Protest Against Discrimination And Molestation Of African Passengers By Turkish Airline Personnel In Istanbul Airport

Protest Against Discrimination And Molestation Of African Passengers By Turkish Airline Personnel In Istanbul Airport

By Nze Louis Asuzu

Photo credit: www.turkishairlines.com

I wish to use this medium to protest against the undignified treatment been accorded to black African passengers who boarded the Turkish airline flight TK 1883 at Istanbul airport on the 5.11.2013 scheduled for 08.10 to Vienna, Austria.

I have been living in Austria for over 25 years and presently the president of a formidable Nigerian Diaspora association registered with the Austrian government. Though this is not my first time of travelling with Turkish Airline, in fact I was one of the 
first passengers to travel with Turkish Air on the route Vienna-Lagos-Vienna few years ago when the Airline opened this route.

I travelled to Nigeria with my 11-year-old son for a traditional Chieftancy program. Due to his school, he left earlier unaccompanied back to Austria. I was supposed to come back two weeks later. But as fortune will have it, I had to promptly break my stay due to health problems within my immediate family.

At the Turkish Airline office in Lagos Murutala Mohammed international airport, I was allowed to re-book and change my ticket for a cash payment of 52,500 naira. All plead to pay less or to pay in other currency since I did not have such amount in naira proved effort less. But at last I over came that hurdle.

At the Istanbul international airport, we had to first go through three immigration checkpoints and two security zones before finally arriving at the Turkish airline-boarding counter 312.

I observed that the lady checking in the passengers stopped every Black African before me and paid extra attention in checking their travelling documents.

She carefully crosschecked and annoyingly double-checked their passports before dropping them aside as if it meant nothing. Without any word and regards she signaled the passengers to wait by the side of the counter with just a hand wave. Meanwhile she boarded the white skinned passengers without subjecting them to the same treatment.

When it came to my turn, she gave me a cold look while she was examining my traveling document. After minutes of examining and scanning them, she started questioning me in German. She asked me rudely in broken German if I could speak German and where I was living, which I answered. But it seemed that she did not understand German well.

She set aside my documents like the one from other fellow Black Africans and waved me to the side.

I patiently waited to be attended to for about three to four minutes. Then I went to a second officer seating in another desk close to the check in counter to inquire on why I should be treated in this manner because I did not want to disturb the boarding of other passengers.

Meanwhile, two ladies of Austrian nationality decided to intervene. They explained to her and the two other officers that they had been at the check in desk and they had seen what had happened, that I had answered the lady’s questions correctly and that they had been only embarrassing me.

A Turkish gentleman who also felt ashamed and disturbed at the attitude of these officers and intervened was immediately subjected to maltreatment. His Austrian visa was photo copied he later told me that they were threatening him with some other actions. He said he is a regular passenger with the airline and was sure going to write a petition against his maltreatment by these officers. He gave his identity as Mr. Murat Murdua an employee of Siemens international (murat.murdua@siemens.com).

I was threatened with not being allowed to board the flight as scheduled. And when I asked a third officer to please disclose the identities of the officers involved, they told him not to, while they went on to rain more threats on me.

I demand an apology and that the Turkish airline management will address this issue.

CC

Turkish Airline Wien

Nigerian Embassy, Vienna

Global Reporters Vienna

PRO NANCA