A big thanks to my impeccable mother!
Recently we’ve gone through a financial crisis here at MEY. After witnessing my stress and listening to tons of complaints, my mom, despite not approving of the type of work I do, decided to help me out by making a generous donation of $900 to this site. This meant a lot to me, because it was my mother who always taught me that money should be earned the hard way, and this basically means that she finally acknowledges and respects my efforts.
This donation, in a time of such “crisis” I would say, really helps us out bigtime while we try to revamp the site into something much better and professional than what you see right now.
I don’t usually discuss donations in public, mostly because we never receive any, but also because we usually e-mail active members on how we should spend our budget and then collectively decide where the money is going to (usually to other projects or networks.)
So now you’re wondering why I decided to post this specific contribution here.
I’m publishing this news here to show everyone that I have a really great mother whom I love and appreciate, and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank her for always being there for me, even if we disagree on pretty much everything. After a long time of my family protesting the existence of this website and its many controversial projects, I finally realize now more than ever that they at least secretly admire what we’re all trying to achieve here. This makes me super happy and confident (even if they have yet to be exposed to much of our other works… I just hope that once all is in the open my family, and the families of our other active members, will remain as supportive.)
We’ll make sure to put this donation, and the donation of another lovely commenter here, to very good use. Expect some cool changes to this website and its many features.
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Aww. This post is cute. Congratulations on the donation, it is well earned.
You damn right it is! It’s been exhausting, and it’s about time that someone cares for this work, I just had no idea it was going to be my own mom.
I loved her before, but I love her 50 times more now. Family rocks.
So pleased for your pleasure Esra’a. A display of such love here is no bad thing either
I know you and the rest of the team will do good works – more power to you and I hope you receive more donations.
Hugs,
Josh
so cute
the sad thing is that if you and the ‘gang’ success in your efforts to normalize faggotry in the ME, having a mother will be something from the past.
I believe it would be more accurate to say “granting homosexuals their rights, and ensuring they are accepted in our societies”.
There’s nothing ‘abnormal’ about homosexuality.
Great news about the additional funds, E. Thank your mom for all of us. It’s very cool that she supports you, even if she doesn’t agree with the work itself … yet.
Why are you so scared, Spanky? Is it because you think Arab men are inherently gay and if homosexuals get their human rights respected, the flood gates will open and Arab women will all be left alone because Arab men all secretly are just waiting to be with each other?? Dude, give us a break. This post of yours sure says a lot about where your mind is …
Don’t worry guys, we’re traveling towards success at a fast rate and we’ll soon be leaving backwards losers like Spanky behind.
Not every parent in the world would hate their children or disown them merely because they fight for gay rights. Usually this kind of behavior is associated only with pitiful bigots like you.
Now get lost!
That’s great news, Esra’a. It’s fine your work gets appreciated and especially as you seem to be really happy about that coming from your mother. She’s done absolutely right, what you do is great.
And of course it’s fine that ME gets new funds, I’m sure they will be invested in some interesting projects. If to keep the existing running or start new ones, you will find a good way to spend the dollars for something which is worth it.
look Vanguard…you call it rights and i call it perversion…you call it the eternity tree and i call it the forbidden tree.
let me tell you about my problem with sodomy (and not homosexuality)
if you are born with a great tendency to be (excuse me) banged by men, i won’t be having ANY problem with you…God created you like this…it’s in your genes..science speaking so let’s just shut up and listen…science say that it’s all in the genes…science say that some people are born with tendency to be serial killers or rapists….they shouldn’t be blamed for that as long as they don’t go around killing randomly, raping women or getting (excuse me) banged by men…..i believe that as long as the natural born homosexual is resisting the urge to commit the filthy disgusting act he deserve our help (or my help as you guys will probably stone him for being so backward)
and even more….if you actually got (excuse me) banged by a man i will not – personally – stone you, cos i am a sinner as much as you are (i mean in a different way OF COURSE..sin come in many falvours)…..but if you (God forbid) started to tell people how getting (EXCUSE ME) banged by men is so cool and normal and proved beneficial for your inner genetical peace i will…..ermmm…just hate you…stoning anyone is so much for me
i am not scared about Arab men changing sexual orientation…..i am worried about stuff like this
i am worried that normalizing homosexuality is just a step….today homosexuality, tomorrow incest followed by God knows what…..and one day a survey in the Arab world will reveal a result like this
we ain’t losing this battle
Esra’a….i didn’t mean your parents will hate you…i am sure they won’t….not because it’s hard to hate you (obviously) but because they are your parents…..it’s something in the genes :p
seriously i believe you are a very funny person Esra’a…..for example the freekareem.com joke is a real cracker….website dedicated to a free speech champ doesn’t allow comments which happen to disagree with Kareem…..classic!!
Thanks a lot Simon, you can be sure that the money will be spent right. I feel that it’s best now if we focus on empowering existing ideas/websites rather than starting from scratch. The MEY team taught me that by holding me back and saying “enough!” – they all feel we should invest in the website for a change, we haven’t done that since the redesign of this site.
Unfortunately we can’t afford to start new projects now. Afghan Press and all the others are a handful.
Fact is we’re doing our best… and it’s really, really nice to have your mom by your side while doing this kinda stuff. I should go bake her a carrot cake or something.
Go Esra’a! Did she tell you specifically why she decided to donate? What was your reaction?
Ahhh. Spanky is back with a fresh dose of bigotry.
The Free Kareem website is not built for children like you to spam with your incessant, baseless trolling. If you have a problem with Kareem, we created a forum for idiots like you to express your criticism in. Use it.
The only problem you have with Kareem, other than his opinions and how he expressed them, is the fact that he makes you realize how much of an insignificant peon you really are. You obviously don’t have the balls and courage to either be yourself or to listen to the criticism of others without resorting to petty insults, racism, or blatant homophobia. Don’t talk to me about free speech when you abuse yours in such a repugnant manner. When it comes down to it, you’re nothing but a disrespectful, uneducated child who is ignorant about his own oppression and feels like the only thing left to do is try and justify it, while insulting people who are obviously much more braver and outspoken. What a sad, useless existence you must lead, Spanky.
Any such moronic comment I come across here will now be deleted, homophobic or otherwise. We accepted enough trolling from you. Read the comment policy for more info, and do some growing up in the process.
As for Murad, my extended family was severely persecuted against throughout their existence in Iran. Sunni Muslims went through a lot, many of them were driven out of the country or killed. Minority rights is something very personal to us and after years of my family asking me not to get involved due to the many friends and family who were killed for political activism and human rights, I finally feel like they respect my passion and commitment to this, as dangerous as it is, and that they have no choice but to support me through it. Familial support is really the best thing I could ask for. If something ever happens, my family will be the only people I can count on, so although my other family members don’t approve … my mom coming through to help is a great step forward.
Also, I think this is a way for my mom to say thanks for all the work we’re doing to protect minorities, like Baha’is, Kurds, migrant workers, et al, because she went through it, and she knows what it feels like not to have enough support or activism on your behalf.
Very surprised, she always told me to shut these sites down in the past. It’s nice to see this change of heart. But before donating, she told me to write a proposal first of how we wish to spend it, and it took some time convincing her that we’re doing the right thing here.
So we better spend it properly… or else she’ll be pissed.
Esra’a,
I have been reading your website for about 6 months now. I am very impressed with you and most of the other contributers. The concept of your site is revolutionary and much needed.
I live in NYC and just visited Egypt this past summer. Since then I have become extremely interested in the Middle East and it’s culture, politics and religions. (My interest initially began after George Bush began maligning the entire region. That sparked my desire to learn about the culture, instead of being an ignoramus like Bush).
Congrats to your mom for being such a great woman and supporting you, even if she may not agree with or understand everything that you are doing.
I will continue to follow the progress of the site.
Oh, and Spanky, Spank off brother!
What a nice and respectful mommy!
Esra’a,
Your mother sent her generous gift of love to all the MEY youth. I think her here who is very inspiring in these very grey days,we were just talking about mothers and their role in MEY and else where, here we have a mother …I thank you in all the languages spoken in MEY
I wish she spoke enough English to read all these cool responses. But I’ll let her know how appreciative you guys are.
Thanks mom!
Your mom seems to be really cool! I liked that she demanded a business proposal, she seems wise and generous at the same time. Thanks to her!
And good that you can keep up your great work here! I read the posts regularly, I’m from Germany and it is just a great way to get a little more informed about society in the ME.
So your family had the honor of being Iranians at one point?…hehehe.
That’s probably why they’re so generous.
I’m not suprised at all that your mom chose to invest in this site and you. She obviously knows a good investment when she sees one. I think all the young folks posting on this site should be proud of themselves for actually opening up and talking about issues and facets of the societies that they live in. So many people in the world today just put blinders on and follow their little ruts through their world, forming opinions and attitudes from snippets of media or just stupid rumors.
This is a great thing that you are doing, the kind of stuff that just wasn’t possible a generation ago, allowing all kinds of opinions to emerge for discussion.
Such as Spanky actually suggesting that the gay community spawns stuff like flesh-eating bacteria.
Y’see, up in Canada we like to use something called “science” to explain why bad things happen to people, and attribute flesh eating bacteria to the trend of the pharmeceutical industry to pump out anti-biotics like they were freaking candy, and that people across the world (like the Chinese) take them like they were vitamins.
It’s not a curse from God.
Why don’t you rant against something that will actually stastically harm most people during their lifetimes, like bad driving habits, faulty electrical work, or junk food?
Once again, kudos to your mom, Esra’a. She is obviously as smart as her daughter.