A British-Pakistani family says it faced racist treatment by the staff at Central London’s quarantine center, Millennium Gloucester Hotel South Kensington in the United Kingdom.
Mansoona Naeem, the girl who spoke out against the injustice, revealed that she, along with her parents, Naeem Chaudhry and Fardous Kauser, flew back to Landon on May 1 and were shifted to the Millennium Gloucester Hotel after their hotel was changed at the last minute.
She said her family lives in Manchester, but they were told to stay at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, some 200 miles away because there was no such facility in Manchester.
Mansoona said they faced disgusting and racist behavior from a hotel staff member who dismissed her complaints, saying he didn’t want ‘complaints coming from Asians.’
ALSO READ
Saudi Arabia Likely to Ban Foreigners From Performing Hajj This Year
The hotel, she says, is hosting dozens of Indian and Pakistani families as both countries are now on the UK’s red list.
Millennium Gloucester Hotel London Kensington, on return from Pakistan @MillenniumEU #QuarantineLife #REDLIST @FCDOGovUK @Mansoona pic.twitter.com/KFeZjwNfdq
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) May 5, 2021
She said she had been facing a problem from day one.
Mansoona is a health professional and was in Lahore and Gujranwala for wedding shopping for her brother when the UK announced travel restrictions around a month ago.
“I paid around £3,000 for the hotel quarantine on top of nearly the same amount for three one-way tickets. On Tuesday, I was shocked when her brother told her an additional £3,000 had been deducted from his account by Corporate Travel Management (CTM) – the government body responsible for quarantine.”
She was confident to get her money back but shared that the main problem was with the provision of food by the hotel at iftar and sehri time.
ALSO READ
IPL’s Love Affair With Bookies Continues Despite Bio-Bubble
On the first day, the family received one sandwich, a banana, and a packet of juice in the lunch box.
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) May 5, 2021
“The dinner was very disappointing with vegetables undercooked and a little portion of either fish cakes or tasteless chicken, which practically looked raw. On two occasions, no breakfast was sent to my room, and dinner was late by three hours on 03/05/2021, and after so many complaints I received it at 10:30 pm.”
When she complained, she was told to order food from outside through Uber Eats or Deliveroo as she was a Pakistan national.
“We faced repetitive issues every single day in terms of not being catered for suhoor or iftar in time to the point that it was not given to us to close our fast.”
She said all the meals were pre-made and unfortunately they could not alter to look after the guests to meet our food requirements which was a personal attack by the catering staff and they could have spoken to me in a much respectful manner, she lamented.
Mansoona tried to lodge an official complaint, but CTM did not answer any of her calls.
One of the hotel staff members told her that “we have nothing to do with this, as the budget we are given by the government is what we are facilitating you with.”
ALSO READ
Official: Amazon is Adding Pakistan to its Approved Sellers List
She criticized the UK government for charging a large sum of money but providing substandard service.
“Let me raise a point for the UK government. You are charging €1,750 per person and can’t supply basic food essentials. I am sure even individuals in a prison are treated well, yet we are looked down on as criminals. This whole system has failed and is the biggest scam ever just to bring money back in the country, and unfortunately, we are left with no option to come back to our families by paying this ridiculous amount just to come back home.”
For the last four days, her family and friends have been looking after them, dropping food essentials, and ordering in to survive and get through the stay.
She added, “Our whole stay has been awful, trapped into a room where no area has been arranged to go outside for a walk and exercise as mentioned by the government. The only provided zone is a smoking area, which surely is not safe for everyone.”
She asked, “How does this justify mental health or any underlying conditions people may have while stuck in a room?”
The post British-Pakistani Family Faces Racist Treatment At UK Quarantine Facility appeared first on .
