the egypt blog

Fi Balad El Welad (In the Country of Boys), by Mustapha Fat'hee, is a book that tells the story of one young Egyptian gay man's everyday life with all its ups and its many downs in this conservative Muslim country that rejects homosexuality. This is the first ever book that tells of the misery of being gay in Egypt and that speaks for respecting and accepting the oppressed Egyptian gay community on a human level.

The book is now available to buy at "El Balad" bookshop opposite the American University campus downtown Cairo, located on the second floor in the building next to Cilantro café. The book costs E£10.

"في بلد الولاد"، من تأليف مصطفى فتحي، هو كتاب يسرد قصة حياة رجل مثلي مصري بحلوها القليل ومرها الكثير في هذا البلد المسلم المحافظ الذي يرفض المثلية الجنسية. هذا الكتاب هو الأول من نوعه بحيث أنها المرة الأولى التي يسرد فيها كتاب مصري مشاكل المثليين ويدعو إلى تقبل واحترام المجتمع المثلي المقموع في مصر.

الكتاب متوفر بمكتبة البلد مقابل الجامعة الأمريكية في وسط البلد بالقاهرة. ثمن الكتاب 10 جنيهات.

To my amazement, the way I was received by the doctors prior to the actual testing was pretty welcoming. I found that they didn't ask for a name, but rather for a pseudonym and a birthdate to be my identity there. Then, I was sent to a counselor whose job was to give simple information about AIDS and HIV. The guy didn't show any signs of disrespect for the fact that I'm going to check if I have HIV, which was astonishing. I heard that until very recently AIDS was seen as such a tabboo even by doctors. And after the counseling session they gave me a few condoms and lubricants, and three booklets with information about AIDS, and then I went to have the test. I'll go get the results next Sunday, hopefully it'll be negative, wish me luck!! :-)

Oh, I also didn't pay a penny for any of that.

It was a very nice experience that I didn't expect to have at a government lab, and I'm happy my country is having a more liberal approach to sexually transmitted diseases and is actually propagating against the whole stigma that's associated with them, especially HIV and AIDS.

I haven't been doing much writing much lately, true. The thing is, well, sometimes I regret having told so many people about this blog that I can't really use it anymore as my own, secret place, if you will. You know, my own dirty place where anything can be thrown in and off my back.. So, other than all these cultured articles, the political talk and the religious talk and the minority talk, not much personal talk can be spat out here, 'cuz it'll probably end up the talk of my surrounding society heheh. There's all sorts of shit in my life that I'd like to share with you here, but don't have the courage to risk it being known by my mom for instance (mom, are you reading this? ;-).

Leave you in peace. Enjoy the winter!

Living with HIV in Egypt is very tough, because the stigma is very high in Egypt against people who are living with HIV. We are having a very tough fight in our country to do what we have to do. To be able to have a safe living environment, away from stigma, away from many other things, we have to fight. [We have to fight for] support and care -- we do not have it professionally. We have [HIV] medications, [but] only one line. If you get resistance from this line, you will not be able to get another one. I think we have a very tough life with HIV in Egypt, and we have to fight more and more, so we can get our rights.

What do you think the biggest challenge is?

Our biggest challenge is to lessen the stigma, and also to make our leaders and our government [provide us with better] support, care and treatment.

What do you mean by "stigma"? Are people losing their jobs or their housing?

It's there by all its meanings. People avoid you. They don't know how HIV is transferred. They don't know anything about anything, and they treat you very badly. You can be kicked out of your home. If it's not your property, if you are renting it, you would be kicked out. In your job, you cannot say that [you have HIV], because if you said it, you would be fired. They would find many other reasons to fire you. It would not be HIV. I have been working in a place for one and a half years. I didn't say anything, and I couldn't say that.

Where do people get their medical care?

They give out medications only in our Ministry of Health [in Cairo]. This is the only way we can get it, because it's very expensive. We are a third-world country. Many of us cannot buy medications by ourselves, so we can get it only from one place, which is the Ministry of Health. Even if you live far away, you have to come all this way -- from any place in Egypt, any region in Egypt, you have to come to Cairo so you can get your medication.

There is no other support or care. If you go to a doctor for an operation and say that you have HIV, he will not give it to you. Actually, right now, we have HIV-positive pregnant women, and we don't know how and where they are going to give birth. And the places the government does give us are of very, very low standards. The kid, if he does not get HIV, will get another disease.

What kind of support do you get from family and friends?

My family, they are very supportive. When I first knew [that I was positive], I did not have that much information [about HIV]. I was waiting for death. My mother, she was the one who first told me that what has happened has happened, that I had to look ahead. How you are going to live -- what happens to you -- this is decided by God, so you have to try to live your life in a normal, nice way.

I don't have too many friends whom I can tell. One friend is my sponsor in a Narcotics Anonymous program. The other one is an HIV-positive person who is living with me -- not "living with me" [in a romantic sense], but she is the closest one to me. She has been helping me in many things.

You get your medical care from the Ministry of Health. Are you on medications right now?

Yes, I am.

What medications are you on?

I am on Norvir [ritonavir], Invirase [saquinavir] and Combivir [AZT/3TC].

How have you been feeling since you started taking these?

I have been taking medications almost for two years. I'm getting well. I remember that when I started, my CD4 count was about 68. I weighed about 60 kilograms [130 lbs.]. Now my CD4 count is 164, and I'm past 95 kilograms [209 lbs.]. So it's good.

Do you feel good?

Yes. I feel much, much better.

In what year were you diagnosed?

It was 28 June 2006.

Thank you so much for speaking with us today.

Thank you very much, Terri.

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Five Convictions in Fear-Driven Crackdown a Blow to Health and Justice

Nothing compares to Egypt...

Sequel to Persepolis exposes the reality of the suffering of the Baha'is in Iran since the Revolution and until today, and calls for action on their behalf. Note: The images for this clip were borrowed from Marjan Satrapi's film "Persepolis", an admirable work which serves as inspiration to us all.

2,500 years ago, Cyrus the Great penned down what is regarded as the first declaration for human rights, affirming the right of freedom of worship. But centuries later, what is the condition of Iran's largest religious minority?

For more information on Baha'i human rights abuses please visit: www.bahairights.org

To see more MEY work please visit: www.mideastyouth.com/censeo