Kinship lost

It was with some regret that I had a major disagreement with a long-time friend the other day. He announced that he was going to Egypt in September! How can someone so informed about global gay related issues fail to recognise the practices that oppress and criminalise our brothers and sisters in such countries. Yes, the tourist pound goes a long way, but indirectly supports this oppression!
It took me three years to get the information together, present reports to Unison LGBT and finally get motion 37 through last years conference in Bristol. Motions at conference have an organisation implication but often come at personal cost. I would betray everything I have done over those years and my words addressing conference would be mere rhetoric if allow such decisions to go unchallenged.
Here is the text of Motion 37:
Criminalisation and enforced testing of people suspected of being HIV positive
in Egypt - Carried (Bristol November 08)

This not only violates the most basic rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) people and people living with HIV, it also threatens public health, by making it
dangerous for anyone to seek information about HIV prevention or treatment.
The most recent arrests occurred after police followed up on information coerced
from men already in detention, according to the Health and Human Rights Program
of the Cairo-based Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).
Two of the newly detained men tested positive for HIV. As in previous cases,
authorities forced the new detainees to undergo HIV testing without their consent. All
those testing positive have been held in Cairo hospitals, chained to their beds.
Other facts particular to Egypt underline a high magnitude of risk: up to 30% of
married women in remote rural areas have sexually transmitted infections. Data on
condom use rate among married women using contraceptives reflect a decline. In
addition, Egypt has high levels of Hepatitis C, a virus with similar modes of
transmission to HIV.
There is also evidence of high-risk behaviour, such as needle sharing and
unprotected sexual relations among injecting drug users. At particular risk are up to
1 million street children in Cairo and Alexandria who are often subjected to violence
and sexual exploitation.
The high level of stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV is an
important reason for the limited number of people undergoing voluntary testing. This
is especially the case for high-risk groups such as sex workers, intravenous drug
users and men having sex with men.
The absence of information and knowledge on sexually transmitted diseases and
HIV/AIDS, together with the lack of counselling and guidance at schools and within
the family and the health system, put young people at particular risk.
Conference calls upon the National LGBT Committee to work with Amnesty and
through the Trades Union Congress and International Lesbian and Gay Association
Europe to raise the issue within the United Nations Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) to put pressure on the Egyptian authorities and to publicise the behaviour
of the Egyptian authorities through UNISON Communications to alert members of the
actions of a country where many UNISON members would be spending holidays.