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Date Posted: Sat, Jun 07 2008, 8:10:08:10:01
Author: Lloren
Subject: MTQI Sacndal Posted at Miss Egypt Board

Subject: MISS TQI SCANDAL

Author:
Fan
[Edit]
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Date Posted: 18:36:50 04/02/08 Wed
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better check this link first before you say I'm lying

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.
----------------------------------------------------

Better ask Hoda what she really is experiencing in China right now

[ Post a Reply to This Message ]

Replies:

It is quite true actually! Hoda told me that the conditions are not very good in China and many girls are falling sick including herself! Her back hurts from mountain climbing everyday and it is a fact that Miss America, Miss South Africa and Miss Korea are leaving the competition! this has never happened before in any grand slam pageant!!! Hoda will stay in bed today as she needs her rest, she will have to miss the Miss Charm contest. I hope she gets well soon!! (NT) -- fan-man, 10:24:18 04/03/08 Thu
MTQI IS NOT A GRAND SLAM PAGEANT -- Hado, 08:02:35 04/04/08 Fri
I really hope Hoda gets well soon and I commend her on staying strong throughout this pageant. MTQI is only considered a Grandslam pageant by Global Beauties and that's only because both MTQI and GB are in business (extensive coverage on the GB site earns Brazil and Fernando de Narronha high placements and better treatment, as well as Henrique Fontes a free trip). I find the whole matter really cheap and unprofessional. Amy also wrote that she heard the organizers saying there will only be a Top 5! Out of 100+ ladies? LoL! In 2006 MU had a Top 20 and only 80 ladies competed! I think MTQI has hurt themselves a lot, not only with how they treat their contestants day by day but also in how they react to issues addressed by contestants. Anyways, I still wish Hoda all the best and I hope she can turn this sour pageant into a sweet experience. I know she can. =) (NT) -- Aiden*, 09:10:50 04/04/08 Fri
MTQI CRAP pageant will have only TOP 5 because the REST will be SICK...they may not even have 5 girls healthy enough to stand on the stage....do they have a stage? (NT) -- NO KIDDING, 19:55:21 04/04/08 Fri
I'm sorry to hear what happened to Hoda. I was in a hibernate for quite a long time and did not know that these things happened. (NT) -- Jwes, 17:53:26 06/07/08 Sat
That's really bad. I think it's not worth sending your delegates there next year. (NT) -- Filipino fan, 06:16:12 04/04/08 Fri
OMG! This is the price of FREE AIR FARE Tickets. I agree, NO NEED to send Miss Egypt in MTQI if the organizers will treat the delegates like a CARNAVAL ATTRACTIONS (NT) -- An American Fan, 12:59:41 04/06/08 Sun



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Subject: Hoda Kaiser speaks about her MTQI experience - From Critical Beauty

Author:
fan-man
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Date Posted: 06:50:34 05/05/08 Mon

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• MISS EGYPT'S TURN : Another former contestant of Miss Tourism Queen International 2008 is speaking out against the injustices she had experienced at the pageant in China. Egypt's Hoda Kaiser, 23, below, wrote an e-mail to Amy Lynne Holbrook who forwarded it to me. Hoda gave me permission to publish her e-mail, and here it is:

"Hi Amy. Great to hear from you. I am back in my country and have adapted to normal food and my regular life. It’s a wonderful feeling to know what you eat and drink and people understand me and last but not least to be back with my family and of course my fiancée.

Sure, with great pleasure I am telling you my point of view of the story. I had the great opportunity to visit a five-star hospital in China, when I fell from the steps in the mountains. I injured my lower back and I was racked with pain. They brought to a hospital where I had an enthusiastic reception from a dead body on the floor in the entrance of the hospital (no joke). After the x-ray the doctor gave me a spray (of course the list of ingredients and the administration of the spray was all written in Chinese). But the highlight was the letter which I was supposed to give to my doctor in Egypt to summarize the accident and the injury; all in Chinese. By the way, the same spray was given to all girls who suffered from whatever, even a flu. Well, that’s the story about the hospital which I do not recommend for a visit.


The other thing which revealed how inhospitable in particular the organizer of the pageant was the preferential treatment we experienced once the contest was over. No security any longer, a real disgusting bus, no company any longer, a barrack (however they still considered it a hotel), and they promised us at the final night, that we do not have to pay for our excess luggage, which in fact anyone of us had, on the flight from Zheng Zhou to Beijing. The next day when we arrived at the airport and went to check in our luggage, suddenly we were told that we have to pay for excess luggage. It took us three hours shouting and yelling to Christine to get what we were promised the other night. Bottom line, we were no longer treated as beauty queens once the whole event was over, rather we were treated like cows in a slaughter house. These things are just the tip of the ice-berg but they give a perfect impression of what really happened plus the Chinese expect from us that we are going to recommend China as a lovely and hospitable country for tourists (hahahaha….).


By the way I plan to visit the states in the summer. If you have time we could meet somewhere and you show me a little bit of California. I am sure you are way better guide than any Chinese.


It was also a pleasure for me to meet you, regardless of all adverse circumstances, and of course all the other girls too, and maybe one or two friendship will result. Talk to you later! Hoda."

[ Post a Reply to This Message ]

Replies:

Well, as I said before, Hoda and the other ladies showed courage under fire at MTQI. I'm glad she is safe and sound and is enjoying life now. As for MTQI, I think serious thought should be made on what to do about this pageant. I suggest not sending an Egyptian rep. anymore. Anyways, congratulations to Hoda for doing a great job in China! (NT) -- Aiden*, 07:23:36 05/05/08 Mon
What a terible experience, I Hope Face 2 face would be careful ssending a delegate next time to any pageants like this (NT) -- Jwes, 17:49:08 06/07/08 Sat


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Subject: "THE AMERICAN GIRL" - The Amy Holbrook Nightmare Experience in Miss Tourism Queen International 2008


Author:
.
[Edit]
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Date Posted: 07:37:55 04/07/08 Mon

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THE AMERICAN GIRL - http://www.criticalbeauty.com/Journal_Apr_2008.html


• THE AMERICAN GIRL : Amy Holbrook, left, the American representative to the Miss Tourism Queen International pageant taking place in China, decided to withdraw from the competition last Tuesday (April 1st) after the organizers discovered that she had been writing unfavorable comments about the pageant in her blog. Amy cites that the candidates were being subjected to 3 to 4 hours of sleep, to poor nutrition, to freezing temperatures without proper attire, to minimal security, and to poor medical care. She also wrote that one of the organizers, Jerome Too was rude to her and told her that vegetarian girls like herself would not be allowed to compete next year. The organizers even attempted to persuade her to take down her blog and also gave her the option to maintain her blog - but on the condition that she retract her statements. Holbrook decided to keep her blog as it is, citing freedom of expression.

Global Beauties, which covers the pageant, published a comment written by its correspondent Thiago Castro in which Castro denounces Amy and calls her statements "baseless." Castro also posted an "official statement" from MTQI organizers that was supposedly sent to all the national directors:

"We would like to inform you that Miss America's allegations and claims are not true and baseless. We'd like to say that this event is organized by the Henan Government and Henan TV station and their expectations are high for the contest as well as the contestants. They have spent millions in US$ in terms of round-trip fare for the candidates to come to their respective countries, international journalists as well their local journalists which include hotel stays and food and beverages. The China organizers have done their best to make all welcome both contestants and the 120 journalists from the international and national press that are currently with us. This event is high publicized. We provide sufficient and top grade meals for all contestants. We have big buffets spreads which consist of good food and in her case, plenty of vegetables, salads, fruits and soya based food. We do not feed bugs, dogs, cats and "Fear Factor" meals to our guests, journalists and contestants. There are sufficient security provide by both police and army. Last year alone, they activated 10,000 security personnel for the pageant. However sometimes there are occasional overzealous locals who tend to pull the contestants to snap photos with but usually this contestant who are being "harassed" will be ushered away by the chaperones. We have a trained doctor, paramedics and the ambulance are with us at all times during activities that the candidates are involved in. Should they be sick, they are immediately attended to. Other issues about phones cards of which this can be purchased at hotel concierge or gift stores. This will include feminine products as well. If the hotel do not have any available, they can approach the chaperones who will get the hotel to purchase for them on their behalf. Many of you have worked with us over the years and you know we are very strict and look after your girls well so we do not allow such things to happen. I have journalist here with us who can vouch that what was written in the blog mostly was a pack of lies. I will attach their comments in my next email for your judgment. Attached is also the Founder of Miss Tourism Queen International, Mr. Charlie See' wife who has given us her thoughts".




MISS TOURISM QUEEN INTERNATIONAL TOP GRADE MEALS: FUNGUS MIXED WITH WALL NUTS! YUM YUM!


Amy reposted the above statement in her blog and called it a "public relations nightmare." Notice that the statement insists that the pageant is highly publicized by "120 journalists from the international and national press." I just searched for "miss tourism queen," "miss tourism queen international," "miss tourism," and "mtqi" in the News section of Yahoo and Google and I didn't see any links to a coverage in English, Spanish, Portuguese or French - languages spoken by over a billion people. Global Beauties is the only pageant site that offers full coverage; the other sites could care less. Notice, too, how the writer admits to a lapse in security while referring to "occasional overzealous locals who tend to pull the contestants to snap photos." Sufficient security does not always translate to guaranteed security, as the contestants could get hurt especially if they were pulled aggressively. Imagine international athletes being treated like this when they come to China for the Summer 2008 Olympics. And why is there only one "trained doctor?" In her blog, Amy describes the substandard conditions in a local hospital to which she was taken after she had experienced stomach ache. It seems that there was not even one good doctor to examine a patient suffering from a simple stomach ache that, according to Amy, was caused "by lack of sleep and food poisoning."




MTQI WORLD CLASS HOSPITAL... THE MTQI STANDARD


What I'd like to know is who exactly wrote the so-called "official statement" from MTQI. Notice how the statement starts with the collective "We" and ends with a singular "I." Why weren't the names of the MTQI organizers Jerome Too and Alex Liu mentioned in the statement? And more importantly, why is the statement not even posted in the official MTQI website? The statement ends with a reference to an attachment - a letter supposedly written by Ann See, the widow of MTQI founder Charlie See. What exactly did Mrs. See say and why is her letter not posted on Global Beauties or MTQI websites?

After being held "hostage" in China for a couple of days, Amy was finally able to fly out of China and returned safely in Los Angeles last Saturday. Another contestant, Miss South Africa Alyssa Revelo, also withdrew from the pageant "due to medical reasons," according to Global Beauties, although one would suspect that she had also gotten ill due to food poisoning. Reliable sources informed me that nearly twenty candidates also wanted to leave, but that their passports were being held by the organizers. It would be interesting to see new stories come out once the pageant is over on April 10th, that is if all the girls (except the winner and runners-up) get to leave safely!


WHAT AMY HOLBROOK THINKS OF MTQI:
http://www.amylynneholbrook.com/wordpress/


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Replies:

thats just AWFUL! i feel sorry for Hoda and all the other girls!! (NT) -- fan-man, 14:19:17 04/07/08 Mon
Is this real? (NT) -- Jwes, 17:46:36 06/07/08 Sat



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Subject: OTHER CANDIDATES are speaking about Miss TQI

Author:
Crap Pageant
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Date Posted: 08:48:54 04/22/08 Tue

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• MISS BOLIVIA SPEAKS UP : In an interview with a local press, Bolivia's representative to Miss Tourism Queen International 2008, Katherine David, revealed some anecdotes when asked what the worst part of her stay in China was. David said that the change in schedule had affected all the candidates to the point that it caused them hormonal imbalance. David, who will represent Bolivia in Miss Universe 2008 in Vietnam, stated that she had water retention which caused her body to be bloated. She also fell hard while getting off the bus because her chaperone had pulled her quite violently, thus tearing off her pants. (Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 4/16/2008)

• SAIDIA SPEAKS UP : A former contestant of Miss Tourism Queen International 2007, El Salvador's Saidia Palma,, left, (a former Miss Mesoamerica International), wrote an e-mail to her friend Miguel Castro-Rivera, a CB reader, in which she recounts her misadventures in China last year. This is in reference to the claims reported by Amy Lynne Holbrook in her blog. Miguel forwarded Saidia's e-mail to me (originally in Spanish and dated April 8, 2008) and that Miguel has translated into English:

"Hello, Miguel. I am speechless about what is going on in China and to tell you the truth, it is not strange to me, since what the girls are going through now, we lived it last year. That has been the worst pageant that I have gone to. If it was up to me, I would tell the delegates not to participate in it and to the directors NOT TO SEND ANYBODY!

Seriously, reading what Amy has written just reminded me what we experienced in China. I was counting the weeks, the days, the hours, and even the minutes just to leave with Miss Colombia. Each day that went by was a day closer to go home, and as tragic as this may sound, it is the truth. We did not have enough sleep. Many times we were under the rain almost naked with the uniforms they had provided, and we could not wear the coats because they told us that we could not take them out with us from the bus.

Regarding food, they had a huge buffet, Chinese style, but many girls did not like their offered food. Many girls were not used to this kind of food. I tried a little bit of everything, but as you know everyone’s digestive system is different, and there are some stomachs more sensitive than others and are accustomed to certain kinds of food. The buffet should have been an international cuisine to accommodate all the girls from different parts of the world. How do they expect people to tolerate and eat food that we are not accustomed to, and for a full month?

In that trip I spent a lot of money in cookies to kill my hunger when I was starving (hahaha). We were complaining about the food, the poor attention, the hotels (I believe we stayed in ONE-STAR hotel, where it was written on the door of the room that they recommended to lock the door and windows because the hotel would not be responsible if any thing should happen. What was that all about? And where was security? In reality we felt like as if we were in a circus tour, where every other day we would travel to a different place and we never knew where we were. Sometimes we were sleeping on the buses, there were some nights I could not sleep at all, and many times because we would arrive at midnight and they gave us one hour to put together our suitcases again because the next day we were going some place else. The wake-up call was at 4:00 AM. Cn you imagine going to bed as early as 2:00 AM to wake up at 4:00 AM?

This pageant was something else, and if I tried to tell you everything I would never finish, but be assured that I had 90% similar experience to what the girls are experiencing now. The only good thing about this pageant is that because of the bad experience we got closer among each other and became close friends with some of the girls and that made up for the moment, but not for everything else. I would NEVER go back to that pageant, not even if were I crazy! I am so happy that Amy is back home and released herself from all that stress. Give her my greetings and a big hug for you!"

--------------------------

now tell me that Amy Holbrook is still a lying spoiled brat
An MTQI supporter confirmed that 5 candidates left, and said, it's only 5, what kind of a reputable pageant looses that amount of candidates

http://www.criticalbeauty.com

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