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[fineleg]

Rhea Ganguly that is...


The Northwest Airlines flight NW042 to Mumbai, which was cancelled mid-way when it was in Amsterdam due to a terror threat, reached its destination two days behind schedule with the 12 Indian passengers who were mistakenly suspected to be terrorists.

As the passengers walked through immigration after a brief interaction with the officials, there was elation all over.

Most of those who arrived were hesitant to speak to the media.

Even those who spoke divulged very little, and it was mostly about how relieved they were to be back home and with their families.

Mohammed Iqbal Batliwala, who initially refused comment, later said a communication problem lead to the entire fracas.

"There was a language problem. That was the reason for all the trouble. We were treated well," was his cryptic message.

Abdul Qadir Chappalwala, another trader, would not say anything more than, "Everything was perfect. We were treated well and there was no problem over there."

Shakeel Chottani said: "There was a misunderstanding, leading to all the trouble. I don't want to discuss what happened there now. I am glad to see my family."

As media persons jostled to speak to the passengers, one of the passenger's father, 70-year-old Abdul Kadar Kholsawala, fainted in the ensuing melee.

While the group did not speak much at the airport, a few opened up in the relaxed environs of Memon Colony, Jogeshwari, where the entire locality was awake to welcome the passengers with fireworks.

24-year-old Sohail Abdul Aziz, the youngest of the lot, said the crew suspected them not because they used their laptops and were passing cell phones around, but because they were exchanging seats.

Recollecting the arrest, he said, "It was very humiliating. They handcuffed us and took us for interrogation. We were kept in 4x4 cells and questioned separately.We  were given only milk for the first day and sandwiches on the second day."

Ayub Kholsawala, another passenger, said he was not even sure whether he would leave the place alive.

"We suffered a lot. We thought we would die there in an unknown country. We did not know what was happening. One diplomat Ms Rhea Ganguly was very helpful. We are very thankful to her for her efforts," he said, adding that they have not decided how to proceed against the treatment meted out to them.

"We are now very tired. We haven't slept for 72 hours. All we need is some sleep," he said.

Asked whether he thought the group was targeted because they were Muslims, Kholsawala said, "I think may be were targeted because we were Asians, because only four out of the 12 sported beards."

Earlier, relatives of the passengers waited at the airport with bated breath, as the arrival was delayed.

The flight was initially slated to arrive at 11 pm, Friday, but arrived only at 2:30 am Saturday.

[fineleg]

Arrested Indians treated "inhumanly"
http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/26/stories/2006082607741200.htm


Mumbai: The 12 Indians arrested following a security alert on a Northwest Airlines flight were treated "inhumanly", said a Dutch passenger who was on the plane.

"The way they got arrested inside the plane with everybody seeing how they got treated, I though it was inhuman... they were treated like dogs," said Antunius Slotboom, who was on Northwest flight No 42, with 149 passengers, that was escorted back to Amsterdam's Schipol airport by F-16 fighters on Wednesday.

The behaviour of the men, all residents of Mumbai, shortly after the plane took off from Amsterdam triggered the security alert. They did not put on seat belts, changed seats and exchanged their mobile phones.

Mr. Slotboom, who arrived here on Thursday night along with 17 other Mumbai-bound passengers of the Northwest flight, said the arrests seemed part of an "offensive against Arabic people."

"They did not hit them (arrested men) but they pushed them. They let them surely feel that they have no power, that the people who arrested them had all the power." Mr. Slotboom said he too was kicked off the plane after he remarked that the arrests were akin to what the Germans had done under Hitler during World War II.

[fineleg]

Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma has said that the government has taken strong notice   of the incident involving the detention of 12 Indians abroad the Northwest Airlines, and that the Dutch government has expressed regret. 

Sharma said, the government had asked for a detailed report on the incident and the Dutch Ambassador was summoned by the Ministry of External affairs in this regard.

“The Dutch government had expressed regret over the incident,” he said, adding the released passengers would reach India by Friday evening.

[fineleg]

LONDON: So, how much of an offence is it to travel the world while Asian? The question has become arguably the biggest unexploded bomb in global aviation now that airline passengers erroneously arrested, detained or offloaded from flights as a "terrorist threat" in the last fortnight has soared to double figures.

Exactly 15 days after the British foiled a mainly British Pakistani conspiracy to blow up trans-Atlantic airlines flying from Heathrow and 15 hours after 12 Indian Muslim passengers on a Northwest Airlines flight to Mumbai were released without charge and no apology in Amsterdam, there is a rising roll-call of travellers guilty of travelling while Asian.

They include:
British Asian university students Sohail Ashraf and Khurram Zeb, both 22, who were removed from a flight bound for Manchester from Malaga in Spain after fellow passengers, complained they were acting suspiciously, checking their watches and regularly speaking Arabic. The incident occurred on August 16.

12 Indians arrested as a suspected terrorist threat on Northwest Airlines after passengers and crew wrongly perceived them to be part of a hijack conspiracy.

[pieterSAN]

The benefits of stereotyping are becoming apparent.

[CLR James]

I doubt if they know the difference between spoken Arabic and spoken Bengali/Oriya/Gujrati/Hindi/Tamil.

[sgusa]

Time to get these T-shirt to wear while travelling...