Nigerian trader claims racial bias at Kolkata airport

Kolkata: A Nigerian citizen who holds an Indian residence permit and does business out of Delhi has alleged harassment and racial discrimination while travelling through Kolkata airport.
Jeffrey Onyeama Akuma, director of U And I Impex Pvt Ltd (incorporated in Delhi), said he was restricted from entering the check-in area at the international terminal by security personnel till almost departure time and then forced to miss the flight to Dhaka by immigration authorities bent on scrutinizing his valid travel papers for hou-rs due to suspicion borne out of a deep-rooted prejudice against his skin tone.
The incident occurred on August 27. Akuma reached Kolkata from Delhi at 8.20 am to take a Biman Bangladesh flight at 3.40 pm. "Three hours prior to departure, I tried to enter the check-in area but was halted by the security officer who said it wasn't time yet. It was only around 3 pm that I was allowed to proceed. The Biman Bangladesh counter staff were very cooperative, issued the boarding pass promptly and hurried me to the immigration area. That's when the trouble began," he recounted.
Immigration authorities have denied the charges and said there were doubts that needed to be cleared. But they acknowledged that citizens of some African and Asian countries like Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the UAE are always under the scanner owing to global terror alerts.
According to Akuma, the officer at the immigration desk flipped through his passport and then discussed something with colleagues in vernacular. "I heard the word Nigerian and realized they were discussing my nationality," he recalled.
He was directed to another officer, who referred him to his superior. "I requested them to tell me what the problem was and showed them other documents like company PAN card and the firm's incorporation certificate. As I was going on a business trip and had a meeting in Dhaka, it was imperative that I board the flight," he said.
But the officers did not relent. They told him his residence permit needed to be checked and authentication process was underway. An officer escorted him to a room at 4 pm. For the next two hours, he stayed there. It was only around 6 pm that Akuma was told that his papers were in order and he could proceed.
06/09/09 Subhro Niyogi & Arpit Basu/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Sep 2009, Foreign Sep 2009