C h i n a N e w s D i g e s t
March 20, 1999
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"He Was Treating Me Like a Criminal"
-- A Chinese Canadian's Experience at Detroit Airport ...............
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Forwarded by Bing WEN, 03/99
(Zheng Anderson, an Ottawa lawyer, tells story about being manhandled by a
U.S. immigration agent while waiting for a flight at Detroit International
Airport.)
I was exhausted from the 13-hour flight from Beijing and time was running
out for me to catch my connecting flight at Detroit International Airport.
The line-ups at the immigration counter were incredibly long. It was March
7. Northwest 088 was scheduled to depart at noon and it was now after 11
a.m.
I kept looking at my watch. I was the 12th person in line but it wasn't
moving. I was getting more and more worried. There were so many people in
line. It was taking a long time for them to be processed because they were
mostly Chinese visitors who didn't understand English.
I thought I was going to miss my flight back to Ottawa so I turned to the
authorities for help. A few feet away I spotted a U.S. immigration officer
who was patrolling the floor. I told him the line was rather slow.
That is when my nightmare began. It was horrible.
He said: "So what." I was really surprised that he spoke like that because
he was a representative of the U.S. government.
I remained calm. His shoulders came forward and he was right in my face,
shouting: "What do you want me to do?" I couldn't understand what was
going on. I couldn't believe it. I asked him if they could open another
line. He said: "With what?"
I was turning to this person for help and now he was treating me like a
criminal.
He came at me with such speed and power. He grabbed my passport and my
flight tickets and dragged me out of line.
He broke my thumb and it was covered in blood. I started screaming. I had
to yell to get help. He told me I could be arrested if I kept it up. I
asked him on what grounds. He said for "a crime" and for arguing with him.
He kept threatening me and said I could be detained for the rest of the
day. I kept telling him I was a Canadian citizen and had a connecting
flight to catch but he kept dragging me.
I'm 5-foot 10 and used to be a professional basketball player in Beijing.
I don't cry very easily but I was shaking.
I was so scared.
He probably never expected someone with a Chinese face to speak back to
him. He was probably so used to treating people that way because the
Chinese are known for reacting with modesty and a smile.
He dragged me to a room and told me to stay put. I asked if I could speak
to the supervisor. He said he was the supervisor. I thought he was going
to hit me. He pointed to the corner and told me to take a seat.
Everything was happening so fast. I was just trying to gather all of the
information in my brain.
Another officer came over and said he would handle everything. He said he
was going to check it out. I asked to see his name tag because he had my
passport.
I paced the room for about 10 minutes. I considered this an illegal
detainment and prepared myself that they would do something worse to me. I
didn't know how long I'd be there because they told me nothing.
I was thinking about my daughter the whole time. She has Chinese features
and I figured that if I didn't fight back she will suffer in the future. I
had never felt racism before.
He came back into the room and asked me to follow him. He led me to the
back of the longest line at the immigration counter, handed over my
papers, and told me not to make any trouble.
It was as if they were trying to teach me a lesson.
The other officer was standing by a pay phone keeping an eye on me. I
stood in line but it wasn't moving so I stepped out. I didn't want to give
them an excuse to arrest me so I just stood there. I thought I'd
definitely miss my flight.
Moments later, the other officer waved me over to an empty counter,
glanced at my papers and said I could go through. I showed him my left
thumb and told him that his colleague had broken it. He used the public
address system and called for his supervisor.
He took me back to the same room where I had been detained. The supervisor
came out and I told him he broke my finger. He denied it, turned his back
to me and walked away. They gave me back my ticket and passport and the
supervisor said: "Sue me."
I told them I was a lawyer and it wouldn't be hard to do. I walked away to
find gate G-10. I was so angry and I had to phone my husband. I telephoned
him collect and told him to contact (Foreign) Affairs.
The tears were running down my face. I couldn't believe that such a thing
happened to me.
My plane ended up being delayed until 1:15 p.m., so I caught it.
I have lived in Canada for 14 years and have been a citizen for the past
nine. I have treated Canada as my home.
Maybe what happened to me is a sign that despite all the hard work I have
done to contribute to my community and my country, that I am still
regarded as Chinese and that this treatment can come at any time.
I want everyone to know about this story so they can watch out and be
warned about this bad dog at the door.
It was traumatic. I couldn't sleep for two nights. What gives him the
right to treat me like that?
I would have never been treated like that if I had a white face.
It would be very easy not to fight back and just forget about what
happened but I can't. I was assaulted physically and mentally.
This story must be told so that this doesn't happen to someone else.
(Zheng Anderson has since filed a detailed complaint with Foreign Affairs
and is calling on U.S. authorities to investigate the incident. She is
also demanding an apology.)
The folkish state must make up for what everyone else today has neglected....
the folkish philosophy of life must succeeded in bringing about that nobler
age in
which men no longer are concerned with breeding dogs, horses, and cats, but
in elevating himself, an age in which the one knowingly and silently
renounces, the other joyfully sacrifices and gives...
"Mein Kampf"
by Adolf Hitler
