The BBC has recently revealed that there be a UK flight ban on electronic devices. It states that it’ll be against the law to bring electronic equipment on direct flights from countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Saudia Arabia, and Tunisia. According to the proposed rules, a ‘normal sized’ smartphone is allowed but any smartphone bigger than 16cm x 9.3cm is not. Tablets and laptops are also not permitted.
The reasons which have been given are for ‘security.’ US officials said it was because ‘bombs could be hidden in a series of devices’ while Downing Street called it ‘necessary, effective and proportionate’.
This is racism. This is wrong. The ban would not actually help security with detecting ‘terrorist bombs’ in the first place, since there are ways to still implement the device in checked-in luggage.
The main point of this is that there’s an implication that the list of nations from which the US and Britain have banned devices is where ‘terrorists live’ and where ‘all terrorists come from’.
I am a Lebanese girl currently living in Switzerland, but I will be moving to the UK for University this coming September. This means I will be making frequent flights from the UK to Lebanon to see my family. I’ll have my phone (a 6+ iPhone which may not be permitted), my laptop (for my University work) and perhaps another device for pleasure. I and many other people traveling from Lebanon or the other countries listed will go through the same detectors, security lines and passport lines as everyone else. What would happen if my laptop is cleared and I get to my plane, but they tell me I can’t bring my laptop on?
Why shouldn’t I get to board with my laptop, when others can bring their laptops on a flight to Canada? We went through the same measures, checkpoints and everything. But because I am coming from Lebanon, a listed country for ‘terrorists,’ and am flying to the UK they don’t want me to bring my device, an exact replica of the same device which millions of others own around the globe. And the only reason the airline, airport security and government officials can give me, or any other passenger in the same situation, is the fact that we are Arab. Because we are Arab and because we are coming from a Middle Eastern country, we’re all deemed as terrorists. But we are Arab and proud, refusing to stand for this discrimination. We will not allow ‘bans’ and ‘laws’ like this to skim through the news and not be talked about. This needs to stop.
Comments are closed.