Passenger in French plane stops deportation of a Haitian

A passenger aboard a French plane took the defense of a Haitian in the process of being deported to Haïti, feet and hands bound.
 
The incident occured at Orly Airport on March 17, 2010 around 10h30  on CORSAIR SS flight 0866,  destination Pointe à Pitre via Fort de France.  Frank Alexander, a French citizen, heard screams and shuffling from the back of the airliner. 

He noticed police officers in plainclothes and in uniform trying to subdue around a black man handcuffed with his hands behind his back and feet tied.  One officer had his left leg on the man called Charly while with his hands, he held his face while another policeman was helping his colleague to keep Chaly seated. 

Charly, the Haitian national, kept yelling that he would not return to Haiti, he had lost everything, his house, his relatives and that he preferred to go to jail here because there there was only death , reports Frank Alexander.  "I immediately rebelled at this situation," said the French citizen, "knowing what these people just went through  and there is a truce between France and Haiti, a truce that allows any Haitian citizen to apply for asylum on French territory. "

Mr. Alexander asked the police officers  "Is it normal to keep this man in this way as inhuman, humiliating and unacceptable?"
 
Frank Alexander sought and obtained the support of other passengers aboard the aircraft to defend the cause of Haitian citizen, subject to deportation.   

Meanwhile, he was able to telephone a news team from France 2 television to inform them of the deportation pending.  

Shortly after the captain, alerted by the call, stopped the aircraft at the runway end and the policemen disembarked along with Charly who has been able to avoid deportation to Haiti.

Here is the testimony of Frank Alexander:


Mr. President,


                         Following our telephone conversation of March 18, 2010, regarding my involvement with the police on board a flight to avoid CORSAIR deportation of Haitian nationals, I send you an e-mail address to tell in detail what I witnessed.

                         10:30, Orly Sud March 17, 2010, vol CORSAIR SS 0866 11:10 departure flights to Pointe a Pitre Fort de France through.

                         It was 10:35 when I am on board the plane with my girlfriend.  A few minutes later,  our attention was taken by loud screams and a commotion coming from the back of the plane where several policemen in plain clothes and uniformed were trying to restrain a black man .

                         I asked a flight attendant what is happening and she responded that was being deported  to his home country.

                          I asked to know the nationality of this man, and to my amazement I learned that he was Haitian.

                          I immediately rebelled at this situation, knowing what these people just went through and there is a truce between France and Haiti, a truce that allows any citizen of Haiti to seek asylum on French soil.

                          So I took the decision to go to the back of the plane to make inquiries to the 2 policemen in civilian clothes, who were detaining with this Haitian man, handcuffed behind his back, feet bound as if that person was a dangerous criminal to the point that one officer had his left leg on top of the leg of the Haitian man, his hands over his his face, as if he was a dangerous criminal.  The Haitian man kept yelling that he would not return to Haiti, he had lost everything, his home, his family and would rather go to jail here because there is there was only death there.

                 So I went to the back and, after questioning about the status of this man, I asked if it was normal to keep a person in that inhuman and humiliating way.  Was it unacceptable? These 2 officers told me that in fact Mr Charly had a valid passport with a visa that had expired and unfortunately it was a little late to rectify the situation. They were escorted him to Guadeloupe where he could maybe try to regularize his status since he came from that French territory.

              Meanwhile a pediatric physician, practicing in the St Vincent de Paul Hospital in Paris, joined me in lobbying for the police.  At first they released their grip on Charly.  The Doctor tried to take his pulse, as Charlie was in a state of panic, fear, anxiety and extreme nervousness. The doctor even offered to give him a sedative, but the police have categorically refused.

             Given this situation, I asked the steward that the captain comes on the scene.  He came and ordered us to go we sit down and ask Charlie to stop resisting.  Hen then decided to take off.

            I told him that anyway there was no question that the plane would lift off with on board a person who was held in these conditions and therefore I refused to sit down.  I asked the people who approved me to please stand.  Many travelers who thought my cause justified, including a couple who gave me their contacts in case they needed to testify and promised to send me some pictures taken on board by the end of their stay in Martinique.

            Meanwhile, the captain was moving his aircraft toward the runway.  Seeing no alternative, I decided to call France 2 TV, reporting service, to inform them of the situation and hoping that it would perhaps refrain the captain from his decision.

           After explaining what happened on that flight to the news director, Mr Olivier Carow,  I again asked the steward to inform the captain of my decision to contact France 2.  A few minutes later, he made an announcement that he is compelled to stop the plane to allow the deplaning of an "illegal person".

         It is also a vehicle for the PAF that came to the back of boeing 747 and the police descended from the plane with Charly.

          We took off at 12.35.

        I had Mr. Carow from the phone, he confirmed to me that Charlie had returned to a detention center for 3 or 4 days, but the fact that I had to intervene for TV, it was quite possible that authorities think twice about the expulsion of Charly, and that they would conduct an investigation as to whether the conditions of the truce were followed and, if so, he would do a story on it.

        In the hope that my intervention will allow all these "CHARLY" to live in dignity and to close their wounds, and if tomorrow I must again repeat what I did, with great pride I begin again ...

        I am at your disposal for further information  Mr President.
May my testimony serve a just cause.