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Summary of Question:	Checking Turban At Airport
Category:	Other
Date Posted:	Monday, 11/21/2005 5:24 AM MST

Sat Sri Akal,

I had an experience on saturday (19/11/2005) at schipol Airport holland, where i was returning to birmingham england, after staying there for a week, at the first stage of security chap wanted to check my turban with his hands and i said no, could you not use a scanner, he turned said to me ok but you will have to wait, i said fine, the reason i had to wait was because they did not have a scanner at hand, anyway when he got the scanner, he scanned my turban, and every thing was ok.i then proceeded to buy a few gifts and then finally went and sat down in the deaprture lounge, when we were ready to board they told us to form a line, and started the security check again, but at this point everything went a bit wrong, they said we want to check you turban i said no problem, and the security chap went to feel my turban with his hands, and i stopped him, and said why do n't you use a scanner, he said in that case you will have to wait, and i assumed that he was going to get a scanner, anyway in this time an other secuirty chap kept on making the remark that i may miss my flyt, i said ok thats fine, but i will not have my turban touched my your hands, then a supervisor came and said (wait for it) that at the final stage we do not use the scanner we have to check by hand, i said no, that is very insulting, i am not taking my turban of in public, she then said ok we can do the curtains, i said what about tieing it afterwards, i will also require a mirror, she said now you are been awkward,anyway they made it out that i was going to miss my plane, but i did not care, finally they agreed to take me away and and provide me with a mirror, then i took my turban off, and showed it to them, and he then went and i had to tie my turban again. But the confusing thing is there were two sikhs on that plane, the other one i asked later and he said they said nothing to him, ok it was quite old maybe in this 60s, and he did not seem to take it that seriously, and just laughed it off. But my question is this right?

inderjit

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reply
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Sat Siri Akaal. My condolences. I have strong personal feelings about so-called airport security and you have confirmed them. Clearly you were profiled: young, turbaned, non-white. I don't think it's right, but what can one person do?

The airport 'authorities' are checking people who fit their idea of a 'terrorist' or 'person of suspicion.' All you can do is give them as LITTLE reason as possible to target you, and when they do, you play it as calmly as you can. I do NOT mean go w/o turban or cut your beard. I DO mean look as neat and unremarkable as possible within the realm of Sikh form. If you play it in protest, they can make things more difficult for you. I'm very glad you insisted on curtains and a mirror. In America there has been training of the Transportation Security folks to consider the needs of turbaned people if they're going to make us take them off for security reasons.
Guru ang sang,
-DKK