http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/06/07/syria.blogger.missing/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
This is right up there with the idiot hikers captured by Iran along Iraq border a few years back.
I’m a good progressive person and all, but stupid is stupid.
How much are we taxpayers going to have to pay to get you out of your stupidity?
Hmm, possibly because she lives there?
While Syria is not the most progressive country when it comes to gay rights, it’s better than most in the Middle East. Syria may be autocratic, but it’s no Iran.
Why was she there? She was teaching English, and her father was Syrian. She has dual-citizenship. Did you read the article you posted?
From the article, it appears that she was abducted due to her political views, and not her sexuality. The fact that she’s openly gay doesn’t really have anything to do with the story, apart from the fact that there’s such a thing as an “openly gay Syrian” is a surprise to a lot of people.
As to her nationality, it seems to me that her dual citizenship doesn’t really affect the OP’s point, which is, “You could be safe here in America. Why the hell would you go anywhere else?” The answer, of course, is because people there need help. Amina Abdallah could have stayed in the US, but she decided to go to her other home, and help the struggle for freedom, democratic representation, and equality for all of her fellow Syrians. That’s heroic. Throw in the gay rights angle, and it makes it super heroic, in my book. Would that we all had as much courage and conviction as this woman. “How much are taxpayers going to have to pay to get her out?” You should be ashamed for asking this question.
How much does the US usually spend to free unimportant commoners from foreign jails?
Depends on the amount of news coverage they get
And in an ironic twist she may not even exist!
“In February, an American blogger named Paula Brooks began communicating with Arraf via email but became suspicious when her IP address was traced back to Edinburgh in Scotland.”
Otara
The dual citizenship fact practically negates any help from American authorities.
Every United States citizen is a commoner.
No other Syrian activists appear to have met her.
In passing, I’ll just mention that the woman was released reasonably quickly, but her two male companions are still being held. She was on tv here the other day talking about it.
How dare those Syrian citizens leave their homes in Syria?
HOW
DARE
THEY??
I am literally angry with rage! A Syrian citizen attempting to travel outside of their Syrian home is NOT OKAY!
I’m kinda with the OP. We should all work towards equal rights, but there’s a certain element of risk involved when you oppose the views of people in power who deal with dissenters violently.
Inb4 ‘that’s like saying a woman dressed provocatively is asking for it!’ - no one should have to suffer through that and we need to stop it, but there are ways to reduce risk.
Also, I read that she apparantly uses the picture of some random woman from Britain to represent herself.
Web-savvy freedom fighter types usually use TOR. IP addresses don’t mean shit.
Yeah, except there’s a whole bunch more that doesn’t add up.
The specifics of this story are weird, to be sure. But going back to the OP’s original assertion:
What makes you so certain that this woman (we’re operating in a world where we accept her existence at face value now) expects the US to come charging in and rescue her? Maybe she (if she actually exists) is a brave person who is willing to speak up for the rights of others even when a great deal of personal risk is involved. Maybe she actually cares about the people of Syria and doesn’t think that “oh, I might get hurt” is a good reason to stay silent about injustice.
My situation is not especially analogous to that of Arraf, but I do live in a foreign country (a Muslim country, gasp!) where terrorist attacks have taken place. My family has assessed the risks and we feel safe. If we should happen to be wrong, I have no expectation that Uncle Sam is going to come barreling in to save any of us or any belief that such action is required.
So, how can I be a moral person in the eyes of the OP? Should I leave behind a wonderful life for myself and family, where I honestly hope we are making a contribution to the country, just IN CASE we might be the victims of a high-profile kidnapping and IN CASE there is a hue and cry to America to do something about it?
Guess she would have been a real hero if she existed.