IQNA

American Muslim Mother Harassed on Board Delta Flight

14:32 - February 07, 2015
News ID: 2819195
TEHRAN (IQNA) - An Arab-American Muslim woman, who wears a hijab and was with her four kids and husband on board a Delta Air Lines flight on Monday from Florida back to Detroit, was harassed by another passenger and then told by a flight attendant to move.

Darlene Hider, 32, said a woman yelled at her, "This is America!" and insulted her because of her Islamic faith, Stuff New Zealand news website reported.

Instead of asking the woman to stop or moving her, a flight attendant told Hider and her kids to move to another open seat, Hider told the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).
According to Hider, the flight attendant said "You are at my wit's end. You better be quiet before I kick you off of this plane!"
Hider said the attendant told her: "Get your kids and change seats."
Abed Ayoub, Hider's brother, who is legal and policy director of the (ADC), described what happened to her in series of tweets on Monday night that drew widespread attention.
Hider said the flight attendant should have moved the woman who harassed her, not herself and her kids.
The incident is the latest case that Arab-Americans and Muslims say illustrates their ongoing problems while flying.
Some say they are profiled and either prevented from boarding flights or sometimes harassed on board because of their faith or ethnicity.
ADC President Samer Khalaf, said: "We encourage Delta to take immediate steps to rectify this matter and ensure that their agents are better equipped to address instances of harassment."
Ayoub said that Hider told him "I felt that I couldn't defend myself or kids because I was afraid of what more they'll do ... I was afraid to be called a terrorist"
Source: IINA
 

Tags: muslim ، woman ، flight ، harassed
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