| Bulgaria must get real about racism, says Euro MP after incident involving black holidaymakers |
| Thursday, August 24, 2006 |
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Deborah Gabriel |
Dog barks and racist incident ruin holiday
 “I didn’t know what to do. My mind went blank...it brought tears to my eyes. I was crying profusely in the middle of the restaurant.
Aisha Bingham
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When 25 year old Aisha Bingham rented a villa in Bulgaria from a good friend to take a late summer break, she was expecting a pleasant holiday with her 20 year old sister Fayola and her 14 year old brother, Omar.
She arrived in Bulgaria on August 13 with her younger sister and that evening just relaxed. But the following day when they stayed out until five or six o’ clock in the evening, on the way back to the villa: “We heard someone pass by in a car and bark at us. We were walking towards a bus stop to catch a bus to come home.”
Bingham said she wasn’t sure if the barking was directed towards them. “But a couple of days later I heard it again. This time I spun around and looked at the individual and the person looked directly at me and was barking at me…I thought the only reason someone could be barking at me is either if they are calling themselves a dog or calling me a dog.”
Bingham found herself and her siblings the recipients of very unwelcome attention: “We were getting the looks, the stares and the scornful glances at us.” She tried to ignore it and carry on with the holiday. But she was mindful of the fact that they were very isolated:
“We hadn’t seen any black people at all, so we thought maybe it’s just that they haven’t encountered black people and were unsure of how to treat us or curious about what we look like.”
But the day after Bingham’s brother arrived on Friday Aug 18, they had a rude awakening and were left in no doubt about the reason for the unwelcome attention they had been receiving. During lunch at a seaside restaurant, a young man in his late twenties marched up to their table and made a remark in Bulgarian, which neither Aisha Bingham nor her siblings understood.
Bingham then explained to the man that they did not understand Bulgarian and asked if he could speak in English. It turned out that the man could speak English fluently: “He said to me what the f--- are you doing here? You don’t belong in Europe. Get the f--- out of my country. I f----- hate you. You’re a f----- nigger.”
The incident took place on a beach near the main road which was packed with people. But far more disturbing than the racial and threatening abuse that Bingham was subjected to was the complicity of people in the vicinity who overhead and witnessed the verbal attack who said and did nothing.
“Nobody in the restaurant got up to help me. Nobody in the restaurant said anything to the man. I was so shocked and embarrassed.”
Bingham stood up from the table with her siblings behind her, directly facing the man. She said: “I didn’t know what to do. My mind went blank. All I could think of was that I had to protect my brother and sister. He was right in front of my face. I said ‘excuse me can I get some help over here please?’ And I said that about five times. Nobody came. Not even the waitress…it brought tears to my eyes. I was crying profusely in the middle of the restaurant.”
Bingham said that only around five minutes later when the man continued screaming and shouting did a waitress walk over and lead the man away from the restaurant and told him to leave. A waitress came up to her afterwards and told her “not to worry, it’s the tradition, that’s what the people do.”
After the incident Bingham left the restaurant without finishing her meal and caught a taxi back to the villa where she decided to call the police via the emergency number but had no luck because no-one spoke English.
On Friday evening Bingham called the British Embassy but the office was closed and so she called the emergency number. Bingham was told that there was nothing that the Embassy could do apart from call a lawyer or interpreter to assist with communication. But by that time Bingham just wanted to leave the country.
Bingham told Black Britain that when she called the Embassy on Monday Aug 21 and asked to speak to a British person she was told that she needed to make an appointment which needed to be put in writing and posted to the Embassy office.
The cost of returning to the UK early was £600 but Bingham could not afford this and was extremely distressed at the thought of having to remain in a hostile environment for another week and a half. When Black Britain spoke to Bingham on the morning of August 21 she said: “I am literally in fear of venturing outside of my flat because I don’t know what could happen.”
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Did the British Embassy provide the appropriate level of support?
The British Embassy in Bulgaria
We don’t have any specific advice about racism in Bulgaria, because this is not something we have come across.
Gareth Roberts, Spoksepserson for the British Embassy in Bulgaria
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Black Britain asked Gareth Roberts, a spokesperson at the British Embassy in Bulgaria, whether Embassy staff who dealt with Bingham were sensitive to her particular needs, having been the victim of extreme hostility and racial abuse and whether she was given the proper level of support.
He replied: “Our staff are trained to deal with a wide range of incidents…and we do have strong diversity training,” adding that it was the first incident of its type that the Embassy had dealt with. But agreed that: “It is important for all of our consular staff to provide the correct level of support irrespective of gender, colour or creed.”
When Black Britain asked if the Embassy did not have a duty to warn future travellers about racial hostility he admitted that whilst there is advice on their website about what to be aware of when travelling to certain countries: “We don’t have any specific advice about racism in Bulgaria, because this is not something we have come across.”
But Black Britain told Roberts that based on the comments made by the waitress in the restaurant about the abuse being “tradition” , it would seem that racism in Bulgaria is an issue.
Black Britain also spoke with Pasquale Lammano, a spokesperson for the Foreign Office to answer the charge about whether the Foreign Office has a responsibility to advise the public about issues that could affect their holidays in foreign countries, and specifically about Bulgaria. He said:
“From our side of things, this is the first consular case related to racial abuse that we have been made aware of. We haven’t been involved in any similar cases involving Black British nationals.”
Lamanno conceded that this could be either because not many black British nationals travel to Bulgaria or because no-one else has come forward to report a racist incident and ask for assistance.
He told Black Britain that the Embassy had been in regular contact with Bingham over a four-day period and it was explained to her how the Embassy could help in her situation.
He said: “We cannot pay for British nationals to return to the UK …but we can help with transferring money from relatives back in the UK to her, if she required extra assistance in getting money for the airfare.”
Lamanno told Black Britain that the Embassy provided assistance to Bingham in trying to arrange an earlier flight back to the UK. The airline she travelled with agreed eventually to put Bingham and her siblings on a stand-by list. He added: “We sympathise with her situation…we treat all British nationals exactly the same.”
Black Britain also raised the issue with Euro MP Baroness Sarah Ludford, who sits on the Civil Liberties Commission in Europe. Commenting on the British Embassy’s handling of the situation, she said: “I am disappointed if the British Embassy wasn’t able to support and assist this young woman. We have to track this through. Someone should have accompanied her to the police station”
Baroness Ludford told Black Britain: “I am not a huge fan of the foreign office and how energetic it is on the rights of Brits abroad generally. I’ve had quite a few run-ins with them.”
Baroness Ludford applauded Aisha Bingham for: “Her attempts, which she should have been supported and helped in, to make a formal complaint and have a formal investigation. Because unless people like her are prepared to stand up and be counted, these things will just slip through and this is absolutely unacceptable.”
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Is Europe taking racism seriously?
The British Embassy through to the Foreign Office and the Home Office should pass on this incident to the European Commission so that we can get real about this.
Baroness Sarah Ludford, European Member of Parliament
Foreign Office Guide: Advice for British Nationals Abroad
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Speaking to Black Britain about the issue of racism in Europe, Baroness Ludford told Black Britain: “We ought to be contributing positively and proactively to shape the environment around anti-racism in Europe. We have to do everything in our power to lead the fight against racism in Europe.”
Black Britain pressed Baroness Ludford on the current debate in the UK surrounding immigration and the terrorism issue and whether it has helped whip up hysteria around black and minority ethnic people that has resulted in the levels of racism that we are seeing. She said:
“I’m not happy about the way that Labour and the Conservatives are vying to see who can be more tough and populist on immigration and I deplore that. We’re not helping, but they’ve got their own home grown racism.”
Black Britain told Baroness Ludford that the black communities are looking to the European Commission to take very strong steps to outlaw racial discrimination, intimidation and aggression in Europe, so that black people can feel comfortable about travelling wherever they wish.
In the European Parliament there is an anti-racism and diversity inter-group, a cross-party informal groupings of MEPs of which Baroness Ludford is the Vice President and Chair. She said that there are many initiatives within the EU led by the European Commission to tackle racism: “I would say that there is a lot of work going on at European level,” she said.
In 1997 it was the European Year Against Racism . Next year has been designated the European Year of Equal Opportunities For All . The theme for next year is centred on the right to enjoy a life of equal opportunity that is free of racism.
In terms of legislation, Baroness Ludford pointed to the Race Equality Act (2000). Also in 2000 a statutory power to legislate to ban inequality and discrimination was introduced.
She said: “When countries like Bulgaria come into the EU which it is due to do next January, it has to meet all these standards. But you can tell that the scale of the challenge is the gap between what should happen and what is happening.”
Baroness Ludord said that in its efforts to tackle racism the European Commission is also launching a major funding programme worth £100 million over seven years.
Turning her attention once again to Bulgaria, Baroness Ludford insisted that the incident involving Aisha Bingham should be taken up at ministerial level with the Bulgarian authorities: “The British Embassy through to the Foreign Office and the Home Office should pass on this incident to the European Commission so that we can get real about this.”
Baroness Ludford said that whilst Bulgaria may have passed the necessary legislation in order to comply with the EU directive, we should look at what is happening on the ground. “The biggest ethnic minority in Bulgaria are the Roma gypsies and there are continual reports of terrible racism. They are talked about in the most disgusting, discriminatory way. It is the crudest form of racial abuse and even violence often happens.”
Baroness Ludford was optimistic about the future. She told Black Britain: “Certainly the law of EU membership has effected changes in these countries, but they have got to see that we are absolutely dead serious about it.”
Speaking about the role of the European Commission in tackling discrimination and racism she said: “The European Commission and all the existing governments of the 25 countries have got to show that this is a hugely important area. This is not some kind of second class area for focus.”
Baroness Ludford suggested that there should be “intense lobbying” on this issue. “Racism has got to be up there,” she said.
ADVICE FOR BRITISH HOLIDAYMAKERS TRAVELLING ABROAD
The Foreign Office has produced a guide called: Advice for British Nationals Abroad which explains what kind of help the embassy can and cannot provide which Black Britain has made available through the above link.
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