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SFO 'worst case scenario' for Sikhs, report states
San Francisco International Airport too routinely pulls turbaned Sikhs out of line for a second screening, an act of profiling that does little to combat terrorism, a national civil rights organization says.
The Sikh Coalition describes SFO as a "worst case scenario" for Sikh travelers. The coalition says that it found SFO generated 35 percent of all reports of ill treatment of Sikhs from Dec. 1 to March 31.
Eighty of 113 airport screening complaints involved additional searches, and 28 of those 80 took place at SFO.
Some Bay Area Sikhs are opting to fly in and out of Oakland and San Jose as a result, said Neha Singh, staff attorney and advocacy director for the Washington, D.C.-based Sikh Coalition.
Before October, travelers wearing turbans were searched only if they failed to clear metal detectors or other preliminary checks. In October, the Transportation Security Administration gave screeners discretion on when to further search travelers wearing "bulky" headgear, taking into consideration such other factors as behavior, facial expressions and ticket status.
The turban is an article of faith for the world's 25 million Sikhs, to be removed only in the home or in private.
Only SFO's security workers interpreted the new guidelines as a mandate, Singh said. Federal security screeners are not airport employees.
A spokesman for the security administration said the airport has received two dozen complaints.
If the organization logs more complaints at SFO than other airports, that is likely because more people fly from the airport to India than in other regions, Transportation Security spokesman Nico Melendez said Monday.
13/05/2008 Rebecca Rosen Lum/Contra Costa Times/Tri Valley Herald, USA
http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_9247622
San Francisco International Airport too routinely pulls turbaned Sikhs out of line for a second screening, an act of profiling that does little to combat terrorism, a national civil rights organization says.
The Sikh Coalition describes SFO as a "worst case scenario" for Sikh travelers. The coalition says that it found SFO generated 35 percent of all reports of ill treatment of Sikhs from Dec. 1 to March 31.
Eighty of 113 airport screening complaints involved additional searches, and 28 of those 80 took place at SFO.
Some Bay Area Sikhs are opting to fly in and out of Oakland and San Jose as a result, said Neha Singh, staff attorney and advocacy director for the Washington, D.C.-based Sikh Coalition.
Before October, travelers wearing turbans were searched only if they failed to clear metal detectors or other preliminary checks. In October, the Transportation Security Administration gave screeners discretion on when to further search travelers wearing "bulky" headgear, taking into consideration such other factors as behavior, facial expressions and ticket status.
The turban is an article of faith for the world's 25 million Sikhs, to be removed only in the home or in private.
Only SFO's security workers interpreted the new guidelines as a mandate, Singh said. Federal security screeners are not airport employees.
A spokesman for the security administration said the airport has received two dozen complaints.
If the organization logs more complaints at SFO than other airports, that is likely because more people fly from the airport to India than in other regions, Transportation Security spokesman Nico Melendez said Monday.
13/05/2008 Rebecca Rosen Lum/Contra Costa Times/Tri Valley Herald, USA
http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_9247622
