People Speaking Up

October 17, 2012

Uncategorized

After the MEA incident and the different reactions it solicited from people, we put up this post in reply to MEA and appealing to them to take more action, the right kind of action, to turn the page properly on what happened.

In response to our call for testimonies, we received the below. We paste with a few edits and without posting the name of the sender, of course. S/he works at the airport. The below testimonials are not reflecting MEA flight stories and might no be related to MEA at all. They are just a small reflection of practices, very normalized practices, at Beirut airport, regardless of which airlines.

We would appreciate and be grateful if others follow through and send their testimonies too. We can only counter this together.

***…1
On the flight that goes to Ethiopia, if an African person is too slow carrying their luggage to the scale, they’re threatened that they will not be allowed to travel. 2
They are also only allowed to be seated in the back of the plane.3Their hand luggage is taken from them and put in cargo, and if they refuse, and say they want to keep their hand bags, they’re again told they will not be permitted to travel.4
Also, an officer in the customs once approached an Ethiopian girl, telling her that if she paid him a bit, he wouldn’t let the airline charge her for excess weight. She gave him either a 20$ or 50$. Then he abandoned her. The airline charged her of course.5
Lebanese people treat the Ethiopian airlines cabin crew like maids, they yell at them, insult them, and speak to them like they would speak to slaves.
… Email us on antiracismlb@gmail.com

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