Lanterns restaurant staff who denied entry to veil-clad woman is 'not Indian', claims witness

NOB | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The staff who allegedly denied entry to a veil-clad woman at a popular restaurant in Adliya is not an Indian, claims a witness.

Bahraini Mariam Naji who apparently shot a video of the incident at Lanterns restaurant that went viral and thus brought it to the attention of the kingdom’s authorities, said that she was upset how unpleasant the whole incident had turned out.

Naji, a friend of the woman who was turned away, had earlier posted about the incident from her Twitter account on March 26, informing that the manager was not Indian.

Following are the words of Naji:

“Hello first of all. I am very sad about the news and the rumors. Actually the man (manager) wasn’t Indian. And trust me, I can recognize Indian guys. So please stop doing that. Please, please, stop doing that. Not even happy about what I saw. So… I sit with the owner, Indian owner… he was very kind with us and he apologized with us… about what happened. So we closed the case, and this it, and this (is) the truth. Don’t even listen to the news. You have to know the true story. You can even see that I am not wearing the hijab, my friend was wearing the hijab. Because of that I make a video. So, yes, thank you.”

Naji also states claims to know the actual nationality of the staff who took the offensive step. She thought it was her responsibility to reveal the nationality of the person after several social media users ended up falsely targeting the Indian community and a particular Indian political group which she believes is unfair.

However since News of Bahrain believes that this particular incident has nothing to do with the nationality of the person but only on his action, we do not wish to repeat those particular words of Naji. We (NOB) only hope to clear a misunderstanding instead of blaming another party. Further revelations will be made according to information being let out by the Bahrain authorities.

Meanwhile, Lanterns restaurant told the News of Bahrain that it did not wish to make any comments on the matter since it was an ongoing investigation.

It was reported earlier that the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA) launched a probe asking tourism outlets to comply with the regulations and avoid any policy that violates the laws of the kingdom. The department issued a statement saying, “We reject all actions that discriminate against people, especially regarding their national identity.”

It further called on the public to report such incidents to the authority through National Complaints and Suggestion system Tawasul or by calling the Consumer Protection Centre on 17007003.

Meanwhile, in a statement posted on social media earlier, Lanterns management apologized for the mistake committed by one of the staff, which brought disgrace to the organization. “We have suspended the duty manager based on our investigation,” the restaurant said.

“We have been serving our customers from all nationalities living in this beautiful Kingdom for over 35 years now. Ours is a place for everyone to come and enjoy with their families and feel at home.

“In this instance, a mistake has been made by a manager who has been suspended and this doesn’t represent who we are,” the restaurant said.

Lanterns is a popular Indian restaurant brand in the kingdom with branches in four cities including Budaiya, Amwaj, Adliya, Riffa.