Subtle microaggressions, discriminatory behaviours, and stereotypes are all part of casual racism that many unfortunately face during daily interactions. Threads user Efe Isaac shared such an incident on her profile, claiming that she faced racism while at the Abu Dhabi airport.
“I am standing on the priority lane about to board my flight at Abu Dhabi’s airport. And the attendant goes “ma’am this way” pointing to stay on general boarding. I refused to move. Then he goes “you’re in priority?”. I said “Yup!” , then he goes ‘okay, you can stay here’. I said ‘I am already here’. Then he goes to attend to the next person. The automatic assumption that I belong to general boarding or economy every time I fly first or business is ridiculous,” she shared.
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She also shared another incident involving not just her but a fellow traveller: “As we walked to the point where you scan your boarding pass, there was another black guy with dreads in front of me. The attendant lady did not even look at him; she went about her business as we both stood there. I think me and the guy had some type of telepathy communication in that moment. We just walked right past the scanning to the Plane. We knew!” she added.
Take a look at the post here:
{{/usCountry}}She also shared another incident involving not just her but a fellow traveller: “As we walked to the point where you scan your boarding pass, there was another black guy with dreads in front of me. The attendant lady did not even look at him; she went about her business as we both stood there. I think me and the guy had some type of telepathy communication in that moment. We just walked right past the scanning to the Plane. We knew!” she added.
Take a look at the post here:
{{/usCountry}}With over 500 reactions, her post has attracted the attention of other users of the platform - many of whom shared similar situations they had faced in their lives.
How did people react to this post on casual racism?
“15 years ago, I was stopped at Abu Dhabi airport, surrounded by staff and told I could not board my flight as I was ‘inebriated’. I had had nothing to drink. I asked why they thought this and they said 'you look drunk'. It was 1 am and I had caught the bus from Dubai. Probably just looked tired,” wrote a Threads user.
Another person added, “Something similar happened to me a long time ago. I was all ensconced in my seat when the flight attendant asked to see my boarding pass. I said sure, right after you ask those in front of me first!”
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While a third commented, “This is very common at all airports in UAE to such an extent that this behaviour is normalised. Their infrastructure may be modern but the mentality is still in the 19th century,” a fourth joined, “Happened to me in Istanbul. The person looked down at my shoes and told me I was in the wrong line.”
What are your thoughts on this post shared by a woman claiming she faced racism at Abu Dhabi airport?