ARCHIVED FORUM: Gurdwara Tapoban Sahib
Refused Entry at UK PassPort Office
Posted by : Tarsem Singh
Date: 7/07/2004 5:18 am
Vaaheguroo jee ka khalsa Vaaheguroo jee ki fateh
Im a 24 year old amritdhari sikh, and yesterday I had a experience that I have never felt in my life. I didnt know what to do or who to contact but I want to take this matter further, so that is why I am writing this to get advice.
On 6th July 2004 I had an appointment made with the UK Passport Office in London (Victoria to be precise) to change my Passport Picture, because in the Picture on my passport is of me when I was a mona and had to change to show me with the roop I have now. My appointment was for 11.45am and had arrived there 5 minutes late. When I had arrived there I was in a qeue, I could see that they had the metal dedector door frame there to dedect anything metal. when it had been my turn to go through the frame I thought I would explain to the secuirty guard that I have a sword underneath my clothes, but its ok as by law I am allowed to wear it, and the security guard said ok, and then he said 'take it off' like it is not an issue to take it off. I explained to him that I am not allowed to take it off, he then took me to a another security guard (which seemed the head of security) and explained what I had said to the other guard. The Head Security guard said that I can not come in unless I take my kirpaan off. I was gobsmacked and explained to him that Sikhs can not take their kirpaans off, as by law we can wear them in this country unless travelling on a plane. I also explained to him that I have been in westminsiter with my sword on, why are you telling me to take it off here? He said all 'baptised Sikhs' take of their kirpaans when they come to the office, even the employees!
Some how I could not believe that, but I said that I'd rather just post my application than take my kirpaan off, he goes well thats up to you, I had told him that I would take this matter further.
I had felt dicrimanated and disgusted that they do not provide more for the Sikh Interest, I was very hurt by this, and then once I was out the door I phoned the UK PassPort Office and filed a complaint, I had become very angry and emontional with the lady on the phone and she understood what I had been through, I told her I felt dicrimanated and the security guard made me feel very small infront of everyone as I am also a british born citizen, but was treated differently.
She had put me through to some one else and had explained the situation, she too was understanding and told me to stay outside and can see what they could do.
Twenty minutes later she and a man came to me outside and try to explain why I was not allowed in the building, and they had also apologised, but that still was not good enough as By Law I am allowed to wear my Kirpaan, My Guroo has given me the kirpaan as a gift from Vaaheguroo, so I can not take it off, I had explained that it is a part of me, and also that Sikhs have been in this country for many years, we partook in WWI WWII, the British know who the Sikhs are, how could the PassPort Office not cater for Sikhs?
Even though they had been very polite, I still told them that I will take this further, and they had encouraged me to take it further as they said that this would help to change the secuirty laws faster.
I am very upset at this, please could someone guide me to take this matter further
Tarsem Singh
Vaaheguroo jee ka khalsa Vaaheguroo jee ki fateh
Re: Refused Entry at UK PassPort Office
Posted by : jagroop singh
Date: 7/07/2004 9:12 am
Vaihiguru ji ka khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki fateh!
Dear Veer Ji,
Contact Bhai Jagdeesh Singh: animalspirit2002@yahoo.co.uk
He used to be a Racial Harrasment Officer for a Race Equality Council. He is an Amritdhari Gursikh and 'very active' Sikh Activist in the UK. He will be able to advise you best...
i work for a Race Equality Council but am not an expert in this area however, basically, there are many 'routes of action' open to you. But what would be best would be to approach this incident in such a manner that the wider implications e.g. other Amritdharis being treated the same, would be addressed.
To start off with, ask the UK Passport Office to provide you with their Race Equality Scheme i.e. their official, formal document which is required of them by law; this regards their pledge to proactively ensure that racial discrimination does not take place via their functions and services.
Also, ask them for clarification regarding their security procedures i.e. where does it say that Sikhs (and Scots for that matter) must remove their Kirpaan/Skeindoo when entering that building and upon what grounds e.g. potential security risk etc. Ask them for a copy of this document.
Also, DO NOT use the term religious when dealing with this issue - use the term 'ethnic'. Sikhs are recognised by law in the UK as an ethnic group - law protects ethnic groups better than religious groups e.g. the race relations act does not include 'religious' as a definer of race. In other words, they have potentially discriminated against you on 'ethnic' grounds and this is how you must refer to it from now on when dealing with them or the situation in general.
Bhai Jagdeesh Singh will be able to advise you further. Remember, by dealing with this in a calm and collective 'sehaaj-inspired' way, Siree Guru Sahib Jee will give you the opportunity to potentially improve things for the Panth in the UK.
Vahiguru ji ka khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki fateh!
Re: Refused Entry at UK PassPort Office
Posted by : Harpartap Singh
Date: 7/07/2004 9:12 am
VahegurujikKhalsa, VahegurujikiFateh!
Bhai Sahib,
This happended to me in May this year.
I took it further - this is what the head of the UK Passport Office wrote to me this weekend. The letter is posted in full below.
I have contacted the Sikh Federation (UK Sikh political party), British Sikh Federation (organisation campaigning on Sikh civil rights i.e. Kirpaan, Dastaar etc) and others in order to arrange a meeting with them so that they can 'review' their security policy. Your are more than welcome to come when we arrange a time and venue to meet them - just give me your contact details.
Don't feel alone Bhaji, this has happened to many Sikhs and they have refused to take off their Sri Sahibs. It took me two hours to get my passport - and guess who Satguru ji sent to my aid? Two sevaks of a Muslim Peer who were going to go to a religious program in Pakistan - they went in and got my passport for me!!! Vaheguru is just amazing - we talked about Vaheguru and rehat and naam...
Here is the letter they have sent:
Dear Mr Singh,
I refer to your letter of 6 May about our policy in relation to access for practising Sikhs to public areas of UK Passport Offices while wearing the kirpan and to the acknowledgement sent to you on 25 May.
In the interim, my staff have undertaken a considerable amount of research on this issue including the policies of various government departments and other organisations towards the wearing of the kirpan in their buildings. It is clear from this that in seeking to strike the appropriate balance between respecting the significance of the kirpan to followers of the Sikh religion, and security considerations at a time of heightened vigilance, different approaches have been applied.
Let me say at the outset that I believe the incident on 29 April at our London office was very badly handled and exposed serious shortcomings in the way in which our staff and our security personnel deal with some Sikh customers. Specifically, I am concerned about the inconvenience and embarrassment caused to you on the day and to the fact that from a customer service viewpoint my staff were unable to offer a suitable remedy for the impasse which arose. Please accept my sincere apologies for this and my personal undertaking that steps will be taken to remedy the shortcomings which your experience revealed, in our policy, and its application.
The United Kingdom Passport Service does understand that the kirpan has a very sacred religious symbolism for Sikhs. We also recognise that there is specific provision enshrined in UK legislation which permits wearing of the kirpan in public places. You will understand however that, as an employer we have a duty of care to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all our employees, and visitors to its premises. Accordingly, like all government departments, we regularly review our security arrangements - a process which involves risk assessments. Following the redesign of the public counters in our offices, in removing screens from these counters and to enhance security arrangements for our staff, a decision was taken to adopt a zero tolerance policy with regard to members of the public bringing sharp or potentially dangerous items into our London office. The only current exception to this policy is for essential medical items such as syringes in diabetic kits.
It is a condition of entry to our London office that any item which could cause harm or threat to employees or other members of the public must be surrendered at the security screening point where customers are issued with a receipt for the item. Indeed, it has been our experience that the majority of our Sikh customers accept this and are content to comply with our policy. Any surrendered are very carefully looked after and returned when leaving the premises upon production of the receipt. The only exception to this is where the item is covered by the terms of the Offensive Weapons Act 1996. In that event we are required by law to inform the police and the item will only be returned in the presence of a police officer and may lead to arrest and prosecution.
In drawing up this policy it transpires that there was no consultation with representatives of the Sikh community in the UK. I am very sorry about this. I have now ordered a full review of our security policy and additional awareness training/guidance to UKPS staff on this difficult and sensitive matter. When reviewing policy we will follow the Cabinet Office's Code of Practice on Consultation and I do hope that you will be willing to meet with me and other representatives of the UK Sikh community in the near future to discuss how we might devise a policy which meets both UKPS requirements and those of the Sikh community in the UK. Their task, as I see it, will be to strike the right balance between recognition and respect for customers' religious beliefs and the need for appropriate security measures as required under health and safety legislation.
I hope this provides a satisfactory response to your letter, and indicates my commitment to ensuring that other members of the Sikh community applying for passports in future do not suffer your experience. I hope very much you feel able to take up my offer of a meeting to help in the development and application of our policy.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Kevin Sheehan
Director of Operations
Re: Refused Entry at UK PassPort Office
Posted by : singh 2
Date: 7/07/2004 11:48 am
harpartap singh, please keep sangat informed of any updates after the meeting and any decisions taken afterwards.
you/sikh federation may also want to create greater awareness of this meeting on the net and sikh press so that others who have also had similar experiences can come forward too. from his letter he seems to be suggesting that most sikhs don't mind taking their kirpans off at ukps, so it would be good to present them with as many cases of sikhs who refused so they understand that what you did was not an isolated case - how many singhs just post their applications so they dont have to go into ukps offices?
Re: Refused Entry at UK PassPort Office
Posted by : Tarsem Singh
Date: 7/07/2004 2:12 pm
Vaaheguroo jee ka khalsa Vaaheguroo jee ki fateh
I too have e.mailed Sikh Federation and the Sikh Times so this can be taken forward, Veer Jagroop Singh, thanks for the advice and Bhai Jagdeesh's e.mail address I also have e.mailed him.
Veer Harpartap Singh thanks for the advice, and I believe you already have my contact details as its Tarsem Singh not too far from you. please keep me updated. I too will write to UK Passport Office and see what answer they will write to me.
I really believe this should have much support from all UK Sikhs
Vaaheguroo jee ka khalsa Vaaheguroo jee ki fateh
Re: Refused Entry at UK PassPort Office
Posted by : Singh
Date: 7/07/2004 2:44 pm
>>Indeed, it has been our experience that the majority of our Sikh customers accept this and are content to comply with our policy.<<
Whoever these people are should be ashamed of themselves. I group them with the same people who took off their Dastaars to enter offices in France. The ones in France are even worse because first they take off their dastaar and then they cry about it when they get home. They are all sellouts in my book.
Re: Refused Entry at UK PassPort Office
Posted by : partap singh
Date: 7/07/2004 4:34 pm
veer ji
contact a dr jasdev singh rai at the sikh human rights group www.shrg.org he can help you and best advise.
Re: Refused Entry at UK PassPort Office
Posted by : Singh
Date: 7/08/2004 6:18 am
If they argue under thier insurance they cannot allow kirpans under a public liability or employers liability issue please ask them who insures them and where its exactly stated in the policy.
Re: Refused Entry at UK PassPort Office
Posted by : Harpartap Singh
Date: 7/08/2004 8:03 am
VahegurujikaKhalsa, VahegurujikiFateh!
Bhaji Tarsem Singh - I will give you a call very soon. I'm off to Sikhi Camp for a few days this weekend but I will keep the Sangat informed as to developments.
H
Re: Refused Entry at UK PassPort Office
Posted by : Harpartap Singh
Date: 7/26/2004 7:46 am
VahegurujikaKhalsa, VahegurujikiFateh!
Sangat ji,
The UK Passport Service are trying to agree a meeting date with me. Please could everybody send me details of all occasions when a Sikh has been refused entry to the Passport Office or if they have been forced to remove their Sri Sahibs. This information is urgently needed in order to show that 'most Sikhs are NOT content to comply.
I hope the Sangat will assist me in this. Make a difference - get the word out and lets get this information collated.
PS - please could somebody please post this on all e-groups they are members of as I am having difficulties accessing them.
Harpartap Singh
Re: Refused Entry at UK PassPort Office
Posted by : Harpartap Singh
Date: 7/26/2004 9:08 am
My email is harpartaap@hotmail.com
Re: Refused Entry at UK PassPort Office
Posted by : Tarsem Singh
Date: 7/26/2004 9:15 am
Vaaheguroo jee ka khalsa Vaaheguroo jee ki fateh
Bhai Sahib, you have my details on the first post, so please do take that, if you need to contact me please call when ever
Vaaheguroo jee ka khalsa Vaaheguroo jee ki fateh
Re: Refused Entry at UK PassPort Office
Posted by : Billa
Date: 7/26/2004 9:21 am
My "salai" was taken from me at the Passport Office. I use it for tucking in my hair. Also my kirpan was detected in the metal detector but I had to get my passport so took it off and did ardas.
