Juliet Hatanga, a senior magistrate from Uganda, has spoken out against a Chinese hotel that is “blacklisting” African guests.
Hatanga told the BBC that a hotel in Guangzhou, China is discriminating against guests from Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria. According to Hatanga, the hotel’s staff rejected her upon seeing her passport.
Hatanga stated:
“…They opened the door for me, I told them my name and they confirmed I had a room. Then they asked for my passport; when I gave them my passport they told me ‘sorry, we cannot host you.’”
Hatanga asked the hotel’s staff why she was being denied accommodations. The staff apparently received explicit orders from the local police not to host people from Uganda.
“You’re no longer wanted,” hotel workers told Hatanga.
All hotels within 30 miles had been given the same warning, as well.
Allegedly, a crime was committed at a local hotel. The culprit was thought to be Ugandan, Kenyan, or Nigerian. In response, hotels in Guangzhou hotels rejected Ugandans, Kenyans, and Nigerians.
One hotel actually posted a notice which read:
“Black/African guests are not welcome.”
Hatanga stated:
“Just because one Black person was suspected to come from one of those countries, all of us were condemned. So basically everyone was being thrown out. I think it’s unfair especially when [Uganda] has been so welcoming to the Chinese government. Our president has been giving them tax exemptions — they’re very welcomed, they’re made comfortable. They’ve been given land!”
China is Uganda’s top investor, and Chinese people are permanent residents of the African nation. As of 2010, there were 7000 Chinese residents in Uganda. However, an estimated 10,000 undocumented Chinese migrants are thought to be living in Uganda.
“This kind of racial profiling didn’t go well with me,” Hatanga added. “I felt that as a state of Uganda, we were insulted.”
The magistrate does not intend on visiting China again.
Featured Image via Pixabay.
