South African activist Zackie Achmat detained, questioned in US airport

EBRAHIM Rasool, a former South African Ambassador to the United States, has urged people of colour to exercise caution when visiting the United States.

- THEOLIN TEMBO

This after health and political activist Zackie Achmat was detained by the US Customs and Border Protection for several hours while returning from Canada.

Achmat, 63, was detained by US customs and border agents at Pearson Airport.

He was travelling to Cape Town with a connecting flight through Newark.

Achmat had received the inaugural Paul Farmer Award for Global Health Equity, which was established in honour of the late Dr Paul Farmer, a physician, advocate, and global health icon.

While initially receiving the award last year, Achmat only arrived last week to accept it in person.

Speaking on his ordeal, Achmat said, “A very dumpy MAGA member, who will not be relerred to by their gender because they were really horrible, asked me whether I was carrying anything biological. I asked what they meant? (They said) ‘Biological, you know.

“Tm like, ‘no, I don't know’ Is it my underpants, my dirty underpants?”

Achmat said that he was asked a series of successive questions about who he spoke to and where he stayed.

Despite his internal reservations about not sharing the information, he did inform them that he was in Montreal after being invited to give a talk.