Australian women on Qatar flight internally examined

[RooFlyer]

So, here we are. Four weeks on. And all I hear from the Oz government is crickets. Do they believe that the Qatari response will change anything for the better?

So here we are politicising this awful thing. It really beats me why people do this. Does having a go at the Australian government makes things better?

FWIW I suggest you need to look around a bit more. There's plenty of media reports about the Oz government has done, in Qatar and here. Even linked to in this thread, let alone looking for yourself . But nothing at all about what any other government has done.

 

[davistev]

I am really glad AFF is covering this incident. I tried to have a discussion over at FT and the thread was removed. The other thread was "closed" down. Apparently no discussion is allowed over at the other site.

Long live AFF!

 

[DC3]

For those with expectations, I wouldn’t be getting my hopes up that anything meaningful will come of this.

 

[get me outta here]

I think the lawyer interviewed had limited info on the day and some of the more personal stories came out over the next few days - The women I think were wondering why they were be taken off and searching their imagination for feasible reasons.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Seems like Qataris have realised the error of their ways.

Qatar opens criminal probe over invasive search on Australian passengers

Australian women were among a group of international travellers forced to undergo invasive probes after a premature baby was found in the airport toilets.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Flying mermaid]

Does QATAR have the death penalty ?
Will the arrest, prosecution and punishment (hanging?) of some folks be sufficient retribution ?
What level of punishment of the everyday wage earners involved would satisfy the non affected Au females pushing for……justice ?

I think that is a bit of a stretch as to what the non affected AU females on this thread have been saying.

I don’t recall anyone forming a lynch party.

what I think anyone should want is to know whether the Qatari authorities think this was the correct way to handle the situation or if this was a case of officials exceeding authority and exceptionally poor decision making, then that needs to be clear as well.

If Australian police/security did a similar thing there would be community expectation that there would be an inquiry and prosecution of anyone who broke the law. No different here.

 

[Bell21]

Sorry - tried to 'reply' to Mattg's recent informative post, but I couldn't get the most relevant part (below) to come across, so copied and pasted below. Chatting with a friend at dinner, we said that Qatar will be at pains to try to restore its reputation (too much $ at stake), will refer to a review of processes and protocols, and then will find someone to blame for not following their procedures. It is good, however, that they have issued a clearer apology for the 'offensive mistreatment' and it would be good ideally if further redress occurs for the passengers affected.

FROM Mattg --- Qatar’s reputation will take a very long time to recover in Australia (and, frankly, the Western world) unless:

(a) it provides a clear explanation of what happened
(b) those responsible are held to account
(c) an unreserved apology is issued
(d) there is an assurance that this can never happen again.

 

[get me outta here]

Qatar communications document states that ”standard procedures were violated”.
I thought it was the women who were violated.

 

[RooFlyer]

New info on the nationalities affected on the "Australian" flight. 13 Australians, 2 Britons and one from New Zealand. From BBC:

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it had "formally expressed our concern with the Qatari authorities and Qatar Airways, and are seeking assurances an unacceptable incident like this cannot happen again".

NZ involvement and their government reaction first appears in NZ press on 29th. This thread began on 26th.

Kiwi woman caught up in 'horrifying' strip search at Doha airport

New Zealand Embassy in Abu Dhabi in contact with the New Zealander involved in incident.

www.nzherald.co.nz

Reported reaction from the Adern government:

The NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) has confirmed that a New Zealand citizen "was involved in the appalling incident involving female passengers on several Qatar Airways flights".

"This action was completely unacceptable," an Mfat spokesperson said, adding that the ministry is "extremely concerned".

"We are making our views known to Qatari authorities and are seeking a full report on what occurred," the spokesperson added.

 

[Pushka]

Qatar communications document states that ”standard procedures were violated”.
I thought it was the women who were violated.

Stating one fact doesn't deny another. The Black Lives Matter being another example.

This gives them the basis to lay charges where relevant.

 

[cove]

So it took two decades to get Mrscove on a middle east plane. Qatar got us both out of London in the middle of March when Covid-19 turned that city upside down.
Best we wait for a full account and hopefully an apology that is meaningful. If none comes that makes sense we can see why women would avoid travelling with them for a very long time.

 

[Dee#]

The interview you linked shows there was no immediate thought that this was a hijack or that anything bad was about to happen. And as mentioned, another passenger thought it was for a covid test. (The only reason I mentioned it was in response to the post questioning how anyone could leave the plane if they thought there was danger. It seems that may not have been the case.)

The interview you linked shows there was no immediate thought that this was a hijack or that anything bad was about to happen. And as mentioned, another passenger thought it was for a covid test. (The only reason I mentioned it was in response to the post questioning how anyone could leave the plane if they thought there was danger. It seems that may not have been the case.)

This interview is dated 26 Oct. That is 24 days after the incident. 3 weeks. It involved several people and I'm still wondering how come it took so long for this to get out? (if a single Australian is arrested for drugs overseas at an airport it doesn't take this long). As previous people have commented, there must have been mature women involved who were outraged and would be willing to talk immediately. This was a human rights lawyer and it seemed to take him 3 weeks.!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does Qatar have oil? They have gas but so do we. Most of the rest of the middle east don't seem to like them either.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

This interview is dated 26 Oct. That is 24 days after the incident. 3 weeks. It involved several people and I'm still wondering how come it took so long for this to get out? (if a single Australian is arrested for drugs overseas at an airport it doesn't take this long). As previous people have commented, there must have been mature women involved who were outraged and would be willing to talk immediately. This was a human rights lawyer and it seemed to take him 3 weeks.!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does Qatar have oil? They have gas but so do we. Most of the rest of the middle east don't seem to like them either.

I have seen nothing to suggest this has been attempted to be hushed in any way, or that a gag order was in place.

The government would be mindful of respecting privacy. The victims will come forward when they are ready.

This is different to someone arrested for drugs in that the victims have come back home and will likely be interacting with the community at some stage. They should decide who knows what, and when.

 

[Dee#]

I have seen nothing to suggest this has been attempted to be hushed in any way, or that a gag order was in place.

The government would be mindful of respecting privacy. The victims will come forward when they are ready.

This is different to someone arrested for drugs in that the victims have come back home and will likely be interacting with the community at some stage. They should decide who knows what, and when.

No I havn't seen anything about hushing it up or a gag order but I still find it very strange given the professions on board and 10 planes affected and no whispers before this from any country, odds are there must have been some mature women who wouldn't stand for it . It is hugely newsworthy for journalism.!

If an Aussie gets arrested at the airport in say Indonesia or Malaysia carrying drugs it seems to hit the media immediately, complete with photos, and they don't usually come home for a very very very long time!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

If an Aussie gets arrested at the airport in say Indonesia or Malaysia carrying drugs it seems to hit the media immediately, complete with photos, and they don't usually come home for a very very very long time!

Exactly.

These women *have* come home. They may not want their neighbours, the supermarket checkout guy, the butcher, knowing details of their intimate trauma until they have had time to process it themselves. (And be in a better space to answer all the questions that people seem to have had.)

 

[DC3]

Our government knows the names and contact details of passengers arriving into Oz on any given flight/day. Nothing stops them from pro-actively, with discretion, asking about whether there were issues on departing from Qatar.

 

[DC3]

I have seen nothing to suggest this has been attempted to be hushed in any way, or that a gag order was in place ...

Not necessarily hushed-up. Perhaps just whispered between our pollies who were in the know.

Edit: Not to mention an offer of support

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Our government knows the names and contact details of passengers arriving into Oz on any given flight/day. Nothing stops them from pro-actively, with discretion, asking about whether there were issues on departing from Qatar.

That's right - but it doesn't mean they *must* then go to the media to make it front page news. I would have hoped anyone going to the media would have sought permission first from the victims.

 

[DC3]

Our government knows the names and contact details of passengers arriving into Oz on any given flight/day. Nothing stops them from pro-actively, with discretion, asking about whether there were issues on departing from Qatar.

That's right - but it doesn't mean they *must* then go to the media to make it front page news. I would have hoped anyone going to the media would have sought permission first from the victims.

Although, I made no mention of media. Are you reading something into my post?

 

[Daver6]

Seems like Qataris have realised the error of their ways.

Qatar opens criminal probe over invasive search on Australian passengers

Australian women were among a group of international travellers forced to undergo invasive probes after a premature baby was found in the airport toilets.

www.theage.com.au

Am I the only cynic who thinks they're just looking for a scapegoat in order to make this go away?

IMHO, they think they've done nothing wrong, treated women worse than animals and are only taking action to be seen to be doing something in order to not lose money. This just stinks of disaster management rather than contrition.