Greyhound discrimination against Arab passenger

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Loraine Mirza" <haq_for_u@xxxxxxxxxxx>>
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 12:12 AM
Subject: Fwd: Greyhound discrimination


> >
> >Greyhound Profiles Muslim Bus Passenger
> >- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> >Traveler denied right to sit in front seats, kicked off bus
> >
> >CAIR is demanding that Greyhound Lines Inc. apologize to a Muslim
passenger
> >from New York who was kicked off a bus in Washington, D.C., apparently
> >because of his faith and ethnicity.
> >
> >The 29-year-old traveler, an American citizen of Middle Eastern decent,
> >told
> >CAIR the incident occurred June 29th during a stopover in the nation's
> >capital, on a trip from New York City to Richmond, Va.
> >
> >According to the Muslim passenger, he moved to the front of the bus
during
> >the stopover because his seat in the back was too cold due to the
location
> >of the air conditioner. The driver said he could not sit in the empty
front
> >seats. When he tried to re-board the bus after passengers were taken off
> >because of a "problem with the bus," he was prevented from boarding by
> >Greyhound personnel who said the other passengers did not want to travel
> >with him. He says Greyhound employees treated him like an "animal."
> >
> >Several other Muslims, who spoke to the passenger and to Greyhound
> >personnel
> >at the time of the incident, support the allegation of religious and
ethnic
> >profiling. Those other Muslims, who where dropping off another passenger
at
> >the station and were informed of the man's predicament, protested his
> >treatment and even blocked passengers from re-boarding the original bus
> >until the station manager agreed to put the man on another vehicle.
> >
> >When questioned by police who had been called to the scene as to the
nature
> >of their relationship to the other traveler, the Muslims replied, "He is
> >our
> >brother (in faith)." They say the man remained calm throughout his
ordeal.
> >
> >"It is disturbing to see that the achievements of great civil rights
> >figures
> >such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. are being rolled back in
the
> >21st century. And like Rosa Parks, American Muslims will not accept a
'back
> >of the bus' status based on stereotyping and prejudice," said CAIR
> >Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. (Rosa Parks helped spark the
modern
> >civil rights movement after she refused to give up her seat on a
> >Birmingham,
> >Ala., city bus to a white rider in the 1950s.)
> >
> >Hooper added that his group believes Greyhound's actions violated the
> >public
> >accommodation clause of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That
> >clause states: "All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal
> >enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and
> >accommodations of any place of public accommodation...without
> >discrimination
> >or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national
origin."
> >
> >Along with the apology, CAIR is demanding that Greyhound clarify its
policy
> >on ethnic and religious discrimination, institute workplace sensitivity
and
> >diversity training for company personnel and compensate the profiled
> >passenger for the emotional distress suffered as a result of the alleged
> >discrimination.
> >
>
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