Arab News has been overwhelmed with mail in reference to the publication last Friday of the article, “How I was subjected to horrifying searches by British Airways ground staff.” It is obvious from some of the letters that people are unaware of their civil rights in the United States.
We received an e-mail from Jim Servino, New York. His letter complains of mistreatment by Saudi customs authorities and says that I should think of how things are done in my home country, Saudi Arabia, before I get “humiliated” by US security.
Servino’s letter reads in part:
“Obviously Molouk Ba-Isa is not a well-traveled individual. His complaint about humiliation is completely baseless and untrue. Welcome to airline travel in the USA! This is how it is for everyone, not just you or Arabs. And are you sure you are now a Saudi national? If so, the horrifying experience of having your bags ripped through and searched should seem strikingly familiar to you as this is the normal way of entering Saudi Arabia.”
In reply to Servino and others who questioned whether I was well traveled, I will explain that a review of my schedule in the past year showed that I took over 50 flights on various airlines during that time. The majority of the flights were within the Middle East, but there were flights to Europe and of course eventually to the United States, as well. I have been searched many times at airports, but the searches were always done in a private cubicle in a non-aggressive manner. That did not happen in Seattle, Washington.
When I travel abroad and return from traveling abroad, my bags are frequently X-rayed by customs authorities. On occasions they are opened. At these times I am always asked to open the bags myself and to be present during their inspection. That did not happen in Seattle. In Seattle my bags were not searched by US customs officials. The search was done by a private security firm. It was pointed out to me this week by legal counsel that the individuals who conducted the security check could have even had prior criminal records, as long as the offenses were not recorded in the last 10 years. Yet British Airways allowed them to search my bags without my supervision. It seems I had good reason to be frightened about what might have been placed in my bags without my knowledge.
One last point to note, which I thought I had been made very clear in my previous article: I am a woman, not a man. Being ordered to remove my clothes and expose my body in public is against my Islamic faith.
We received another e-mail on the article from Warren Trout. He wrote:
“Welcome to the real world! Thousands of Americans born, raised, and live here are subject to the same search everyday! I am an airline pilot for a major US airline and am still searched — even in uniform! Grow up and shut up! Why do Arabs always think they are better than everyone else?”
Trout’s letter made me smile. I am not an Arab even though I am a Saudi.
My ethnic background is Western European. Anyone may be searched before boarding an aircraft, but I was singled out with malicious intent by a BA staff member who knew both my nationality and religion, and had been disturbed by my request for assistance that she did not want to provide at the check-in counter. According to the Federal Aviation Authority:
“Individuals may not be selected for additional screening based solely on appearance or mode of dress that is associated with a particular national origin or religion. For example, selecting a woman for additional screening solely because her hair is covered or she is wearing a veil, as some Muslim women do, is unlawful discrimination. Selecting a man for additional screening solely because he is wearing a long beard or hair covering, as some Muslim men do, is unlawful discrimination. Likewise, selecting a man for additional screening solely because he is wearing a turban, as some Sikh men do, is unlawful discrimination.”
Legal advisors at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) have now determined that the search of my person and my carry-on bags was against the law. This determination came about by referring to the regulations put forward by the FAA. The following paragraph is a direct quote from a FAA advisory to airport screening staff:
“If a search or inspection involving the removal of clothing is necessary for safety or security reasons, screeners should provide the person involved a choice of a public or private inspection. Private searches may be perceived to be overly intimidating while public searches may be viewed as humiliating or may violate an individual’s religious tenets. For example, the removal of a Muslim woman’s veil in public or in the presence of a man, not her husband, will violate her religious beliefs... Individuals who may appear to be of Arab, Middle Eastern or South Asian descent and/or Muslim or Sikh have the right to be treated with the same respect as persons of other ethnicities and religions, and all persons should be treated in a polite, respectful and friendly manner.”
In Seattle I was never offered the option of being searched in private. I was forced to bare my midriff in public even though this was a clear violation of my religious beliefs. When I requested that the search be carried out in private to safeguard my religious beliefs, I was threatened with being denied access to the flight. The ADC legal advisor has stated that the aggressive manner of the security screener and her threats during the search clearly crossed the line of acceptable behavior and she may now be charged with assault.
In an e-mail received from Aileen Conley, she stated that on a flight from JFK to Riyadh “every individual piece of luggage carried on the plane was inspected by removing and examining each item in the luggage. This was done without regard to the ethnicity of the passenger.”
That is the way the searches and inspections are supposed to be — without regard to ethnicity. It is to be assumed that since Conley watched the inspectors removing every item from her luggage, that she was present during its inspection. In Seattle I was not present during the inspection of my bags. I was standing five-feet away, facing in the opposite direction from my carry-on baggage and I had never indicated that a search of the bags was allowed. Even if it had been suspected that I had something illegal in my baggage, the inspectors were required to have either my permission and my direct presence to open my luggage or a search warrant. They had neither.
On Wednesday, Arab News published a letter from Harvey Lines, area manager, British Airways, Northern Gulf. In his letter he attempted to distance BA from the abuse I received in Seattle at the hands of contract security staff. Let me make it clear that I was singled out for that abuse by a BA ground staff member. BA ground staff watched while I was stripped of my legal rights and assaulted, and they did not intervene. In fact, when I boarded the plane I was told by a BA ground staff member that BA cooperated willingly in the abusive search because if they did not “they would be fined.” So BA traded my humanity for their bottom line.
On the instructions of the BA staff members at Heathrow, when I returned to Saudi Arabia I attempted to make contact with BA staff in the Kingdom. Both BA area managers in Saudi Arabia were on vacation. BA marketing in the Kingdom did not return my call. The BA Executive Club in Dubai would not take my complaint. BA’s Eastern Province office in Saudi Arabia did not know any telephone number of a higher BA official in the Middle East outside Saudi Arabia. Eventually my travel agent gave me a number to call in Dubai. The manager in Dubai was on vacation. Finally a BA secretary in Dubai, on the advice of BA’s financial controller, gave me the telephone number for BA’s public relations agency, FP7. When I called them and told them my story I was ordered to wait to report the incident publicly until an investigation could be made. It was after that conversation that I was finally contacted by BA’s marketing manager in Bahrain.
At this time I have received neither a written report nor a formal apology from BA for the conduct of their ground staff which was clearly discriminatory and illegal. Reports on the incident have been filed with BA, the US Department of Transportation, the US Aviation Consumer Protection Division and the Council for American-Islamic Relations. Before traveling to the United States, it is recommended that all Arabs and Muslims review the FAA security guidelines so they understand clearly their rights and obligations under US law. These guidelines are available at: http://www.faa.gov/acr/DOTAT-RNO.doc.