by Joseph W
Tom MacMaster has given very apologetic interviews in the English-language press regarding his blogging habits and his impersonation of Jelena Lecic.
He says he understands why Jelena is suing him, and he wouldn’t mind if Syrian LGBT bloggers punched him in the face.
Yet his interview in the Portuguese-language Veja of Brazil tells a different story.
He is totally unrepentant.
He says of himself:
“But it’s wrong of people to condemn me for creating and portraying a homosexual heroine. It was necessary that this story should be told. There have also been some positive responses, people who think that, although my character was fictional, I was very courageous to write such things and go into such profound reflections. Many people would not have the courage to do this. I am like a messiah for the lesbians of Syria.”
Tom MacMaster on his sources:
“My wife knows some real Syrian lesbians who were forced to repress their sexuality. This was my motivation to start the blog and how I was inspired to write up Amina’s experiences.”
Tom MacMaster on Jelena Lecic, whose images he stole to decorate his blog:
“I saw the interview with her on the BBC. I heard what she said, but I haven’t made contact yet. In truth, I think this question is irrelevant. It ignores all the effort that I dedicated to putting the gay community of Syria at the centre of debate. Everything they publish is set out to distort my intentions, as if they were malicious. My story has been compared to The Boy Who Cried Wolf. I don’t see anything wrong in what I’ve done. The message I got across was very positive and fair. The character was false but all the facts were very real, and they are taking place in Syria today.”
Of course, the facts were not real, as there are NO Syrian lesbians who will blog openly about their sexual exploits, and allow their fathers to do the same. It is ludicrous too, to imagine that such people would be able to convince the secret police not to arrest them, when the secret police have arrived on their doorstep.
“Amina” was not about giving a voice to those who could not speak, rather it was about pretending that these people could speak their minds in Syria.
