[Foundation-l] [Wikimania-l] Wikimania 2008 will happen in Alexandria, Egypt

Mark Williamson node.ue at gmail.com
Wed Oct 10 21:55:43 UTC 2007


Can you guarantee the safety of a male-to-female pre-op transsexual in
Alexandria or Cairo?

Mark

On 10/10/2007, Aude <audevivere at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 10/10/07, Mark Williamson <node.ue at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I personally object to the decision of the jury and hope the location
> > is changed and the decision overturned on the following basis:
> >
> > Safety of conference participants, namely transgendered and
> > transsexual individuals. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals are at
> > a significantly lower level of risk.
> >
> > The risk for T. individuals is so great that it would be totally
> > unsafe for them to enter the country at all.
> >
> > This is not a matter of boycotting a country because we disagree with
> > its politics, this is a matter of not holding a conference in a
> > country because we cannot ensure the safety of ALL participants.
> >
> > Just because you are not transgendered or transsexual yourself does
> > not mean it is not your responsibility to ensure that people who wish
> > to participate who ARE are not as safe as possible.
> >
> > Mark
>
>
>
> I think what you read about in the media are extreme incidents, but not the
> norm.  Foreigners, including LGBT, are generally not bothered in Egypt.
>
> I remember when I have traveled overseas, as well as when I used to live
> outside the U.S., I heard on the television and in the newspapers about the
> U.S.  I heard about the Virginia Tech massacre, some years ago I heard about
> the Beltway sniper attacks all over the news, and other such incidents.  I
> even remember during the Beltway sniper attacks, some foreign governments
> issued travel advisories against travel in the U.S., like the State
> Department does for some places.  And I heard a great deal about the case of
> Maher Arar. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maher_Arar
>
> If I only listen to the media, it sounds like the U.S. is a horribly
> dangerous place.   In reality, those are rare cases, and encourage people to
> come and visit!
>
> Likewise, I think people, including LGBT, will feel safe in Egypt.
>
> -Aude
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