Airport madness and the White House are at it again!

Yesterday my day should have started with a smile, but…… My pal Tom and his fiancé decided to have a long weekend in New York arriving back yesterday. So at 6am I am awoken with a message to say they have arrived at the airport but he has left his car keys in the hotel room, laugh I almost cried.  But the bad news was could I go to his house and get his spare keys and drive to Heathrow, wow thanks mate. So, one round trip to the airport later I arrive home with a nice cup of coffee 🙂

Which brings me onto my second post about this so called travel ban… my mate Tom had no issues getting a visa and since US would like us to spend our hard earned dosh there he had a trouble free, except for the key incident, vacation.

However, yesterday news came through about a Welsh teacher who was not so lucky.  At the moment it is half term in the UK and schools are on holiday.

So a school in Neath, Llangatwg Comprehensive, decided long ago to take their pupils on a trip of a lifetime to New York.  To cut costs the party flew London to  Reykjavik, Iceland for onward travel to New York.

Now correct me if I’m wrong but hasn’t the travel ban be suspended by the US appeals court!!!! Not so it seems.  Juhel Miah, the teacher in question, boarded the flight to New York along with the pupils and other teachers and were about to take off when the he was removed from the plane. The ban which has been repealed was supposedly for seven Muslim-majority countries, add Wales to that list.

He had already applied and was granted an entry visa, as was everyone else in the school party, but as you can guess, because he is Muslim, he was singled out and refused entry and detained for questioning, searched and made to feel like a criminal.  The school party continued on their journey without him and after two days he finally returned home to the UK.

Various Welsh politician and the Local Authority have written to the US embassy in London demanding an explanation. Julel is a British citizen and does not have dual nationality therefore this was “an unjustified act of discrimination”.

No satisfactory reason has been provided for refusing entry to the United States, either at the airport in Iceland or subsequently at the US embassy in Reykjavik, where Julel attempted to visit the embassy but was denied access to the building.

If you remember Boris’ little speech to the Commons: “We have received assurances from the US embassy that the executive order will make no difference to any British passport holder, irrespective of their country of birth or whether they hold another passport.”

So the fact that Welsh Muslims have been added to the ‘non-existent order’ is deeply worrying. My advice, boycott America, hey they don’t need our money, the 45th President has enough for everyone……………