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

[George Herbert]

On 10/10/07, Mark Williamson <node.ue at gmail.com> wrote:
> LGBT people are normal people. We are not a special interest group. We
> form between 5 and 20% of the population, depending who you ask.
>
> That is like saying:
>
> "I regret the concerns of the black people, but..."
> "I regret the concerns of the women..."
> "I regret the concerns of the senior citizens..."
>
> These are not special interest groups. These are wide sections of the
> human population. This is not as trivial as you are trying to make it
> sound. We will not accept such subhuman treatment.

I'm sorry, I just don't believe there's any evidence on the table that
Egyptian authorities care, or bother about, western tourists or
visitors who happen to be LGBT.  A single documented incident, in
which the arrested party was released without trial, and no claims of
abuse in prison or during arrest have been presented?

I don't want to subject LGBT Wikipedians to an abusive foreign
government either... but I don't believe Egypt falls in that category.
 No evidence has been presented of any abuse of visitors.  Gay
magazines publish articles on travelling to Egypt (see for example
http://www.advocate.com/travel_detail_ektid02481.asp online).  People
I know have gone there.

There is much unhappy murmuring and a tiny wisp of smoke.  Crying
"fire" in the theater and claiming that we must evacuate the site
selection is unjustified by the evidence presented.

If you believe Egypt truly is significantly bad for visiting LGBT
tourists, there should be ample evidence thereof available.  In spite
of my friends' and aquaintences personal ancedotal safe trips, I went
looking for some evidence of risk when this thread started.  I have
not found anything of the sort.  There's more documented foreign
tourist gay bashing in San Francisco (fairly low actual rate, and
abhored by the local population as a whole, but there's a persistent
low-rate problem from homophobic fringeists) than I can find for
Egypt.

Where is the actual evidence of any documented credible risk to LGBT
tourists?  Where are documentations of rumors of actual risk?

Put your cards on the table.  Show us what's making you think that you
have legitimate fears or risks.


-- 
-george william herbert
george.herbert at gmail.com