Serge Fosso: Why I was Kicked Off a Brussels Airlines Flight To Douala

"I am still very angry as I think of my daughter for whom I had exceptionally taken this vacation... I was treated with contempt and brutalized just because for one moment, I was the voice of a misfortune which did not have a voice; because I had come to the aid of a human being who was being ill-treated and needed help."

On March 27, 136 Nigerian passengers were ordered off a British Airways flight to Lagos after they complained about the brutal treatment of a man who was being deported to Nigeria. One of the passengers, Ayodeji Omotade, whom police considered the ringleader of the protest movement, was arrested, abandoned at the airport and banned from flying on British Airways.  One momth later, the outrage over this incident is still growing.

Last week, Nigerian President Yar’dua launched an investigation into the incident. Nigeria’s foreign Minister also met with the British high commissioner in Abuja to inform him in no uncertain terms that Nigeria “would not tolerate the inhuman treatment of any Nigerian for any reason, even when there are allegations of criminal activities” and that “Nigerians must be treated with dignity within and outside the shores of the country.”

Unfortunately, BA is not the exception as many European Airlines are guilty of what has been described as “casual racism”.

It was, therefore, business as usual last weekend when three passengers, (two of them Cameroonians) were kicked off a Brussels Airlines flight heading for Douala for protesting against the brutalization of an African who was being deported back to the continent. One of the passengers, Serge Ngajui Fosso, was not just kicked off the plane, but also beaten up by the Belgian police, detained for over 10 hours. Unlike most people in similar situation, Mr. Fosso is not going quietly and is raising quite a ruckus. In fact, his story has already been broadcast on Belgian TV and he does not intend to stop there.

Here is an excerpt of Serge Fosso's first person account of his ordeal in the hands of the Belgian police:

I am writing this message from Mons in Belgium. I arrived here yesterday, 26 April 2008 shortly after midnight, after having been violently expelled from a Brussels Airlines flight heading to Kinshasa via Douala, and locked up in a cell at the Brussels airport from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. without food and water, without being able to contact my family.

Here is a narrative of the drama as it unfolded.

It is the 26th of April 2008 and I am going to Cameroon on vacation. At 5:30 pm, I leave Clichy by taxi for the Charles de Gaulle airport. At 7:40 am I leave Paris for Brussels on a Brussels Airlines flight, to catch a connecting flight to Douala at 10:40 am with the same airline. The trip to Brussels is uneventful and I make it to my connecting flight on time. Trouble however begins when I get to my seat at the rear of the aircraft. I notice men in uniform trying to subdue a black man who is struggling and shouting “Help! Leave me alone! I don’t want to go!” The men smother him as they try to prevent him from crying out. The young man struggles as much as he can and continues to scream as the four huge fellows restrain him. Other plainclothes policemen cordon off the area while helpless passengers watch the unfolding drama. I realize immediately that this is a repatriation. As the cries of the individual, who is still being pinned down, become muffled, I instantly recall the case of Semira Adamu, the young Nigerian asylum seeker who was suffocated to death with a pillow by two Belgian officers in 1998 on a SABENA flight.

Thoughts begin racing through my mind; What should I do? Do nothing like the others? Take action? As someone interested in human rights and the rights of foreigners in Europe, I get up, and call on the closest flight attendant. I protest firmly and loudly, reminding her that we are on a commercial flight and that we cannot fly under such conditions. The other passengers who have been silent until then join in. I begin videotaping the unfolding drama. Other passengers do same. Faced with the mounting protest, the uniformed men leave the plane with their passenger.

A few minutes later, police officers board the aircraft and plain clothes cops identify three passengers (me included) as ringleaders of the “disturbance” on the aircraft. The officers ask us to leave. As soon as I ask them why, they throw themselves at me, raining punches and kicks and throwing me to the ground. I am handcuffed and dragged, bleeding, through the aisle, down the stairs and then thrown into a police van. While in the van, I notice one of the officers watching the video of the original police brutality from my camcorder. A long and difficult day has just begun for me as I am insulted and mistreated all the way to the airport holding cell.

At 1: 35 pm I am set free along with the other Cameroonian. I do not see the third person kicked out of the plane, a Caucasian.  The police inform us that that we have been barred from flying on Brussels Airlines for the next six months. When we ask how we are supposed to get to Douala, the police send us to see the Head of Security. As we wait for the security boss, I think about my little daughter who is impatiently and enthusiastically waiting for me in Douala and who would be very disappointed if I don’t show up. I become angry, very angry.

The head of security finally arrives and confirms that we have both been blacklisted by the airline. I ask her how we are supposed to get to Douala but she brushes me off and insists that the airlines will not reimburse us. My anger rises and I tell the lady in no uncertain terms that I don’t care if I never travel on Brussels Airlines, that I intend to return to Paris, and that I should be reimbursed because the company has not fulfilled its contractual obligations towards me. My tone is loud but courteous. Passers-by stare at us. The lady then calls the police who arrive and drag me back to the cell where I am locked up until 10 p.m. without food or water and without contacting my family.

Finally, the police contact my nephew who lives in Mons. He arrives with his wife and the police officers inform me that I am free to go. I tell them that I don’t understand why I was detained for an entire day under such conditions and that I do not intend to leave until after my problem is solved; either I am allowed to travel to Douala or I am taken back to Paris and my air fare reimbursed. Realizing that I don’t intend to leave, the cops push me out of the cell and hand me my belongings but I refuse to take them. One of them grabs me by the neck, pushes me out of their office and throws my belongings after me. I leave without picking them up. My nephew’s wife finally goes back to get my things; my sunglasses are missing, so too is the video of the police brutalizing the African on the plane, which has been erased. Luckily other passengers filmed the incident.

Eventually, my nephew and his wife convince me to go with them to Mons.

I am still very angry, very angry as I think of my daughter for whom I had exceptionally taken this vacation. I am angry because I am generally a calm person, courteous and definitely not violent. Yet, throughout the day, I was treated with contempt and brutalized just because for one moment, I was the voice of a misfortune which did not have a voice; because I had come to the aid of a human being who was being ill-treated and needed help.

I don’t know when and how I will get to Cameroon… I don’t know where my suitcases are… But I don’t intend taking this lying down. I will file suit against Brussels Airlines.

They haven’t heard the last of this incident.

Update:
On April 28, Serge Fosso was interviewed on Radio Television Belge Francophone. Click here to view the report (in French).

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Comments

[Macadamia Cake]

People, do not hit ordinary people for wanting to emigrate when things are excessively difficult at home. Please read history. Why did South America, North America, Australia, South Africa and so on become peopled by peopled by Europeans? It was because life was not so hot at home. More recently, the Irish were suffering from poverty and British persecution. They ran like hell to other countries for 2 centuries. Only now are they beginning to return home. What about the Jews?

Africans are only doing what other people have done and screw the Europeans for complaining about Africans showing up in Europe. They are not coming as conquerors and colonizers unlike the Europeans. I say again, SCREW THE EUROPEANS. The earth is ours too, and we have the sovereign right as Europeans do to strut the planet.

PLEASE, my dear friends, do not buy the propaganda. When the time is right, the people shall return. When idiots are not using helicopter gunships and mercenary soldiers to kill the people, the people shall return.

[che Sunday]

Aren't these the same people who colonized Congo? How do you expect them to change?Its a genetic thing and it will remain with the Belgians for the rest of their lives.

[Maggie Enow]

We need not argue and try to see who is right or wrong. The other race never look at "black"race as something, so we need not look at the "whole story" bf given suggestion to our dear brother Mr Serge Fosso who want to file suit agianst Brussel airline for the poor treatment that he received, just for been a voice to a helpless fellow country man.No matter the situation, i think his story is for us to come up with suggetions, but not to start selling ourselves in public.If you don,t have any positive solution to help stay quite and wait for your own turn which if not same, similar incidence will follow.We can never reconcile this two colour.Stand for your colour no matter what.

[nyamawanga]

Its very unfortunate that Mr Fosso allowed himself to be dragged into a legal matter between the deportee and the Belgian police. I do much appreciate your courage but will advise you never to get yourself entangled in such a thing again.
Most Africans leave their countries to go and look for greener pastures in the wilderness. Most of them were advised not to carry out this adventure, but they gave a deaf ear thinking you don't want him to "Prosper". So where is the prsperity when you prefer to engage yourself in a fight with policemen rather than been sent back quitely to your country. Its very true that your family will be dissaponted, that friends will laugh at you. That people you think you will become better than them are very far. Its human nature. But why should somebody with a degree prefer to be washing plates in Europe/America rather than doing something related to his degree even voluntary service. As I am writing this mail, there are so many youths out there who will end up like the Deportee. You will see somebody who has been campaigning for CPDM all his life seeking assylum like a an SDF militant worst of all a francophone seeking assylum like a southern cameroonian. I think like parents and responsible citizens we should learn a good lesson from this story educate the people around us. I hope the Mr Fosso is a true human right activist and not just one fortune hunter who wants to take advantage of a situation. I think we should advise fellow cameroonians who will find themselves in a situation like that of the Deportee to respect the law of the country and come back home. Nobody will laugh at you.Even if they do it will one day be over and you must have learnt that "All that glitters is not Gold". Long live cameroon.

[junior]

So let me get this straight....the guy said he did not want to go back so started fighting and the cops should just let him off the plain or something?

[tapir]

Dear Madams, Dear Sirs,

I do agree to Berinyuy. Taking illegal immigrants back to their home countries never is a nice work, but a work that has to be done. To blame the Airline for casual rassism or even to believe that Belgians a racists because of genetic reasons is nothing but black racism in my eyes.

Another problem is Brussels Airlines generally do not have the best reputation. In my home country, Germany, the made place 66 from 67 in a costumer ranking. When I visited Cameroon in december 2009 as a tourist, I was treated as like an animal, too.

After waiting at Yaounde-Nsimalen for many hours, me and a friend, aged 61, were denied boarding too to overbooking. The local people knew it better and told me: In Africa, some wishes to fly You cannot deny. We were taken to a hotel (I could not sleep), with not information how to proceed. The next day, I had to organise everthing by myself. I had to search for the Airlines office where I was treated like a piece of shit.

Whith a trick (signing a receipt before I got the money) I was forced to accept a compensation in local currency though I insited in Euro. There was a flight from Douala next pay, and I had to pay everthing (taxi,food, drinks, restaurant) by myself, what is against European passenger laws (which of course are the same for African costumers). By the way, the taxi driver first claimed to be a Brussels Airlines staff member, and wanted money just before we arrived to Douala Airport.

Totally exhausted to our limits, we arrived Brussels with 30 hours delay, all relexation effect of a wonderful trip to Africa gone, and with no money left. Brussels Airlines destroyed the Christmas festivities with our families and still owes us about 500 Euro.

After a touristic trip that was beautiful but not alway easy, this end was so stressing and disgusting that I will never fly with Brussels Airlines again. I do not want to judge if this was a mistake by the local company representatives or of the company in general.

[Bedroom Floor]

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