New source of anti-Americanism: offending Bollywood

Mon, 08/17/2009 - 2:31pm

Bollywood fans in India's northern city of Allahabad burned a U.S. flag and shouted anti-American slogans to protest treatment of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan (seen at right). Khan was stopped and held for questioning as he entered the U.S. in Newark, NJ. 

U.S. customs officials say that the questioning was standard procedure, that the delay lasted only 66 minutes and that it was made worse by the fact that the actor's bag was lost by the airline. In India, however, the perceived offense was much greater, the AP reports:

"Shocking, disturbing n downright disgraceful. It's such behavior that fuels hatred and racism. SRK's a world figure for God's sake. Get real!" actress Priyanka Chopra said on her Twitter feed.

The federal information minister, Ambika Soni, angrily suggested that India adopt a similar policy toward Americans traveling to India.

Khan, visiting the U.S. to celebrate Indian Independence day at a parade in Chicago, is also working on a new film called "My Name is Khan" about racial profiling of Indian muslims in the U.S. as potential terrorists. 

Perhaps grateful for the unexpected marketing boost, Khan later said he did not want an apology. But he added that his patience with American customs was wearing thin (he said this is not the first time something similar has happened) and that he might seek to spend more time in countries that know their Bollywood stars on sight:

"Post-9/11, one could understand and one did not complain. But this time it was a bit too much. I have travelled to other countries. I never faced any problem in the UK where I am treated like a state guest. They escort me to the car."

STR/AFP/Getty Images

Michael Wilkerson | Permalink | | Comments? Login or register
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Code of Conduct Matters

by vgg on Tue, 08/18/2009 - 6:41am

This is not a minor issue. In fact the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have probably damaged the US image much more than has been publicly acknowledged.

In December 2008 I wrote a letter to the then Acting Deputy Director Michael Aytes, saying:

"(...)Indeed, a Strategic Plan dating back to 2005 says: “We will establish clear policies that define professional responsibility, and will identify clear consequences for improper conduct.” Do you consider this objective accomplished?

More, in the CIS Ombudsman Annual Report 2008 there is no discussion whatsoever about ethical standards and/or good administrative standards in connection with prevention of humiliating and unkind treatment. The report is very substantive on delays, backlogs, and their prevention, but fails to address the issue of civility. This should lead to the conclusion that indeed U.S. immigration officers are impeccable in their conduct."

My point was that not enough attention was paid to the actual attitude of immigration officers. One of the reasons is that they are not sufficently trained, and definitely not sufficiently screened for proper conduct. Wrongful conduct such as verbal intimidation, threatening body language, use of false and/or illegal threats, should be severely persecuted and punished.

There were 175,400,000 nonimmigrant admissions to the US in 2008. It does matter how these persons are treated. Let's hope that the new Director of USCIS, Alejandro Mayorkas, will do something about it.

Get over it Indians

by avocado on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 5:01pm

Not to excuse the racist attitudes of the American customs, immigration officers, but far more important and worldly people have gone through far worse.

SRK detained at US airport for being a Khan

by peeterjem on Wed, 09/02/2009 - 1:37am

On Sunday, Mr. Khan was again the talk of the annual parade, even though he did not participate in the festivities. Mr. Khan, who is Muslim, made worldwide headlines after being stopped for questioning at Newark Liberty International Airport on Friday evening on his way to Chicago for a similar parade celebrating India’s independence.

http://www.themodernman.com/cocky.html