The liberal Egyptian opposition website Mada Masr published an article which, unusually, describes the experiences of a young gay Egyptian and the situation of the LGBT community in the country. The man tells how he was attacked by some thugs who contacted him through a dating app, and adds that such attacks are commonplace and that the attackers apparently act with the knowledge and silent consent of the authorities. Lamenting that Egyptian gays receive no protection from the police, he calls to acknowledge that relations between consenting adults are not a crime and should not be used as an excuse to torment and demonize people.
The following are excerpts from his article:[1]
"It was an ordinary Thursday, and I was taking to him on a dating app. I became slightly suspicious when he insisted we meet at his house on the edge of one of the slums in the city, and the more he insisted the more suspicious I became… I [nevertheless] came over, and within less than two hours I understood many things that I had already been familiar with. I have decided to share only some of them, for these are things rarely spoken about.
"I don't want to get into all the details, how they threatened me with a knife, [took] nude pictures, and stole my personal affects and my money. I wish to talk about other things, about the comments that were made by this 'man' and by the two others who arrived with him. They stressed that they wished to hurt me and that they were doing this, to some extent, with the silent consent of the authorities, as a way to deter the gay community. Of course nobody will confirm this. [But] many of my friends and acquaintances who had similar experiences were [also] informed by the attackers that they were acting in coordination with the authorities…
"I sat naked on the bed, with my arms folded, not hiding my anxiety. Their leader asked me a series of personal questions, taking on the role of prosecutor, while going through my phone, reading my personal messages and looking at my photos. His questions swung between contempt ('You do have women friends. [So] what's wrong with you? Why do you do these disgusting things?') and incredulity ('Does your family know you do this?')…
"Since childhood, I have had to deal with anger and hatred, and feared the day I would be confronted by strait men who know no other way except to direct all their rage towards others, especially towards the vulnerable [members of society]. I knew perfectly well what I had to do. In these situations resisting and aggression are impossible. You must just surrender and express remorse. It is futile to resist, act brave, or refuse to express guilt or shame. I did the opposite: I expressed considerable remorse (which I certainly felt, not for being gay but for forgoing all the necessary precautions); I showed sufficient fear (and I was indeed afraid, not that they would shame me or blackmail me but that they would hurt my family trying to blackmail me)…
"My ordeal did not last long. They let me go after taking my mobile phone and my money, and [even] returned my i.d. and gave me enough money for the bus. And let me tell you that was a big achievement. I realized I was lucky. At least they did not attack me physically, did not turn me in to the authorities, and did not torture me, as happened to many of my friends and acquaintances from the LGBT community, some of whom were beaten half to death, had their ribs broken and their faces disfigured. Compared to the fate of many members of this community in Egypt, I am one of the lucky few.
"I also knew that this was not the last time these young men, or others like them, would seduce someone like me and attack him in the ugliest and most reprehensible manner, [just] for a mobile phone and a sum of money, large or small. And I knew that none of us could go to the police, because [if you complain] there is a big chance of being persecuted by the security apparatuses and jailed, and a considerable degree of exposure and shaming [in store] for you and your family. This helplessness is the main factor these 'hunters' rely on when they squeeze [their victims].
"As a man who had been physically and mentally assaulted, I faced a tragic problem… They could not kill me, even though I was a 'pervert whose killing is licit,' because murder… still carries a pretty heavy political and social price… I also knew that I could report them [to the police], and that they could eventually be jailed in difficult conditions, or worse. But I [also] knew that [If I did that,] I could end up at the police station myself, where they would refer me to the legal health authorities, which would involve a hideous violation [of my privacy]… I might even go from being a victim of attempted blackmail to being accused of indecent behavior. That is the ready-made accusation used to punish homosexuals, although Egypt has is no law explicitly banning homosexuality…
"After this incident I kept thinking obsessively about what I would do if I had a chance to take revenge on them. Would I? And what sort of revenge would satisfy my desire to get back at them? The rage I feel is not just over being robbed, which is certainly scary, but mainly over the way they allowed themselves to treat me - not just the humiliating way they spoke to me but the way they treated my body, as though they could hurt it without hesitation or qualm… They, and others like them, had no problem justifying all their questions with tired cliches that all gays have been familiar with since the dawn of time, for instance that homosexuality is an illness… [and therefore] robbery and abuse are the 'treatment' for perversion, or that gays deserve to suffer…
"I won’t hide from you that I thought a lot about revenge and how to cause mental and moral anguish to those who did this to me and to others. Because we are not just victims, but victims whose silence is assured. We and my fellow members of the LGBT community do not have the privilege of appealing for justice… We can do nothing but keep avoiding arrest and a referral to the legal health [authorities], and avoiding being shamed and smeared in the media, which would humiliate and demoralize our families. We are caught between the hammer and the anvil, and everyone is punishing us and pushing us around. We have no protection against this and no recourse to justice, not even to symbolic justice…
"I will not demonize anyone. I know very well what it means to live in difficult conditions [of poverty]. But I will not accept any excuses or give up [my demand] that they admit what they did was wrong, and that it is pure evil. Even in the direst material or moral conditions we can choose whether or not to hurt or harm others. There is no choice but to admit that intimate relations between consenting adults are no crime and must not be used as an excuse to demonize others. [I reject] the moral authority assumed by many straight men [who think they can] employ all sorts of violence… and always against the most vulnerable people and in collaboration with the authorities. This authority is essentially bereft of the most fundamental moral basis."
[1] Madamasr.com, January 4, 2021.
