Lesbian Blogger Kidnapped in Syria

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/06/07/Lesbian_Blogger_Kidnapped_in_Syria/

Amina Araf, author of the blog “A Gay Girl in Damascus” and voice for the anti-government opposition in Syria, was kidnapped on the streets of Damascus on Monday.

MSNBC reports that Araf, an American-Syrian citizen who wrote under the name Amina Abdallah, was walking with a friend when three armed men in the twenties grabbed her and forced her into a vehicle bearing a window sticker of Bassel Assad, the late brother of President Bashar Assad and former head of security services. Rania Ismail, who identified herself as a cousin of Araf, posted the account of the kidnapping to the blog.

“The blog went on to say, ‘the men are assumed to be members of one of the security services or the Baath Party militia. Amina's present location is unknown,’” reports MSNBC.

Araf, who wrote openly in a country where homosexuality is illegal, has called for an end to the Bashir regime as the crackdown against demonstrators has intensified over the past two months. Human rights groups report that more than 1,000 Syrians have been killed.

From the blog:

Apology to readers
I never expected this level of attention. While the narrative voıce may have been fictional, the facts on thıs blog are true and not mısleading as to the situation on the ground. I do not believe that I have harmed anyone -- I feel that I have created an important voice for issues that I feel strongly about.

I only hope that people pay as much attention to the people of the Middle East and their struggles in thıs year of revolutions. The events there are beıng shaped by the people living them on a daily basis. I have only tried to illuminate them for a western audience.

This experience has sadly only confirmed my feelings regarding the often superficial coverage of the Middle East and the pervasiveness of new forms of liberal Orientalism.

However, I have been deeply touched by the reactions of readers.

Best,
Tom MacMaster,
Istanbul, Turkey
July 12, 2011

http://damascusgaygirl.blogspot.com/