| Subject: MISS TQI SCANDAL |
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Date Posted: 11:34:37 04/02/08 Wed
http://www.amylynneholbrook.com/wordpress/
Miss America TQI is having her worst nightmare in China because of the organizers of TQI
This is her most recent blog
SOS. I AM STUCK IN CHINA.
PLEASE HELP ME!
The organizers of the Miss Tourism Queen International pageant are holding me hostage in China. I just called to change my flight and it has been cancelled which means I don’t even have a flight arranged for me to go home in 11 days as previously planned. THE ORGANIZER CANCELLED MY FLIGHT as stated by the airline.
This is a nightmare!
I have been told that it would be “the right thing to do for me to come down to dinner tonight and dine with the rest of the girls so they don’t think that the organizer has abandoned me”.
In reality, they HAVE ABANDONED ME! I have been told that I must find my own way back to Beijing (which is at least 10 hours away by car or rail) because I am not the pageant’s responsibility anymore.
Also, the trains are very unsafe in China and they have told me that I only have the option to fly back to Beijing but that the cost will be completely absorbed by me. This is going to cost about $400 (US) for an hour and a half flight.
Truth be told, I would not be having major stomach cramping and throwing up if the organizer had decided to feed us properly and let us sleep. I was told by Mr. Jerome Too and Mr. Alex Lui that sleep was a luxury. Sleep is necessary for proper health, especially after being jet lagged. They also said that they would never allow another vegetarian contestant to enter the pageant because they were not going to accommodate “special diets”. I never asked once for a “special meal”, all I needed was proper nutrition. They said that I needed to pay to go home. I would not be going home (and directly to an American hospital) if the organizers had taken better care of me.
I worked for Mr. Too and Mr. Lui for 8 days before I was too ill to even get out of bed. Now this is how they repay me.
I have no idea what to do so I’m calling the US Embassy again.
and her blog before that:
Shared Concerns.
I love participating in international beauty pageants but I have some important concerns about this competition. There are 115 girls here with little to no official organization. Each night, we are given a total of 3 to 4 hours to sleep and the girls are getting sick with no medical care. They finally took one of the poor girls to the hospital after 3 days with a serious ailment. Also, we have not had a proper meal in days and all most of us have been eating is bread, cakes, and rice, and french fries. Needless to say, I feel terrible! I rarely eat this but I have to eat something! I am not just being picky either. I don’t know too many people that are willing to try “Sea Cucumber in Blueberry Juice” or “Fermented Bean Skin”. I am trying to maintain my composure and eat what we are fed in order to show respect which is sometimes a very difficult task here. We have no place to buy food during the day either.
Some of the girls have asked for feminine products and we have been unable to buy them. In my eyes, this is totally unacceptable.
Lastly, the security does very little to protect us. They stand around while the Chinese tourists are aggressive with us, poking us and pulling us so we will come take a photo with them. Some of the girls have had their hair pulled by tourists when they tried to walk away! I know they are excited but I do not think it is right to let them do this.
A few of the organizers are constantly rude to us. They bang loudly on the door when the doorbell would do just fine. They are always screaming and stressed out. I realized they are trying to gather over 115 girls but it is unfair to us that they have not planned the events properly before we arrived. There are too many contestants and not enough chaperones to help us with our needs.
Also, the evening gown competition we had a few nights ago was in 40 F (7 C) weather outside. Some of the girls were sick the next morning.
Yesterday, we were required to wear cocktail dresses in freezing weather while we hiked down steep terrain equivilant to the Grand Canyon.
We have visited many businesses to take group photos with the staff but we never actually get to experience the tourist sites which is very disappointing since China is such a beautiful country and we have only seen it from the bus rides.
We have no formal itinerary and no idea what the wear, where to go, or what city we a currently in. Currently, I have no idea where I am.
Most of the girls have been unable to call home because they cannot find a shop to buy an international phone card and no one seems to help the problem. After 5 days, someone finally bought the girls phone cards but they were for domestic use only and were not useful to call home. With all of the international news about China, it is very important for everyone’s parents to know that they are safe and well.
Thankfully, I have a phone that works internationally at all times. I have let some of the girls use my phone because they cannot call their families otherwise.
They took our passports for “safe keeping”. The real reason they take the passports is so we cannot decide to go home on our own.
It is possible that the pageant was recently changed to new hands but it seems like the organization as a whole is half hearted and that they do not truly care about our well being. They seemed to have thrown this pageant together in a matter of weeks because the planning has been awful. I feel bad for the few members of the staff that truly have their heart in assisting the girls and making this an enjoyable experience for everyone. There is a very special woman from Australia who has been extremely helpful to all of us and she is the only one I feel safe with.
All I am asking for is a good wholesome meal and 8 hours of sleep.
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National Organizers, take your ladies out NOW!!!
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