Black MEP Magid Magid says he was 'asked if he was lost' and 'told to leave' on first day of European Parliament
Green Party MEP Magid Magid has today claimed that he was asked to leave the European Parliament on his first day on the job in Strasbourg.
In a tweet posted by the 30-year-old former lord mayor of Sheffield, the activist said that he told to leave the building as someone thought that he was lost and therefore shouldn't have been there.
Magid posted a picture of himself outside the building, wearing a backwards yellow baseball cap, shorts and a black t-shirt with 'f**k facism' written on it. The image was captioned with the following:
Your face when you've just had someone ask if you're lost and then you're told to leave, on your first day at work.
I know I'm visibly different. I don't have the privilege to hide my identity. I'm BLACK and my name is Magid. I don't to try to fit in. Get used to it.
Magid's tweet has since been shared more than 1,000 times and he has received support from many people, including his colleagues.
Magid has since followed up his tweet, thanking people for the support and confirmed that he didn't leave the parliament when he was asked to.
A statement from Magid Magid given to Indy100 reads as follows:
After the opening of the European Parliament building, I was walking within the grounds when I was approached by a man in a suit. It could have been anyone - a regular staff member, or a fascist MEP, I don't know.
The man hurriedly came towards me and probed, "are you lost?". I replied, "do I look lost?", trying to casually get by and joke with the man. He then stared at me for a second, before assertively telling me to ‘leave the building’.
I stood my ground of course, and when I showed him my MEP pass, he smirked and walked off without apology or response.
This isn't the first time I've been made to feel out of place in my life. I'm used to it - and I've never attempted to fit in or to hide away. The path towards becoming an MEP has been paved with incidents like this where just my presence and existence has made people uncomfortable.
While I'm not surprised at what happened, I felt it was best to use this opportunity to highlight how much work needs to be done to make the European Parliament and the EU in general, a truly inclusive and representative body.
It’s business as usual for me. I can't wait to get started and get to work.
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