[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
LEFT WING LOONS Title: The US got this one right Within three hours of arriving in the US, Australian author and activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied said she was back on a plane after being refused entry. Ms Abdel-Magied had landed in Minneapolis ahead of speaking engagements in New York, but said that border agents decided to deport her just minutes after starting their investigation. "They’ve taken my phone, cancelled my visa and are deporting me," she said. She did not say where she was being sent back to. "Will follow up on messages once I understand what’s going on." © Instagram Yassmin Abdel-Magied posted an Instagram story after being put on a plane out of the US. Despite being on a plane out of the US, Ms Abdel-Magied said officials still had her passport and would not return it until she arrived in Amsterdam. "Roughly three hours since touch down in Minneapolis, I’m on a plane back," she tweeted. "Well, guess that tightening of immigration laws business is working, despite my Australian passport. We’re taking off now. What a time." Fairfax Media has contacted Ms Abdel-Magied for comment. The former Queensland Young Australian of the Year was due to appear at two events for the PEN America World Voices Festival. The first talk, titled The M Word: No Country For Young Muslim Women, was set to feature Ms Abdel-Magied and US author Amani Al-Khatahtbeh discussing the difficulties of being young Muslim women in Western countries. The second event is a panel discussion about how to counter online hate and the women’s experience with it. PEN America chief executive Suzanne Nossel said festival organisers were "dismayed" Ms Abdel-Magied had been denied entry to the US. "We understand that Yassmin was travelling on a type of visa that she had used in the past for similar trips without issue," Ms Nossel said in a statement. "We call on Customs and Border Patrol to admit her to the US so that she can take her rightful place in the urgent international conversation to take place at the festival next week. " Ms Nossel said the very purpose of the festival - to promote open expression around the world - was "in jeopardy". "Efforts at visa bans and tightened immigration restrictions threaten to choke off vital channels of dialogue," she said. So far, Ms Abdel-Magied has been able to see the lighter side of her deportation situation."Funniest thing is that throughout this whole ordeal all I am thinking about is what a good story this would make," she tweeted. "We all have ways of dealing with situations." Abdel-Magied's case unusual: minister Australia's Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Alan Tudge, told Sky News that, while he did not know exactly why Ms Abdel-Magied had been denied entry, deportation of Australian citizens was rare. "Obviously these are decisions of the United States government, but at the end of the day it is unusual for an Australian citizen to not be granted a visa to go into the United States," he said. According to The New York Times, US border agents have a much broader authority to conduct searches than US police. Border agents are legally allowed to search bags without a judge's prior approval, and are also allowed to seize and search digital devices. Ms Abdel-Magied moved to London after her Anzac Day social media post, "Lest We Forget (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine ...)" led to a massive public backlash. In November last year, in her first Australian television appearance since she moved overseas, she told The Project’s hosts the reaction was “surreal”. "I went from being, like, this young Queenslander of the Year and on all these kind of boards and councils and I was like the good Muslim girl, the darling. Next minute it's like everything exploded," she said. "I'm now someone with nothing left to lose and that's kind of amazing. It means I can say what I want ... I think the nice version of saying it is no shits left to give." Besides her social commentary and activism, Ms Abdel-Magied also made her acting debut in SBS digital series Homecoming Queens on Thursday night. Poster Comment: You just can't kick Yassmin Abdel-Magied hard enough, because she just does not get the message. Muslim activism doesn't go down well in many countries. She has found herself unwelcome in Australia, in Britain and now in the US and she just doesn't get it. There are a number of people I would like to see sent back to her country of origin and she is one of them Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread |
|
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|