A baptized Sikh girl has become the victim of discrimination at Heathrow Airport, London when she was denied drinking water on board by British Airways staff. Harsharan Kaur, a journalist by profession had posted the entire incident on her Facebook account.
She mentioned that she was denied drinking water on board by the staff of British Airways who deliberately ignored her because of her Sikh identity. Kaur said, “I asked the air hostess for water but she didn’t return to me. When I asked them why you are ignoring me, the air hostess didn’t reply and told me to not take it personally.”
Later, the flight staff said that they forgot to offer her water by mistake. She further revealed that she was also denied food even as all other travelers served the food but nobody came to her and offered her food. The staff offered her food when she pointed out to them angrily. But, she refused to eat the food.
Later, she asked for juice which again was allegedly denied to her till the flight landed at London’s Heathrow Airport. Harsharan Kaur alleged this type of discriminatory treatment was meted out to her because she is a baptized Sikh girl.
Sikhs across the world have been targeted by the foreign authorities and the number of incidents of discrimination reported worldwide. Mandeep Singh from the Melbourne suburb of Tarneit mentioned that Good News Lutheran College in Tarneit did not enroll his son due to its ‘strict uniform policies’.
A Sikh family from Melbourne has approached the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) after a school allegedly refused to enroll their son because his turban doesn't align with the school's uniform policy. In US, the number of incidents of discrimination against Sikhs reported and even some Sikhs were asked to remove their turbans at airports for security checks.
An American Sikh advocacy group launched a $1.3 million ad campaign in an effort to spread awareness about their religion and curb hate-driven crimes toward their community. The National Sikh Campaign created the commercials, which are scheduled to run during select times nationally on CNN and Fox News, as well as TV channels in Fresno, California, home to one of the largest populations of Sikhs in the U.S. and a hotbed of hate crimes. The group said the “We Are Sikhs”ad campaign aims to tackle misconceptions about the religion and its followers.