
<<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:church.of.emacs.ml@googlemail.com">church.of.emacs.ml@googlemail.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
<br>
> On 08/10/2011 06:05 PM, Sumana Harihareswara wrote:<br>
>><br>
>> […]<br>
>><br>
>> In both cases I was traveling alone. And in
both cases I was myself, a<br>
>> US citizen whose parents and name and skin
color came from South Asia.<br>
>> I can't pass as anything else.<br>
><br>
> This is simply racism and harassment. There can be
no excuse for that<br>
> kind of treatment.<br>
> If this is the way even a citizen of the western
world is treated, I can<br>
> understand very well why there were (almost?) no
members of the Arab<br>
> world in Israel.<br>
><br>
> I find it regrettable that next Wikimania is going
to be in Washington<br>
> D.C. Airport harassment might not be as severe as
in Israel, but perhaps<br>
> severe enough so that Arab Wikimedians are
prevented or discouraged from<br>
> attending.<br>
><br>
> Don't get me wrong, Wikimania in Israel was
fantastic and D.C. will<br>
> probably be, too, but we have to focus more on
accessibility for *all*<br>
> Wikimedians.<br>
><br>
> Regards,<br>
> Tobias<br>
><br>
> _______________________________________________<br>
> Wikimania-l mailing list<br>
> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org">Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org</a><br>
> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l"
target="_blank">https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l</a><br>
<br>
</div>
</div>
While no one has the power to exempt anyone from security
checks (in fact, whenever former Secretary of State Colin
Powell travels, he gets the full check to show that everyone
has to follow the rules), we can coordinate with TSA, tell
them about our conference (including how tech-oriented some
of the attendees are), and ask them for advice to make the
security check process as simple as possible. My impression,
though, is that while Israeli security focuses on you as a
person, TSA mostly focuses on your stuff. Follow all their
rules (take out laptop for separate x-ray scan, only small
bottles of liquid, etc.) and I think you will be fine, but
unfortunately I only have the perspective of a white US
citizen.<br>
<br>
I actually think the bigger obstacle will be obtaining a
visa, for those who don't live in visa exempt countries. As
mentioned earlier, we will do everything in our power to
make the process easier; we will even be looking into visa
scholarships. It helps that the US State Department knows
what Wikipedia is and that they have sent people to two
Wikimanias, 2006 and 2011.<br>
<font color="#888888"><br>
James<br>
</font>
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</div>
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<br>
<br clear="all">
<br>
-- <br>
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur.<br>
</div>
<br>
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