Dear Maysara, thank you for bringing up any problems people might encounter. I do not think that reconsidering the location is appropriate here. The organizing team has already started, and the decision has been, as stated by others, made many months ago.
I would however like to ask you to come with measures the local team could take to make things easier. What information could they provide on their website, what contacts with governments could they lay, what other constructive solutions could you think of? I got to know the organizing team as solution-focused and I am confident they would listen to your problems and potential solutions. They will do what is reasonably possible to make it possible and likely for people from all over the world to attend the conference. Thank you for your help. With kind regards, Lodewijk Gelauff 2010/8/11 Maysara Omar <[email protected]>: > Dear Wikimaniacs! > > okay i will address this issue, and please excuse me had it been addressed > elsewhere online, and point me to where i can have a look on the discussion. > > One of the most important criteria in deciding on the place to host > wikimania annual conferences is “ease of attendance”, which is only logical. > [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania/Judging_criteria] Now there are > some serious concerns regarding hosting the next wikimania conference in > Haifa, Israel. Please bear with me, and understand that non of these > concerns has anything to do with politics, and that they are entirely > practical: > > 1) This is a quote from a website of an American company called “A Briggs > Passport & Visa Expeditors” > [http://www.abriggs.com/high_level/FER_I/Israel_FER.php] which specializes > in securing “expedited passports and travel visas for international > travelers ...” It says: > > “Israel has strict security measures that may affect visitors. Prolonged > questioning and detailed searches may take place at the time of entry and/or > departure at all points of entry to Israel, including entry from the West > Bank and Gaza. Travelers with Arabic surnames, those who ask that Israeli > stamps not be entered into their passports, and unaccompanied female > travelers have been delayed and subjected to close scrutiny at points of > entry. Security-related delays or obstacles in bringing in or departing with > cameras or electronic equipment are not unusual. Laptop computers and other > electronic equipment have been confiscated from travelers leaving Israel > from Ben Gurion Airport during security checks. While most are returned > prior to departure, some equipment has been damaged, destroyed or lost as a > result. Americans who have had personal property damaged due to security > procedures at Ben Gurion can contact the Commissioner of Complaints at the > airport for redress. During searches and questioning, Israeli authorities > have denied American citizens access to U.S. consular officers, lawyers, or > family members.” > > This is not the only source that confirms these practices. > > 2) It is frequently reported, that airport and entry points officials, > refuse to stamp the israeli entry permit in a separate paper and insist on > stamping it in the passport. Travelers with an israeli visa, or even > exit/entry stamp in their passports, may not enter many countries, including > Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, and Sudan, and > perhaps other countries of which i have no knowledge. Carriers of visas and > stamps from any of these countries and other countries as well (such as > Bahrain, Pakistan, Algeria, Indonesia, and Malaysia) are reported to be > frequently harassed and maltreated as they attempt to enter Israel. > > 3) I am rather concerned about the difficulty, and impossibility of some > interested participants to be able to attend had they wanted. There are > problems on the levels of acquiring a visa, then leaving their countries to > Israel without trouble, then entering Israel, then leaving Israel, then > getting back to their countries from Israel; the prospect of trouble and > maltreatment exists with every step of these. Participants from Iran, Syria, > Lebanon, and Palestine, and maybe other countries, are not even allowed to > enter into Israel. Why should they not be able to participate in the > wikimania annual conference? And why should the conference be held in such a > place, in which precisely “ease of attendance” is absolutely lacking?! > > I believe that Israel is not an appropriate place in which to hold a > conference such as wikimania for all the reasons mentioned above, and i > believe that it is fair to reconsider the decision, and i hope that we, > along with the wikimedia foundation, and along with the israeli participants > too, will find reason to address the issue with view to fairness and > practicality. > > Most appreciatively, > Maysara Omar > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimania-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l > > _______________________________________________ Wikimania-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
