Yesterday, TheGayUK reported that up to 6 LGBT men and women had been killed, by stoning, in Uganda. A number of complaints have been made about the validity of the source for the article.
by Newsdesk | 19th August 2014
TheGayUK published the article on the basis of this press release, that was written by the Safe Passage Fund supported by Friends New Underground Railroad (FNUR), a Quaker organisation based in Olympia, Washington.
When we ask the FNUR to clarify and give validity of the claims made in the press release, they responded with this statement:
'The press release is by Anne-christine d'Adesky, Founder of Safe Passage Fund - with input from Friends New Underground Railroad.
Friends New Underground Railroad (FNUR) is a project of Olympia Friends Meeting (Quakers).
http://olympiafriends.org/
We are aware that there are claims that that "there is no truth to the claims made in the release."
We - the Quakers in Olympia, WA and the activists we support in Uganda - all understand the importance of corroborating the work they are doing. FNUR reports as much information as we can and operate this project as transparently as we are able - while protecting the identities of those whose work we support. They are on the ground working to save others. The safety and well being of the activists/conductors and their passengers is our reason for creating FNUR and it is our only consideration. We respect and follow what the security team and others we work with in Uganda ask us to reveal or not to media folks and others.
It is unclear to us if they are calling us liars who are conning people, or dupes who have been conned and are too stupid to realize it. Or both.
It really doesn't matter. We are not doing this for those people's approval.
There is a lot of information on the FNUR website
http://friendsnewundergroundrailroad.org/
Updates are posted on the FAQ page and our blog.'
TheGayUK also reached out to the Quaker organisation in the UK, to ask whether they had heard of FNUR, they replied,
'Thanks for your enquiry about Friends Underground Railroad. After our conversation I asked other staff about this work and they had no further information to add. As I mentioned on the ‘phone, we are aware that some American Quakers are involved. Quakers in Britain, have not to our knowledge, been involved and therefore I’m unable to verify your story.'
TheGayUK continues to research the claims made by the press release, and will endeavour to bring you an update shortly.
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