I'm a bit concerned and worried about one of our recent new members who seems to have disappeared. His screen name was "Phoenix James Ryder." Some of you might recall his profile or have corresponded with him. He is from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He joined Atheist/Nexus back in August, but now he has disappeared from my friends list, his profile is no longer on this site and our previous correspondences have been deleted. In addition, he had a YouTube channel and a business website that have disappeared as well. In the last week or so he posted both a discussion on A/N and a public YouTube video about his wish to literally offer himself as a martyr in order to stand up against the oppressive policies of the Malaysian government regarding atheism and the LGBT community. He was quite distressed over recent government efforts to identify homosexual school children. He also talked openly about publicly expressing his atheism which, in his country, could subject him to intimidation, arrest, or worse. Now, all the sudden, he seems to be missing. It pains me to think that harm may have come to this beautiful human being. I was able to obtain his image that is still on Google. Does anyone have any information? What could we possibly do?
@ The Flying Atheist, I don't know what we could do either. I remember him, and things he said. I was worried for him also. He really put himself out there. Sorry I'm no help!~ Melinda
He was my friend too and left me some comments on my webpage - which are now gone since he left the site.
Maybe there is something going on in his life in which he had to be anonymous - maybe job searching or something.
I am still in touch with James. By request of his family, he has had to remove his accounts from here, YouTube, and a few other places. Please be rest assured that as for now, he is safe. However, he still faces the cage of extreme Islam in his home country. We, his friends, would like very much to help him out, so if you have a good network of contacts and feel you may be able to help him either leave or deal with his situation better, please let me know!
Nerdlass, thank you so much for your reply. I feel better knowing that you are still in touch with James and that his internet disappearance was intentional. During the short time we corresponded, I learned what a wonderful, smart and talented person he is. I fear for his safety and know that he expressed a desire to leave Malaysia. I don't have any contacts, and personally I'm quite ignorant about the process and requirements for leaving one's country and moving to another. Still, I will do some research and find out what I can. --Carl