My
Worst Experience at Zia International Airport |
The
situation and behavior of officials and
workers at Zia International Airport has deteriorated at a
very low level. These people are stooping to very low levels in the
form of threats and harassment of innocent travelers. Whilst I have
been on many trips, I have received harassment from both male
and female staff, who have always asked for a bribe. I must stress
that not all workers have stooped to such levels, but it is probably
a small minority behave which give the rest a bad name.
Let
me set the background, to my worst experience at Zia International
Airport. It occurred
in January 2000. I had recently got
married, and returned to Bangladesh to bring
my wife back to the UK. My wife is a practicing Muslima and
wears the burka, she is also highly educated with a degree from a
reputable Bangladeshi university. I myself, am a practicing
Muslim, and highly educated, with bachelor and post-graduate degrees
from highly reputable British universities. Currently, I am working
as an engineering consultant for a major British firm.
My
wife and I arrived at the airport, and 'checked in' at the check out
counter. After which, we had to say goodbye to our loved ones, and
proceed to the restricted area for passport control. At passport
control, the immigration officer, allowed myself to pass, but
stopped my wife. Although my wife's papers were in order, the
immigration officer called another immigration to help him harass my
wife. You must be able to picture the scene. My wife was alone, she
had just been married, she was wearing the burka, she was a
practicing Muslima, the immigration officers knowing that she
was a practicing Muslima and did not have much previous contact with
men deliberately began to hassle her. What is worse, is that they
called other immigration officers to pressurize her? After a while,
the immigration officers began to threaten her, they stated that:
'they would take her away, and do whatever they wanted to her'. They
reinforced there point, by saying that: 'they could do what ever
they wanted because they were immigration officers'. At this point,
I managed to argue back with
the immigration officers. I was extremely worried for my
wife. I remember a British man being killed at Zia International
Airport by officers, and became scarred that the same may happen to
her. I also feared that all the male officers would take a
practicing Muslima away, and do whatever they wanted to her. I
shudder to think what they could have done. Their motives became
clear, when they demanded a bribe, in exchange for releasing my
wife. I was cornered, and forced to give a bribe of Tk500. When
I gave the money to the officers, they began to smile, as if to say they
had achieved their objective. It seemed that they felt proud that
they could intimidate travelers especially Muslims and demand money
from them.
Once
I was back in the UK, I complained to the British government, and to
the Bangladeshi government, I personally sent a letter to Shaikh
Hasina, and other Bangladeshi Institutions such as the Bangladeshi
High Commission, and the officer-in-charge of Zia International Airport.
Needless to say, the Bangladeshi effort to do anything was minimal.
The British government was more sympathetic, they replied to me,
stating that this type of incident had happened before. They tried
to put pressure on the Bangladeshi authorities to do something about
it.
The
manner and behavior of these airport workers is disgusting, they are
prepared to harass anyone whether they are male or female. The more
vulnerable the travelers look, the more likely they will be
harassed. It’s high
time that the Bangladeshi government did something about it and make
Zia International Airport, an airport worth having.
Abdullah.Talukder@Fluor.com
|