On January 13, 1989, I traveled home from my mission. The first leg of my trip was from Munich to London Gatwick Airport, then on to Cincinnati, Salt Lake City, and Idaho Falls. I was released as a missionary on January 14, 1989. If you want more details about missionary travel, see my Missionary Air Travel post.
This story is about an experience I had during my layover at London Gatwick Airport.
Three weeks earlier, on December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. A bomb hidden in a suitcase in the cargo hold destroyed the plane. That flight had originated in Frankfurt, Germany, and was traveling through London on its way to Detroit.
At the time, it was not yet fully confirmed who was responsible. It was only suspected that a Libyan terrorist organization had planted the bomb.
I had a three-hour layover in London. After I landed and got off the plane, I walked through the airport to a different gate for my connecting flight. While I was waiting, I wrote what became my last missionary journal entry. In it I reflected on how fast my two years as a missionary had passed, my desire to continue living missionary habits after returning home, and my anticipation of seeing my family again. My entry ended with a note that my flight had just been called over the loudspeaker and a comment that I would have translated the English announcement into German differently.
This was only the second time I had ever traveled by airplane. I was by myself and still a little unsure about how air travel worked.
When our flight was called to board, we had to go through a security line. The security counter was more like a grocery store checkout line, with a larger conveyor belt counter where passengers placed their carry-on luggage. There was no X-ray scanner like you see in airports today.
Right in front of me in line was a man who looked to be about 30 or 40 years old. He looked like he was from a Middle Eastern country, and he did not speak English very well. He was carrying a plastic grocery bag as his carry-on luggage.
He placed his bag on the counter. The security agent opened it and removed a Sony Walkman with headphones. Then the agent opened a drawer, got out a screwdriver, and proceeded to remove all the screws from the device. He completely disassembled it, laying each internal component and wire on the counter as he took it apart.
When he was finished, he scooped all the parts back into the bag, handed it back to the man, and directed him to proceed to board.
The man seemed unsure about what was happening, but he also did not have enough English to protest very much. I do not remember looking around to see how other passengers reacted. I was focused on what was happening right in front of me and trying to figure out air travel myself. What I do remember is that the agent did not even open my bag.
I was astonished. It was hard to believe the blatant discrimination that man experienced right in front of me.
.jpeg)