• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Barber shaves beard– after people repeatedly made him feel like a TERRORIST on tube

A barber claims he has been forced to completely change his appearance – after people repeatedly made him feel like a TERRORIST. John Essien, 37, who is black British, said he noticed people whispering about him and refusing to sit next to him on public transport. On one occasion while on the tube, he said […]

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2017-05-09 10:28
in News
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

A barber claims he has been forced to completely change his appearance – after people repeatedly made him feel like a TERRORIST.

John Essien, 37, who is black British, said he noticed people whispering about him and refusing to sit next to him on public transport.

On one occasion while on the tube, he said people even fled the carriage he was in when his hairdressing clippers started vibrating in his bag.

To try and stop the cruel behaviour, he has shaved off his beard and stopped carrying a rucksack – and now says people have a completely new opinion of him.

John said: “One time I was sat on the train and I had clippers in my bag and they went off.

“I lifted the bag to check them and people started running from the carriage. One lady looked at me and she just froze.

RelatedPosts

Ofcom says its wont pursue complaints about Susanna Reid’s interview with PM

Abottlelypse Now: UK on brink of beer bottle shortage

Nick Ferrari says ‘nobody cares’ whether Johnson met with Sue Gray

Elizabeth line: When does London’s latest tube line open?

“I took the clippers out of my bag and waved them to show people what it was.

“Their reaction was a clear an indication of what they all thought.”

John, who has four daughters, admits he could understand some alarm but wishes people were not so judgmental.

On other occasions he says he noticed people taking the option of standing up rather than taking seats next to him even when tubes were completely packed.

The qualified hairdresser who lives in Amersham, Bucks., said it started to get to him when people were ignoring him.

He said: “Not judging people goes a long way – we’re all equal and I think people do need to speak out and understand.

“I started getting paranoid. I thought ‘do I smell?’

“It was getting to me. It was a horrible experience.

“I would see people start whispering about me. I could feel eyes on me every day.

“I’d have a seat next to me and no one would get next to me.

“One girl came and sat next to me once and she was completely on the edge of the seat – as far away from me as she could.”

John even says on some occasions he felt intimidated by police – with officers standing in his way and watching him as he purchased tickets for public transport.

He said: “I never had any trouble like that before when I grew up travelling in London.

“I just thought it must be how I looked now with the beard.

“Once I shaved all my beard off it was completely different.

“People would say good morning. I got into work after I did it and people asked how I was and I said ‘great, people said hello to me today’ and they started laughing.”

When he was younger John says he faced racism regularly due to the colour of his skin but that it had not been an issue for almost twenty years.

He said: “I grew up with intimidation. I had to run away from skin heads when I was younger.

“I thought most of the racism went away and now it feels like it’s come back.

“I used to get really mad when I was younger. But now I don’t want that.

“People said I shouldn’t change but they weren’t dealing with that situation.”

John want people to think more before judging others.

He added: “I didn’t want to be judged all the time. I don’t want to feel racism every day.

“I just want to speak out and have people hear about it.

“All I am doing is going to work, trying to fit in with society and being polite to people every day.”

A spokesperson for anti-racism group ‘HOPE not hate’ has spoken about against the prejudice towards John Essien.

In a statement, they said: “This is a sad indictment of the fear currently prevalent in some parts of society.

“A beard shouldn’t automatically lead to a presumption that someone is a terrorist.”

HOPE not hate was formed in 2004 and says it aims to “provide a positive antidote to the politics of hate”.

Read “How the West is funding terrorism” Click Here 

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Claims Honda is about to close factory in Britain with loss of over 3,500 jobs

Jack Monroe nailed Jacob Rees-Mogg’s Easter tweet to the cross

Sir Keir Starmer forced to pause Labour leadership campaign

Emily Thornberry brings the house down in PMQs

Food poverty campaigner Jack Monroe hails ONS inflation changes

Public dissatisfaction with the NHS has doubled, survey reveals

Hancock runs away from reporters as they ask about Cummings giving evidence

Pub reveals puppet of Jacinda Ardern in time-honoured tradition

What to Expect from An Online Master’s Degree?

Five Year Plan For Bringing Down Business Energy Bills

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.