Racism row: UK council names taxi crackdown Operation India

Mon, 06 Feb 2017 11:01:20 +0000

London, Feb 6 (PTI) A UK city Council has named a crackdown on dodgy taxi drivers Operation India, sparking outrage over the racist labelling of the scheme.

Operation India was launched in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, as a joint initiative between council taxi licensing officers and police to carry out checks on taxi drivers.

But both councillors and the taxi community have described the name of the scheme as racially insensitive.

"This name must be reconsidered, people will be outraged and it does not send a good message about ethnic minorities," Councillor Mohammed Khan was quoted as saying by Milton Keynes Citizen.

"Its essentially blaming all Indian taxi drivers, these are good hard working people who work unsocial hours to make sure people get home safely," he said.

A taxi boss, who has worked in Milton Keynes for 12 years, said, "I dont have a problem with the police and council coming to check that our taxis are legal and safe."

"However to use India as the name of the operation is racially insensitive and it should be retracted. Just to use the word…its like theyre implying criminal drivers are Indian," the taxi boss said.

"I think it will cause outrage across the taxi driving community, why did they have to use a country or race?" the taxi boss added.

However, the council has defended the name Operation India.

A spokesperson was quoted as saying, "These joint operations are identified using the internationally recognised phonetic alphabet — for example the previous three operations were called Operation Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel."

"It is very common practice and the next operation will be called Operation Juliet," the spokesperson said.

"These operations are important in helping to ensure that the public can be guaranteed a safe journey in a roadworthy vehicle and we will continue to carry them out," the spokesperson added.

The scheme which targets Hackey Carriage and Private Hire vehicles with suspected defects or breaches saw 12 licensed vehicles stopped.

Chief executive of the Milton Keynes Equality Council, Navrita Atwal said, "The name Operation India could be perceived as misleading."

"Anything giving pre-conceived messages where communities are being policed should be avoided. We would always encourage using names for project that build and create good community relations," she said.

"We are living in sensitive times and should exercise double caution as to not cause offence or mistrust as community relations take a long time to build," she added.

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Unconstitutional and Inhumane: NY Taxi Workers Slam Trump’s Ban Order

Sun, 29 Jan 2017 05:27:25 +0000

As the brazenly discriminatory executive ban order issued by US President Donald Trump begins to have eerie implications right down to the streets of north America, civil liberties groups and CEOs have widely condemned the move. Mark Zuckerberg challenged Trump on immigration and 'extreme vetting' order with the Facebook CEO using his own page to criticize Donald Trump’s executive order that will severely limit immigrants from certain Muslim-majority countries. Today taxi drivers of multiple races will protest at the JFK airport to protest the illegal detention of those coming into the USA that have been detained as a result of this executive order.

Significantly, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt have been exempted from this executive ban order. Even as President Trump takes steps to restrict visitors from some majority-Muslim countries, he and his family continue to do business in some of the others.Ethics experts question whether that might indicate conflicts between Trump's business interests and his role as U.S. president. The executive action, "Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States," targets seven nations: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Trump has no business interests in those countries. One other thing they have in common, as NPR's Greg Myre writes: "No Muslim extremist from any of these places has carried out a fatal attack in the U.S. in more than two decades." The 19 terrorists in the Sept. 11 attacks were from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates, Myre points out. They are among the Muslim-majority countries not affected by Trump's immigration freeze, but where Trump does business.

A report in the Baltimore Sun recounts how the impact of such a message from the highest pyramid of state power could affect the streets of the USA.

Meanwhile, in a significant intervention, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTA) has in a powerful statement condemned the 'illegal' and 'inhumane' act of President Donald Trump of the USA.

Statement from New York Taxi Workers Alliance on Donald Trump's Executive Order Banning Muslim Refugees from 7 Countries:

"Professional drivers are over 20 times more likely to be murdered on the job than other workers. By sanctioning bigotry with his unconstitutional an inhumane executive order banning Muslim refugees from seven countries, the president is putting professional drivers in more danger than they have been in any time since 9/11 when hate crimes against immigrants skyrocketed.

"Our 19,000-member-strong union stands firmly opposed to Donald Trump's Muslim ban. As an organization whose membership is largely Muslim, a workforce that's almost universally immigrant, and a working-class movement that is rooted in the defense of the oppressed, we say no to this inhumane and unconstitutional ban.

"We know all too well that when government programs sanction outright Islamophobia, and the rhetoric of hate is spewed from the bully pulpit, hate crimes increase and drivers suffer gravely. Our Sikh and other non-Muslim brown and black members also suffer from anti-Muslim violence.

"Today, drivers are joining the protest at JFK Airport in support of all those who are currently being detained at the airport because of Trump's unconstitutional executive order. Drivers stand in solidarity with refugees coming to America in search of peace and safety and with those who are simply trying to return to their homes here in America after traveling abroad. We stand in solidarity with all of our peace-loving neighbors against this inhumane, cruel, and unconstitutional act of pure bigotry.

Click here to see OSHA study on violence against professional drivers.

[Founded in 1998, NYTWA is the 19,000-member strong union of NYC taxicab drivers, representing yellow cab drivers, green car, and black car drivers, including drivers for Uber and Lyft. The NYTA fights for justice, rights, respect and dignity for the over 50,000 licensed men and women who often labor 12 hour shifts with little pay and few protections in the city's mobile sweatshop. Members come from every community, garage, and neighborhood. To find out more visit NYTWA.org or like us on facebook.com/nytwa]
]

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Taxi Drivers protest | SabrangIndia

Racism row: UK council names taxi crackdown Operation India

Unconstitutional and Inhumane: NY Taxi Workers Slam Trump’s Ban Order