Are we dismayed? Yes
Surprised? Not at all
A hair-raising video has gone viral recently showing a woman passenger – a Norwegian national – being beaten up by a female Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official at Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) Islamabad
The video begins with what appears to be the person behind the camera arguing with the security personnel on why they aren’t helping a woman being beaten behind a screen
As screams continue in the background, a male security officer is seen making excuses for why the assault should be allowed to go on unhindered, before ordering the person making the video to go away
The woman suddenly appears out in the open – dupatta-less and visibly distraught – crying about her daughter being beaten
Soon afterwards, the woman herself is attacked by a female FIA officer; thrashed, grabbed by the hair and swung around, in a way that I can only assume violates some procedural code
Staff members quietly stand by, as if watching a play
What sparked this grotesque incident is shockingly trivial
According to the mother, her daughter noticed the absence of toilet paper in the bathroom and informed a staff member
The FIA officer was infuriated by the request, because someone as high up in the staff hierarchy as her obviously has nothing to do with something as undignified as bathroom maintenance
Her unexpected rudeness resulted in a spat between the female passengers and the airport staff, resulting in the former having their boarding cards torn up, and being physically assaulted
Ordinarily, this harrowing video should’ve been enough to attract universal condemnation, but when has the internet ever failed to challenge our faith in human decency? Other videos uploaded on the internet show the woman arguing bitterly with airport staff
At one point, she is seen going behind the counter and attempting to snatch what appears to be her passport or boarding pass from an official’s hand
https://www
youtube
com/watch?v=KwcksIm5290 https://twitter
com/muhammad_al_i/status/854449368560279552? These videos have become the basis of mortifying victim-blaming
Many on the internet have asserted that the woman got what she deserved by acting aggressively (although, never violently) towards the female passenger
https://twitter
com/AzazSyed/status/854924056168157185 This is a defence strategy perfect by and most commonly associated with the Indian forces in Kashmir, as they attempt to justify their use of disproportionate force against rule-breaking citizens
The underlying idea is that an empowered officer of the law – a professional that has been meticulously trained to handle aggressive passengers – is allowed to be less disciplined than a middle-aged civilian lady
This is not a sporadic case
It is an acute symptom of a general malady of irresponsible and uncivilised behaviour that we have all learned to expected from the security staff at BBIA
The staff at most American airports are nicer to you even as they racially profile you, than the perpetually disgruntled personnel manning the Islamabad airport
Arriving at this airport after an international flight, one notices that the technology involved in the production and installation of rope barriers for queues hasn’t arrived before you
This results in rampant queue jumping, with ample pushing and shoving
The staff’s lack of civility and utter apathy towards the mayhem is easily noted
In 2014, BBIA was named the worst airport in the world, with one traveller comparing it to ‘central prison’
Aggressive security checks, poor crowd management, unclean environment, all add up to a nightmare that a frequent flier from Rawalpindi or Islamabad can never seem to escape
According to the surveyor, Sleeping in Airports, one traveller reported, “Security staff are rude mannered, will not respond to your queries like you are not there
” By 2015, BBIA descended through the list of world’s worst airports to number nine
By 2016, the airport was out of the bottom-10 list entirely, while the Jeddah International Airport maintains its losing streak
The progress seen over the last three years can be attributed to extensive renovation, new facilities, and improved general cleanliness
Clearly, there is hope for improvement
However, there is still much to be desired
Our foremost concern is the epidemic of unfriendliness and non-cooperation by the staff at BBIA
Passengers or customers often mirror the demeanour of the staff they are dealing with
A facility run by staff that is overworked, undertrained, or anatomically unable to smile is extremely likely to drag the BBIA back to the list of 10 worst airports, or at best, curtail further progress
The recent assault on the female passengers is the apical point of a culture of aggressiveness among security personnel at BBIA
It is not enough to suspend a few of them, by their misfortune of having been caught on tape
It’s time to start re-training the personnel, and introducing them to the power of politeness
| Date: | 22-Apr-2017 | Reference: | View Original Link |
|---|