Dear Lojine Kamel,
Sometimes, it is nearly impossible to stay calm. Sometimes, calm and understanding is met with continued bigotry, and that’s when it becomes nearly impossible to not burst.
I am going to try my best not to be patronizing in this letter. You are a student, and you’ve found yourself at the heart of a controversy that you might not have been prepared to deal with. That’s precisely why I, along with others, have reached out to you, explaining clearly how to right the horrible wrong that you have done.
You have chosen to ignore us. You have chosen to ignore the gay community, AUB students, AUB alumni, and AUB professors. You have decided that you know better than all of us, and that’s why I kind of don’t feel bad if this turns patronizing.
You have dismissed the insult you have committed to the gay community and the society at large by waving your freedom of speech flag. If only you had taken a quick walk to the library to check out the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights (or just looked it up on Wikipedia), then you would have seen why your argument doesn’t stand.
Here it is:
“Article 19
1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
(b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals.”
There is a reason why paragraph 3 exists, and it is precisely to stop people like Mohamad Sibai from getting published. Before you position yourself as a bastion of freedom and democracy, open a textbook and learn the basics of it.
By reframing the issue into one about freedom of expression you have further insulted us. We fight on a daily basis to be able to express ourselves, knowing full well that our freedoms, whatever they are, should NEVER EVER overstep the freedoms of others. That’s Freedom 101.
By giving space for Sibai’s bigotry, you have stepped all over my freedoms, and you have overlooked your duty to protect a community that is already vulnerable. For heaven’s sake, you published an article where the man claims that if you legalize gay rights, then we will all be walking around with guys on leashes.
This has gone far enough. The only acceptable way to fix this mess is what I recommended from the very beginning in a private email to you. I have now listed the (updated) requests I demand here:
– A public apology about the entire article, and the offensive editorial response to it,
– A full retraction of the article and the response to it,
– The publication of an article that corrects all of the lies and false information published in the Sibai piece,
– Your immediate resignation,
– The immediate firing of Mohamad Sibai,
– A clear and realistic plan from the board on how to avoid something like this from being published ever again,
– An apology from the Dean to all of the gay students of AUB, and their supporters.
Publishing Article 19 of the ICCPR wouldn’t be bad either.
If you have any decency or integrity left in you, then this is exactly what you should do.
I leave you with two lines by Ed Murrow in the movie “Good Night and Good Luck”, in hopes that you will learn what good journalism is.
“I’ve searched my conscience. I can’t for the life of me find any justification for this. And I simply cannot accept that there are, on every story, two equal and logical sides to an argument. Call it editorializing if you like.”
“The line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one.”
Raja Farah
PS I am beginning to think you and I should sit for a coffee too, along with Sibai. That offer is still on the table. You may have stepped on my every right and insulted me in every way, but I still believe that a simple meeting could actually make you realize the great wrong you have done.
BeirutBoy
May 8, 2012
“The publication of an article that corrects all of the lies and false information published in the Sibai’s piece”.
This should have been top priority. Disappointed they couldn’t do the minimum.
CzICantTell (@CzICantTell)
May 8, 2012
i can’t agree more ! But i have to thank them because people like them who make IDAHO a success for us ! i demand nothing more than what Raja demanded !
Rita Chemaly
May 8, 2012
putting a stop to the false ideas ” not information”, is a Must!!! I reblog ur post raja,;
ohmyhappiness
May 9, 2012
Merci Rita!
Rita Chemaly
May 8, 2012
Reblogged this on Ritachemaly's Blog and commented:
false ideas, opinions based on false religious ideologies, our student community should understant the impact of each word, and each sentence and idea that is circulating, especially when it is a wrong idea ( information) … rita
Yarihna
May 8, 2012
I’m pro gay rights, but if you want everyone to “have a right to their own opinion” then Mohammad has a right to his. And people saying he and outlook for that matter, are “disgusting, and backwards and etc” are just as close minded as they preach not to be.
So please, practise what you preach! Let the guy say what he thinks, to hell with him.
And there was an article about gay rights and pro-gay on Outlook too, so this has nothing to do with Outlook.
Just as they let pro-gay people post on gay rights, they have to let others post their opinions too.
ohmyhappiness
May 8, 2012
Thanks for your thoughts, but did you read anything I wrote in this letter? It’s not about freedom of expression here.
fletchergull
May 12, 2012
what else is going to be written in that Outlook Paper under the flag of the “freedom of speech”???
that Armenians-Lebanese should be all exiled because they talk a different language than the official Lebanese one?
that unveiled women should be stoned to death for being whores?
that native african women brought to Lebanon to work in houses should be thrown off the balcony if they refuse to be molested by their “Masters/Owners”?
that it’s the right of every man to rape his wife because she is “OWNED” by him???
that it’s COOL for me to rape any girl I feel like raping, and then simply propose to her & I won’t be prosecuted?
that any girl wearing shorts is asking for guys to sexually harass her???
is THAT your idea of “Freedom of Speech” Miss Yara???
cos if it is, then I’m not sure you deserve a reply… 🙂
rose
May 8, 2012
Your “Christian” reply was good and fun. Otherwise I would very much like to support Yarihna. No, it’s not only about freedom of expression – but freedom of feelings and attitudes, and these things are usually hard to legitimise / prove. We don’t have to talk about the quality of the article itself and the apparent errors, but I think it’s time to move the debate away from apologies and accusations. Wouldn’t it be great to use all this energy that has been coming up with the debate and use it for awareness-raising? I’m not perfectly clear about the legal situation in Lebanon, but I guess there would be a lot to do there…
Alloush
May 8, 2012
I’m speechless ❤
Rami
May 9, 2012
Thank you!
I have also sent this to the outlook’s page on Facebook:
I cannot post on the wall so I am sending this as a message, feel free to post it on the wall.
Apart from the gay rights debate, which I think is healthy for this country, which shows in the stunning quality of replies to Mr Sibai’s article. I am saddened by the caliber of writing from a staff writer at AUB’s outlook.
I am a former AUB student, and I pride myself on my liberal arts education. Subjects as the one raised by Mr Sibai are taught in Phil 210 (Intro to Ethics). The sheer lack of research and argumentative quality of the essay lead me to think that the author could not have passed such a course.
AUB is an academic institution, and the Outlook should be a celebration of intellectual prowess, not the lack thereof. I think it is time to enforce some minimum requirements for staff writers, Phil 210 is a good starting point.
I respect Mr Sibai’s right to express his views, he can do that on Facebook and Twitter and the like. It is more productive to occupy the pages of the Outlook with, a well researched, survey of the prices of vegetables in Lebanon. Rather than expressions of vegetative intellectual states.
Rami
May 9, 2012
Anyway, I realize that this is not freedom of expression. In fact if this were anywhere but Lebanon I would sue Mr Sibai and the Outlook for potentially compromising my personal safety when I choose to hold another male’s hand!