ADC CASE UPDATE
Discrimination Against Arab Americans
The following is a sample of cases currently being handled by the
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in Michigan. Names
have not been included, so as to protect the privacy of the individuals
involved.
Case #1: Einstein Brother’s Bagels
On April 20, 2002, a young Arab American woman, who is a regular customer
of Einstein, was subject to improper selective treatment by the general
manager at their Dearborn store. Her statement explains that when
she requested from the general manager that chairs be placed outside so
that she and her friend may eat outdoors, he refused to accommodate her.
When she responded, “so much for customer service,” he went on to say
that while he would not put out chairs for her, he would do it for her
friend. He also went so far as to say that he would put one chair
out for her friend and that she could sit on her friend’s lap.
Although the manager eventually put out the chairs, the young woman truly
believes that she was subject to selective and exceedingly improper
treatment by this manager, simply because she is ethnic looking, while her
friend is not. As a civil rights organization, ADC has requested proper
and amicable closure to this complaint that will both satisfy they young
woman and assure her that Einstein Brothers does not support selective
treatment of any customer in any way.
Case #2: Waterford Police
On June 20, 2002 three brothers were pulled over by about ten Waterford
Police Cars at the intersection of Shashabow and Watkins Road at
approximately 5:40 PM. Once they were stopped, the officers
approached the three men very aggressively. They were pulled out of their
car, verbally harassed, kicked and pushed to the floor. One brother
was made to lie on the ground for a period of time, while an officer kept
a gun pointed to his head. The officers went so far as to seize
personal information from them, including bank slips and phone books that
happened to be in their possession without their knowledge and without
making a report of it. After an hour and a half of verbal and
physical abuse, the officers issued no citations, indicating that the
brothers were not pulled over for any type of traffic violation. So
far, none of the information that ADC has received supports a reason or
justification for these individuals to be searched. This matter as
described to us is very alarming and has compelled us to contact the
Waterford Police directly. What we also find disturbing is that the
young men tried to retrieve a copy of the police report and to file their
own report and retrieve their personal items, but they were unsuccessful.
It is clear that these men have been suffering emotionally and physically
since the occurrence of this incident. One brother has even been
undergoing medical treatment as a result of injuries that were inflicted
on him by these officers. ADC has asked that immediate action be taken by
Waterford Police department to rectify this matter.
Case #3: Mackinac Island
An Arab American man and his family filed a civil suit today against the
Mayor of Mackinac Island, Margaret Doud as a result of a disturbing and
humiliating experience that the family was made to endure during a
vacation on Mackinac Island. According to the family, they were
approached by Mayor Doud, while they were throwing away their trash in a
trash can, after having dinner at an establishment, owned by the Mayor on
the Island, called the “Dog House.” Mayor Doud approached the
family, including the children, screaming obscenities at them. She
ordered them to take their “trash” and their “trash family” and to
“get off” of her Island. She then went on to threaten them with
the police, citing that if they did not leave she would “call the
police” to take the man and his “family to jail and send them back to
where they belong.” Mayor Doud went so far as to even empty out
the trash that the family had disposed of and throw it back at them.
Many restaurant patrons and individuals at the park witnessed the entire
scene during the time. ADC is currently working closely with the
family’s attorney, in order to ensure that the Mayor of Mackinac Island
faces the full consequences of her actions.
Case #4: Westland Mall
On September 7, 2002, a young Arab American man was rudely escorted out of
Westland Mall and kicked off of Mall property by security guards, as a
result of a disagreement that he had with a mall vendor, regarding the
exchange of a product. The disagreement ensued after the manager at
“Cellular Concepts” refused to exchange a cellular phone antenna that
he had sold to the man. The manager also claimed that the Arab
American man had threatened his employees. Mall Security was
contacted and approached the young man in a very aggressive manner.
He was told by security guards to “get the HELL out of the mall.”
As the young man proceeded to exit the mall, the guards continued to taunt
him, shouting, “big cry baby!” “When you get home, have your
mother change you diapers!” One of the guards even asked, “Hey,
why don’t you go fly a plane?” When the young man asked what he
meant by such a statement, he was told to take it any way he wants.
He was also told to “go back to Fairlane and stay in Dearborn,”
because he is not “welcome in Westland.” He was warned by one of
the officers that if he were to return to Westland Mall, he would surely
be arrested. The officers were not only aggressive, but were also
very degrading, rude, forceful and threatening. ADC has contacted
Mall management and has requested an immediate investigation into the
matter.
Case #5: Sky Chefs, Inc.
Attorneys on behalf of former Arab American employees at Sky Chef’s,
Inc., an airline food distributor, filed a lawsuit on September 5, 2002,
alleging discriminatory practices while being employed with the Company at
Metro Airport in Wayne County. Over the past two years, ADC has
received a number of complaints from members of the Arab American
Community who have been subject to selective treatment and harassment at
work, which has created a hostile work environment and pressured many of
them to leave work, or has resulted in their termination for minor
violations. ADC has, on many occasions, unsuccessfully tried to
resolve these employees’ issues through meetings with Sky Chef
representatives. ADC will continue to monitor the proceedings of
this case, due to its sensitive nature. We maintain our position
that Sky Chefs did not properly resolve the issues presented to them by
continuously denying all allegations that have been made.
For more information, contact: Rana Abbas at (313) 581-1201
==========================
ADC: http://www.adc.org
Contact: adc@adc.org
|
