SERIOUSLY?!? WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?
I don't even know what to say.
After popular lesbian Syrian rights activist and blogger Amina Araf was teargassed, arrested, and detained last week, it was revealed that AMINA IS ACTUALLY A WHITE, STRAIGHT 40-YEAR-OLD MAN LIVING IN EDINBURGH.
Apparently, this guy spent FOUR YEARS pretending to be this girl. Gave FAKE IN-CHARACTER interviews to CNN and other news outlets. Stole a REAL woman's identity off of Facebook (who then ended up being harassed by media in response to this whole thing). Had a ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP with another woman in Canada.
He also tried to get Amina's life published as a memoir.
Then, after all that, when he says he never realized how much attention his blog would get, he decides that the best way to let his readers know he's going to take a break and go on vacation is...
to FAKE HER ARREST.
His ruse was discovered when thousands of people worldwide started petitioning the Syrian government for her release. Which they can't do, because SHE DOESN'T EXIST.
Unsurprisingly, the ACTUAL rights activists IN SYRIA are angry.
"Ultimately, MacMaster has aided the Assad regime and other dictatorial bodies of government by confirming what the Arab dictators have been saying all along: that the uprisings are simply a conceived Western ploy."
-- Ali Abbas and Assia Boundaoui, Kabobfest
"Blogging in Syria has been forbidden by law for more than eight years.... I know two friends who disappeared a few years back, and I know nothing about them [even] now.
I have myself started to investigate Amina’s arrest. I could have put myself in a grave danger inquiring about a fictitious figure.
There are bloggers in Syria who are trying as hard as they can to report news and stories from the country. We have to deal with [more] difficulties than you can imagine. What you have done has harmed many, put us all in danger, and made us worry about our LGBT activism. Add to that, that it might have caused doubts about the authenticity of our blogs, stories, and us. Your apology is not accepted."
-- Sami Hamwi, Gay Middle East Syria
"Because of you, Mr. MacMaster, a lot of the real activists in the LGBT community came under the spotlight of the authorities in Syria.... You have, sir, put a lot of lives, mine and some friends included, in harm's way so you can play your little game of fictional writing.
This attention you brought forced me back to the closet on all the social media websites I use; caused my family to go into a frenzy trying to force me back into the closet, and my friends to ask me for phone numbers of loved ones and family members so they can call them in case I disappeared myself.
You took away my voice, Mr. MacMaster, and the voices of many people who I know. To bring attention to yourself and blog, you managed to bring the LGBT movement in the Middle East years back."
-- Daniel Nassar, Gay Middle East Syria
The comments here appropriately express my disgust and outrage.
After popular lesbian Syrian rights activist and blogger Amina Araf was teargassed, arrested, and detained last week, it was revealed that AMINA IS ACTUALLY A WHITE, STRAIGHT 40-YEAR-OLD MAN LIVING IN EDINBURGH.
Apparently, this guy spent FOUR YEARS pretending to be this girl. Gave FAKE IN-CHARACTER interviews to CNN and other news outlets. Stole a REAL woman's identity off of Facebook (who then ended up being harassed by media in response to this whole thing). Had a ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP with another woman in Canada.
He also tried to get Amina's life published as a memoir.
Then, after all that, when he says he never realized how much attention his blog would get, he decides that the best way to let his readers know he's going to take a break and go on vacation is...
to FAKE HER ARREST.
His ruse was discovered when thousands of people worldwide started petitioning the Syrian government for her release. Which they can't do, because SHE DOESN'T EXIST.
Unsurprisingly, the ACTUAL rights activists IN SYRIA are angry.
"Ultimately, MacMaster has aided the Assad regime and other dictatorial bodies of government by confirming what the Arab dictators have been saying all along: that the uprisings are simply a conceived Western ploy."
-- Ali Abbas and Assia Boundaoui, Kabobfest
"Blogging in Syria has been forbidden by law for more than eight years.... I know two friends who disappeared a few years back, and I know nothing about them [even] now.
I have myself started to investigate Amina’s arrest. I could have put myself in a grave danger inquiring about a fictitious figure.
There are bloggers in Syria who are trying as hard as they can to report news and stories from the country. We have to deal with [more] difficulties than you can imagine. What you have done has harmed many, put us all in danger, and made us worry about our LGBT activism. Add to that, that it might have caused doubts about the authenticity of our blogs, stories, and us. Your apology is not accepted."
-- Sami Hamwi, Gay Middle East Syria
"Because of you, Mr. MacMaster, a lot of the real activists in the LGBT community came under the spotlight of the authorities in Syria.... You have, sir, put a lot of lives, mine and some friends included, in harm's way so you can play your little game of fictional writing.
This attention you brought forced me back to the closet on all the social media websites I use; caused my family to go into a frenzy trying to force me back into the closet, and my friends to ask me for phone numbers of loved ones and family members so they can call them in case I disappeared myself.
You took away my voice, Mr. MacMaster, and the voices of many people who I know. To bring attention to yourself and blog, you managed to bring the LGBT movement in the Middle East years back."
-- Daniel Nassar, Gay Middle East Syria
The comments here appropriately express my disgust and outrage.