|
If you wondered
how is it to live as a gay in Egypt, you must read this letter that
was
sent 2 years ago,
I am writing to
you hoping to shed some light on the plight of some 54 gay
Egyptian men who are currently being tried in The Egyptian High
Court of
National Security. First, this type of court is unlike civil courts,
there
is no appeal once the verdict is out, it is basically the closest
one can
get to a martial court. The defense team is asking that the case be
moved to
a civil a court for a "fair trial". I have no idea what kind of
fairness can
exist for these men; they have been slaughtered in all publications
from the
second they were arrested. They stand accused of conspiring
against the
stability and security of Egypt. A charge that will easily be
proven, taking
into consideration Egypt's infamous reputation of fabricating
evidence. All
Egyptian newspapers and magazines, without exception, published
their full
names and occupations. This enabled the narrow-minded majority of
Egyptians
to deliver a verdict of "social outcast". These people lost their
livelihoods to prison, and their families to stigma. I doubt that
any of the
accused will survive their sentence. Already we're hearing stories
about
both emotional and physical torture as they are in jail awaiting
trial since
a plea for bail was denied based on the "gravity" of their charges.
Even if
they survived their jail term, which ranges between a minimum of 3
years and
a maximum of 25 years of hard labor, they will remain socially
incarcerated
for the rest of their lives. The society we live in knows no mercy,
especially if you are a homosexual which many people translate into
sacrilegious. These 54 men are scared forever.
If you ask me, this whole issue is an act of diversion, something
that the
Egyptian government is so famous for. Whenever the government is
facing a
national crisis which no one but the government caused, a diversion
plan is
immediately acted out. This time the Egyptian economy was hitting an
all
times low, a major depression. The main reason behind that are
corrupt
government officials. Many fingers started pointing at the
government as the
main reason why hundreds of thousands of Egyptians got laid off and
why
several hundred companies shut down. So the government had to create
a
diversion before people started paying close attention to its
business and
uncovering the truth about those who rule the country. For your
information
Egypt has been living under martial laws since 1981, when President
Sadat
was assassinated. The martial laws status has not been lifted until
today. I
doubt that they will ever be. It's the only way the government can
manipulate and suppress opposition of any kind. Under martial laws
you have
no civil rights. You can be stopped in the street and arrested by a
policeman if he simply feels like it. This how this country been
ruled for
the last 4 decades, by fear. A police state.
This is the country I live in. I have no idea how long will I be
able to
stay alive here. First my problems as a gay Egyptian were limited to
social
stigma and rejection, which is why I am still closeted. My
encounters with
other gay men here were always through the Egyptian chat room on a
gay site.
That was my only refuge. All the meetings were done in complete
secrecy
under a lot of mental stress. Now the chat is not even an option.
Some of
the arrested men were arrested through the chat. Undercover
detectives
would get on the chat and set traps for gay Egyptians. This is how a
friend
of mine got arrested. He was chatting with a guy who seemed to be
cool and
they agreed to meet. When they met the guy offered my friend to go
to his
place. As soon as they walked in and started making out the police
walked in
and arrested my gay friend. The other guy revealed his identity
later on and
promised that more will be joining my friend in jail. Luckily my
friend
belongs to an influential family who was able to call a few people
in high
places to free their son. They let him go but my friend's father was
advised
to get his son out of the country. The father took the advice and I
no
longer know the whereabouts of my friend. All I know is that he left
the
country. When or is he ever coming back? I have no clue.
As for me, well, I have no idea what to do. Do I just kill myself,
as it
would be pointless to stay here and live under constant fear? Maybe
one of
the 54 men in jail would give the police my name and I'll be joining
them
soon. When their names were published in the press I tried very hard
to
remember if I had ever met any of them, but I failed to recognize
any of the
names. Still I am scared that maybe I am next. Already I am having
nightmares about it. I know that if I ever got arrested here for
being gay,
I will probably be raped to death in prison. It is a very common
practice in
Egyptian jails by the way. Men and especially young men are
systematically
raped and the guards and the whole country just turn a blind eye to
it.
Every body knows what goes on in our prisons.
So my life has turned into one big scary life. Before I had to live
with the
fear of being found out by my parents and what they would do to me.
Now I
need to worry about my own safety. So basically my whole life
doesn't make
any sense to me at all. I am constantly living in fear, which
doesn't make
living that appealing anymore.
My last hope is you; I want you to guide me. What are my options?
Can I seek
political asylum on bases of persecution? Is there any organization
that can
help me get out of this country? Can anyone help???
The letter was
sent to PCGRI (Political Council for Gay Right's in Israel)
|
