OLIVER
FLINT- WESTERN NEWS
WASHINGTON D.C- It
was very much a normal morning for Tahera Ahmad; a Northwestern University
Prof, Muslim Chaplain and powerful social advocate, as she entered the
departures concourse of Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
She
was boarding a simple United Airlines commuter flight from the busy city of
Chicago to the epicentre of our government in Washington D.C.
It
was not until the White House recognized professor asked for a simple unopened
can of Cola did the day take a dramatic turn.
The
unnamed United Airlines Flight Attendant was serving drinks over the
northwestern United States when she stopped at Ahmad’s row and started serving
drinks to her and her seatmate, a white man. The man asked for a can of beer,
which was served unopened. The attention then shifted towards Ahmad who asked
for a whole, unopened can of Cola due to hygienic reasons. The flight attendant
refused to serve Ahmad the unopened can due to her fear it could be used as a
weapon.
It
didn’t just end there either. According to her Facebook account which was
shared over 20,000 times around the globe, she asked around the plane to see if
anyone else had witnessed the discrimination, at which point she was yelled at
from a man at the back of plane - "You
Moslem, you need to shut the f--k up.".
Nobody on board stood up and
said something.
Following
the spread of her story, and countless boycotts, United Airlines officially offered an apology to those affected attributing the event to
a simple “misunderstanding”.
#UnitedForTahera
has been trending all over Social Media (Facebook, Twitter Etc.) in a ply to
call for action against United Airlines. The action has taken many forms,
non-as more powerful as the boycott that is in effect with many major companies
against using United as a transportation method for employees.
Ahmad
said she "Felt the hate in his and her voice through their raging
eyes."
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment