MORE ON BRUTISH AIRWAYS

I read the news frequently and use technology to keep track of information that is of interest to me. A few recent news reports involving British Airways have stuck out in my mind and are troubling to me. Let me share them with you in the hope that it will help me through.

News Report 1: THE DEPORTEE'S IDENTITY REVEALED
Many readers are familiar with the recent Brutish Airways incident that was sparked when a passenger asked 5 British officials to unshackle a deportee. This resulted in 136 Nigerian passengers being thrown off the flight by the pilot. It now appears that the deportee was Augustine Eme, an activist supporting an independent Biafra. Mr. Eme's comments while being deported of "I go die" were apparently quite justified as it has now been revealed that his brother was killed and his wife and children are now missing.

News Report 2: BA REMOVING BEEF FROM FLIGHTS FOR HINDU PASSENGERS
Responding to complaints from Hindu passengers, British Airways has pulled beef from its menu. BA explained that it can only have 2 choices on its flights and as such beef and pork would not be offered on flights. Chicken and Fish will become standard on all BA flights because they do not present religious restrictions to any of its passengers.

News report 3: HEADHUNTERS SEEKING EXECUTIVES FOR BA
There are 2 new openings at Brutish Airways. The carrier is now looking for replacements for the former Customer Services and Operations Services Executives who left the company "in the wake of the Terminal 5 fiasco..." The news report made absolutely no mention of the recent Nigerian incident being a contributing factor to the dismissal of the now former BA executives.

WHY IS THIS BOTHERSOME TO ME?
EME: Although many may find MASSOB to be an annoying organization, their members, such as Eme, are still human beings and should not be treated like animals. Something tells me he did not need to be escorted unto the plane by 5 officials and that there was absolutely no need for him to be shackled. Eme was should technically have been considered a political refugee and should have been protected under British law. I am unaware as to why that wasn't the case, but am on the hunt to understand why. Of most significance to me, is where Mr. Augustine Eme is right now and if he is in Nigerian custody, how is he being treated?
BEEF: Clearly, Hindu customers are of great importance to BA for it to completely remove beef from its menu. What a great sign of respect. If only BA could have shown an ounce of that same respect to Nigerians when it offered its recent 'apology'.
HEADHUNTERS: What a shame that the news story made absolutely no mention of the Nigerian incident, nor the fact that over 4000 people have signed the petition. This, in my humble opinion, is simply a way to silence Nigerians and others who spoke out against the constant disrespectful treatment meted out by the Brutes. Nonetheless, the boycott is still on and no, May 15th is the day from which it officially begins. My family just bought a ticket from Abuja to Baltimore Washington Airport. We specifically rejected the British Airways ticket. That was easy to do given my stance on the recent Brutish Airways ticket and the fact that it did not compare to price of the KLM ticket.

I can only hope that the Nigerian government is truly committed to protecting the rights of its citizens and will not allow the Brutish Airways incident to simply 'die down' and go away. If, indeed, the Nigerian government is committed to its citizens, we should here some update of its talk with BA officials and if there are no updates to provide, I daresay that i am beginning to lean with others who have publicly called for the removal of BA's staff from Nigeria and a blockade on all BA flights in Nigerian airspace. I cannot believe that I would ever look to the former dictator Abacha's regime for an example of a positive act, but in light of what seems to be continued disrespect from Brutish Airways, I daresay that a repeat of Abacha's 14 month ban on the airline would do them some good.

Further Reading:
- Nigerians, 'Brutish' Airways & Respect Pt. 1
- Nigerians, 'Brutish' Airways & Respect Pt 2
- Finally, Some Concrete Nigerian 'Action' on Brutish Airways & BASSA
- "Casual Racism" at Brutish Airways?