Situate yourself in the following scenario: you are waiting to board a plane. There are people of every nationality you could think of there. And the hostess decides to single you out. Only because your nationality is not something she likes.
This happened to Filipino and Nepali workers who were waiting to board an Air Arabia flight, which was managed by MEA. This is the story in detail (link):
Yesterday on the 6th of October I was at gate 11 with a friend of mine waiting to board the Air Arabia flight at 20:25.
While waiting to board there was a group of foreign workers sitting with the rest of the passengers waiting for their turn. They were behaving normally as any other group of passengers would.
Then sadly, the lady (looking at her uniform she apparently works for MEA Ground Services and not Air Arabia) at the gate announced on loud speaker (over the whole system covering the airport) the following: “Filipino people stop talking” ; then she started giggling about it with the macho gentleman who was with her at the gate.
They continued their racist behavior by announcing again “Filipino Nepal people talking not allowed here” and on and on.
Shocked, I obviously became furious and approached them and explained that this racist and discriminatory behavior is not acceptable, impolite and does not at the least reflect what employees at Beirut Airport should stand for (not to imply it’s acceptance in any other situation of course).
This unfortunately sounded like a joke to them and they went on to say “we do whatever we want and we don’t care about what you are saying”, then “management doesn’t even want this kind of people on the flight” and “even if you complain this will be thrown away and we dare you to do anything about it”.
When I asked her “how would you feel if you ever wanted to travel to Europe and while queuing for your visa they told you the same thing?”, she replied “these people are different”; The macho gentleman seeing that his female friend, whom he was trying so hard to impress with his imitating giggles, was cornered with her twisted racist logic even went further to ask me to back off the counter and threatening to make a problem and to void my ticket!! When I asked for the complaint form they answered (While still laughing of course) “take it from the flight attendants and good luck sitting next to such people on the flight”
I did file an official complaint with Air Arabia and their staff was very helpful and promised to reach the message out to their management.
However Air Arabia is paying MEAG for such services and they need to use their power to do greater efforts too to ensure that the people behind this are held accountable. I also sent an email today to Mr. Richard Mujais from MEAG, explaining what happened and asked him to further discuss this with me and to show us that these employees were held accountable for such racist behavior.
Until then, and as a friend suggested that they also need to be exposed please help me exposing such intolerable behavior…
Abed Shaheen
It’s very easy for MEA to know who was working during the flight in question. They only need to look through their database. And there’s honestly only one acceptable solution in this situation.
Fire them. No severance package. No goodbye gesture. Just get them out of your company and let them try to find a job with their narrow mindedness and backward mentality elsewhere.
It is beyond unacceptable for a person working at a flight company, which naturally means dealing with people from all across the world, to have a hateful attitude towards people just because of the color of their skin, their language or their passport. Perhaps MEA should start doing a better job at choosing people that would represent it to the world especially that it is the first thing that people see of Lebanon before they get here and the last thing they see before they leave.
Shame on MEA for hiring unqualified people to do jobs. Shame on them not even having a complaint system that would get their employees to panic and shame on those employees for being downright nauseating.
A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares 
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I’m not surprised this happened. I’m surprised this happened at an airport.
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Yes, fire their asses! Tfeh
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Nothing new. Whilst MEA might have the prettiest flight attendants, they are generally pretty racist.
I’ve seen MEA air crew publicly berate Bangladeshi and Sri Lankans coming to Lebanon from Dubai calling them smelly and using other derogatory language.
It’s shameful that MEA employees (and perhaps the Lebanese population in general) seems to have a superiority complex over those less fortunate.
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I’m shocked to read this kind of pre historic kind of behaviour by those morons of MEA ….shame on them….they should be sacked immediately and Lebanese people should wake up before it gets too late……..this kind of backward mentality wont serve them any good.
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Shame Shame Shame, I’ll throw my CedarMiles to the garbage, and start using NAS , SAUDIA , TURKISH AIRLINES, and any other airlines needed for my flight routs, till they do the necessary measure to clean this company from those arrogant staff.
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Racism has been everywhere!
Some populations had a good success overcoming it, some others are still trying … I think we need to finish the first steps! Let’s start and restart … let’s continue … hopefully til the end>>>
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… TILL the end>>>
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Bravo Abed im sure every one of us knows a sad story like this but its great urs reached media. Here is what happened when i was traveling in july..
Etihad Airways employees (lebanese akid) were humulating an indian family with a special needs father. They were talking to them in a very bad way and making fun of them. They asked him to pay 100$ extra baggage. When he said that he doesnt have. They told him u are surely hiding money in ur shoes yalla yalla tale3on! I asked them cant u talk to him in respectful way. He said im talking normaly! They are not even aware and they dont care if they made a whole family cry! 3ayb wala!
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How come there are Filipinos and Nepalis in the Lebanese airport?
I am against any racism, and instead making a campaign to fire those employees, it would be more helpful to raise money and make a campaign to help bring awareness into those issues.
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Pingback: MEA Responds to Racism Incidence « A Separate State of Mind | A Lebanese Blog
Well, they’ve probably asked for such treatment and they got what they deserved, Filipino “people”!
From a very close personal experience with Filipinos, they have a problem comprehending gentle and polite requests, they’re stubborn and have a terrible attitude in general, hence why she had to say it to them million times, did they stop talking? Most definitely not, I bet.
Add to that that they have one of the loudest and most annoying voices on earth, especially when they’re in groups. It’s a very good treatment for those who have low blood pressure, after hearing them talking/shouting for few minutes your blood pressures will hit the roof.
They don’t show any respect or understand simple rules of public spaces or behave themselves at all, so I don’t think they deserve any better treatment than what they’re getting everywhere, not just from Lebanese.
Once they start to act and behave like civilized human beings, they’ll be treated like ones, till then they will continue to be treated like they deserve.
Respect is gained and not demanded, period.
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Oh Mike!! I will call you Professor Mike the Intellectual !!
I am regretfull that I had the misfortune to contaminate my eyes and brain with the amount of FILTH and ignorance in that post of yours and that sad excuse of an education you got.
I will talk about your post and refrain from giving you the answer you really deserve.
Lets start with your “from very close personal experience with Filipinos, they have a problem comprehending gentle and polite requests and have a terrible attitude”.
Please tell me, MIKE, how many Filipinos have you met out of the 95-MILLION Filipino population. Im sure you met every single Woman, Man, Child, teacher, professor, doctor, and worker. APPARENTLY, you also have made a new scientific discovery.
Filipinos, according to your discovery Professor Mike the intellectual, aparently genetically posses quoting you, “the loudest and most annoying voices on earth” and here’s your golden quote Professor Mike the Intellectual: “They don’t show any respect or understand simple rules of public spaces or behave themselves at all, so I don’t think they deserve any better treatment”
Yes Professor, they should take lessons from the lebanese who SURELY respect and understand public spaces and BEHAVE themselves. Let’s just say, after reading that worthless low-life racist ignorant post of yours, I am GLAD that they bring dogs to sniff lebanese people at airports, because THEY DESERVE IT, YOU deserve it.
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Well hunny bunny call me whatever you like and for as long as you want who care about you anyway.
On subject, actually I’ve worked with thousands of them as local recruiter here, I don’t know if that number is enough to you, but it’s more than enough to me to form an opinion.
They all have attitude, they feel deep inside themselves that they’re lesser than others, and therefore they all have this fucking attitude to prove themselves, well, i don’t care why they feel so little of themselves and i don’t really care, but i can tell you that they have a terrible attitude, they have a problem of obeying rules and answering kind requests, and oh god they can’t talk like human beings, what they call talking, everybody else call SHOUTING, especially when they’re of a group of 3 people or more, you have to hear them TALKING to understand, maybe you’re a Filipino yourself, I can sense some dumbness in what you wrote.
…Anyway
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May I add, that they’re smelly too? Thank you.
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Ahhh youre a “local recruiter”.. ye3ne bit’tejir fiyon. 7adertak the scum of the country ye3ne.. ahlen..
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Yeah I’m that recruiter who keeps recruiting your sisters and your mother and put food on your table, you should be thankful to people like me.
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What’s the name of the Filipino girl who dumped you?
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I wouldn’t let my dog to mate with a Filipino lol
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FIRE THEM?? YOU MEAN PUT THEM IN JAIL.. LET THEM ROT IN JAIL.. THEYRE ROTTING IN THIS HELLHOLE OF A COUNTRY ANYWAY.
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Dej,
Hellhole of a country???? And you are talking about the MEA staff?? You are just like them. That’s all
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inferior people in Lebanon think they are better. it is the worst country with the worst mentality, worst governance, and worst reputation. Go to Philippines and see how there is 24 hours electricity, water, public services, peace, laws and order…. Lebanese are very stupid because they think they are better than others. Lebanese are indeed an inferior race who think they are superior. Lebanese are ignorant because they think they know everything, but they don’t know anything. If you think lebanon is heaven i invite you to go to: google.com, and then search: Philippines nature, or Philippines tourism
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The Philippines has a beautiful nature, thanks to mother nature, no thanks to the dirty Filipinos mind you.
Btw, nice tailored search keywords LMFAO
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Asa
Please dont speak about all lebanese, whatever your nationality is.
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no wonder you still lose to Isarel……
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mike,i respect your opinion about the filipino people but i certainly do not agree with you.one,i know how to respect people regardless of their race or even social status.with the claims that you have made,i can only dare you to post your name and the agency you are working for.since you’re claiming that you’re the one responsible that filipino people have something to put on their tables i do not see any reason why you should be hiding your identity.filipino people should thank you for the noble thing you’re doing for them.please do not deprive them of that.if you really find them irritating,i wonder why you still choose to work with them.makes me think now that they’re probably the ones bringing food to your table.nevertheless, please make yourself known.
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These people don’t deserve to live!
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مرة جديدة يتحفنا موظفو شركة طيران الميدل إيست وكالعادة بالاستعلاء والاستكبار والعنصرية بالتعامل مع المسافرين وخاصة من الشرق الأقصى. حيث كان مدير التصدير بثالث أكبر مصنع لرب البندورة بالصين بزيارة الى لبنان بعد أن زار دبي لبضعة أيام وعندما أنهى زيارته وتوجه الى مكتب الميدل إيست ليحجز مقعده فوجئ بالمعاملة السيئة من قبل الموظفة حيث رفضت إعطاءه التذكرة بسبب عدم حصوله على تأشيرة لدخول دبي ولكن هذا الشخص لديه تأشيرة صالحة لمدة شهر أولا وثانيا هو مسافر الى الصين عبر دبي (ترانزيت). حاول أن يشرح لهذه الموظفة ذلك لكنها رفضت أن تسمع له وقالت بنبرة سيئة وفوقية ليس لدي الوقت للسماع لك وطلبت منه أن ينتظر بعيدا وطبعا بأسلوب سيء جدا فما كان منه إلا أن بادر باستخدام نفس الاسلوب حيث دار نقاش أدى الى تدخل زملائها وإعطاءه التذكرة. الى متى سيعامل موظفو هذه الشركة الناس بهذا الأسلوب. هل نسوا فضيحة معاملة الفيليبينيين؟ الى متى هذه العنصرية والفوقية بالتعامل مع الناس؟ هذا الشخص اتصل بي وكان منزعجا جدا وقال لي أنه لن يستخدم هذه الشركة مرة أخرى. حتى أنا لن استخدمها مرة أخرى
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Do you have a source for this?
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What do you mean by source? This happened with the export manager who was visiting our company. He called me and was very upset.
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Can you email me at eliefares@me.com with some more info and details? (Date, company details, etc…).
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The Lebenese are racist to the bone and especially MEA cabin crew – simple answer – boycott little lebanon and its shitty little airline – do not give them a penny or permission to fly anywhere – let them all ROT on the tarmc of beirut airport
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