Arab man says he faced racism in Welsh town

An Arab man went to shop at the famous Marks and Spencer (M&S) in a small Welsh town and paid a 50-pound note before leaving the place. Ten minutes later, he was stopped on the road by the police, who told him the note he paid was fake.

The Palestinian man, identifying himself as Nassim, said police later released him with an apology after examination showed the note was real.

“I believe this is racism…Marks and Spencer should have double checked before they called the police…they just took the note from me, gave me the change and let me go…it is obvious that they called the police just because I looked a foreigner,” he said.

“I’ve been here many times so I know the procedures…the cashiers usually check the note before accepting it…if they have any suspicion, they refuse to take it and call the security…but they did not do this to me…they just waited for me to leave and called the police….apparently they acted on the way I looked.”

Nassim, who was visiting the tiny North Welsh resort of Prestatyn, said the incident caused him great embarrassment and fear of being arrested.

“A police car suddenly pulled up in the middle of the road a few blocks from M&S building….…two cops rushed to me and told me to put my hands up…they then said that I was circulating fake currency notes but I told them that I have obtained the notes from an authorised exchange shop in Dubai…they seized all my money and told me to wait so they will send the notes to their experts for examination,” he said.

“I waited for nearly an hour and it was really very embarrassing because I felt I was being treated like a criminal…people on the road were looking at me this way…..an hour later, a policeman came and said that the notes were all real…only then, they let me go after apologizing to me…they said they would have a word with M&S for their hasty report and failure to make sure the note was fake.”

Nassim said he went back to M&S and spoke to the manager, who also apologized for such an act which she said was caused by a new employee.

“She said she was very sorry for what happened to me…she told me that it was caused by a trainee staff member and that she intended to take measures against her….I wanted to sue them for racism but I changed my mind as I didn’t have time for this.”

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