Dear Friends
I hope you are well!
My dear husband Peter John Levi and myself have decided not to
travel by train in France although neither of us drive and it causes
us a grave financial prejudice ...
Employees of the only railway company in France always
planning for their next strike, have told us in the most threatening
way we should not use the train if
planning for their next strike, have told us in the most threatening
way we should not use the train if
we dont like their bullying ways...
So we are just passing on to you, dear friends, their own order!
So we are just passing on to you, dear friends, their own order!
And its true, dear friends, we don't like being bullied...
we don't like being treated unfairly....we don't like to be terrorized...
so we must make this difficult choice once for all as we don't feel
safe any more taking trains in France ...
Not because of the French population, as we have adorable French
Friends who are really loving and respectful....
and very often because of my long humanitarian work I speak to
individuals some would not approach because of their neglected
appearences reminding of those of homeless tramps etc
but they happen to be the kindest individuals at time...
No my dear friends...its not about pickpockets or those seen as
criminals or terrorists...but it's about those who are supposed to
serve us clients of the train company and the ones who are
supposed to protect civilians....the armed police working in fact to
support the members of staff of the railway company in their
bullying of clients...
But please read this long letter we just wrote to the person in charge
of the French Railway company....to understand the absurdity
of the situations we have suffered...
My only call to all my Dear French friends is to mobilise to obtain
from the French government
to allow PRIVATE COMPANIES TO RUN TRAINS IN FRANCE
alongside the railway company who detains now the MONOPOLY
holding us all hostages of their abusive unfair selfish practices!!!
It is now unfortunately an utopia for this current monopoly
company to ever privatise....they pretend this is in the name of
PUBLIC SERVICE...but the only public service rendered is the
one of the PUBLIC bullied at THEIR service!!!
one of the PUBLIC bullied at THEIR service!!!
Well, if you have a bit of time, please read the following letter...
Much love,
sister lucy
Without prejudice
Dear Sir,
I am writing to you
to present very grave facts for your attention concerning the
recurring abusive
behaviour of some
members of your staff.
Firstly I will
explain what happened, secondly I will ask for your help in solving
this specific situation in a fair manner, then I will make some
suggestions to improve the services of the SNCF.
1) FACTS
On 29/04/2016, my
husband and I had to take the train to go to Chartres.
We were not well and
had to go to visit a Doctor in Chartres, urgently.
My husband and I
have senior cards.
My husband had his
senior card on him, but I had forgotten my bag and my senior card was
in it.
On the platform a
lady in need approached me. I spoke to her and listened to her as she
seemed to be very poorly with her health and under the influence of
drugs. She asked me for some money.
I found five Euros
in my pocket and gave it to her.
I am involved in
humanitarian work since very young helping people for free.
As soon as we set
foot in the train, an ill-mannered controller, rushed on us, ignoring
everybody else, ordering,”Show me your tickets!”
My husband who was
holding our two tickets went to sit down first for security reasons,
because he was unwell and to avoid falling, as the train was
departing
We were both feeling
sick so the harsh orders of the controller
not caring for our
security could have resulted in us falling as he was intending to
prevent us
from sitting just
when the train was departing!
The French lady came
in the train with us and sat beside us as she needed to carry on
talking…
She was a kind lady
and I felt for her as she spoke about her sad life.
The aggressive
controller rushed again on us, he did not control anyone else in our
compartment,
so we cant help
thinking that he was after us because he heard us speaking in
English.
He inspected our
tickets with a hostile manner looking for any possible faults we
could have made. We had paid for the tickets and everything was in
order and it was also clicked (composte).
So he carried on
scrutinizing our tickets for a long time, trying to find some faults
with it, then he suddenly noticed that there was a reduction, maybe
around two Euros each because we had senior cards, jumping on that,
he fiercely demanded “Show me your senior cards!” The word please
does not come into his vocabulary!!!
My husband had his
senior card on him, so I handed it to the controller who examined it
with huge attention but could not find any fault with it.
Then he demanded
mine which I realised when looking for it that I had unfortunately
forgotten it with my bag.
I told him that and
apologized explaining we are travelling a lot and we are sick going
to the doctor at short notice, which could made allowances for me
forgetting. I promised to bring it to the station as soon as possible
and anyhow I reminded him that senior cards are
nominatives and are all registered on the computers of
the SNCF. So I said you can check it on your computer with
my name, you will see that I did pay for my senior card which is
valid. He said “never mind, you don't have your card on you, you
must pay me right now 35 Euros fine.”
The trip itself
return for two people was only 16 Euros! We had paid it to the full
and our tickets were proving it. The small reduction I had which I
could not justify because I did not have my senior card was just
around 2 Euros!!!!
My husband insisted
to speak to someone who spoke English, the controller replied in a
perfect English “I only speak French”, refusing so to allow my
husband to express himself in his language and kept at me,
threatening me that if I did not pay he would call the police.
He added Give me
your passport or identity card.
My husband and I
both felt, including the lady sitting with us that this was such an
abusive disproportionate behaviour!
Another French
person too in our compartment was outraged at the way we were treated
and told us how she hated the manners of the employees and the bad
services of the SNCF and she told us she had not paid for her ticket
and that she often cheated because she thought she had been cheated
too often by the SNCF without any pay back! She was going to Paris
but they did not check her. Maybe other people too in the compartment
did not care to buy their tickets but no one else was bothered or
controlled. For this reason we believe this was a racist attack as it
was obvious to many witnesses that this controller looked obsessed
with giving us and us only as much grief as he could!
“Since I have
forgotten my bag”, I told him “I don't have any
money on me, unfortunately! I can't
pay!!!Anyhow I find this attack on us disproportionate with the
offence! For a few Euros reduction one should not be treated in such
harsh manner since we have our duly paid tickets on us. To have to
suffer such unfair treatment and threats is inhuman and humiliating.
I said then, if you want to see my ID I wish to see yours, please
give me your name or number because I am not happy with the way I am
treated.” He refused to give me his name or ID and I looked at his
badge, there was no name no number written on it!!!
We are starting to
think that the best thing which could happen to this company is to
become a totally private company since then members of staff would be
under the obligation to wear a badge
with their names
that clients could note when needed which would keep employees
accountable
and responsible
instead of this all powerful immunity they get which goes to their
heads as clients are hostage of their likes or dislikes and crushed
under their despotic thumb without any chance to defend themselves or
report bad treatments to the Direction!!!
He kept on
threatening to call the police and rising his voice, then my husband
and I said we would rather talk to the police.
He said okay and he
left.
The French lady who
had followed us in the train and was still sitting in front of me,
told me she felt
very sad for me, as she had developed a liking for me as a friend
listening to her problems although we had never met before, she was
extremely shocked herself at the way we were both treated and as a
French lady she kept on apologizing saying “I am so sad the
controller was so bad to you, she even added, it gives me a lot of
grief, please don't worry, I pray all will be well for you!”
I was very touched
by her love and it proves how kind many French people are.
Although she was
very unwell and a financially poor person and by her neglected poor
appearance looking a bit like a tramp, one could have been scared of
approaching her, she was the nicest kindest person whilst the ones
who were supposed to serve us were harsh bullies, behaving like
gangsters.
When we arrived in
Chartres,
The police were
there waiting for us, two weak retired people, with their paid
tickets, just because I had forgotten my senior card with my bag!!!
They were about ten
armed big men some with dogs and one or two ladies!!!
What a waste of
tax-payer money you would say since it is the citizens who pay for
the police wages in the first place to be protected by them!!!
I spoke to one of
the policemen who approached me. He allowed me to explain myself,
which I did as well as I could given that I was not well and under a
shock.
Then he repeated
what I said in a distorted way although he was trying to be calm.
He said that I was
caught without a ticket. I immediately corrected, “No we both have
our duly
paid tickets with
us!!!”
I wanted to add, it
was my senior card I had forgotten with my bag.
but he then told me
harshly,
“I had let you
talk, but now you are going to shut up and listen to me, so shut
up!”
I felt bullied to
silence!
Unable to defend
myself even if I disagreed with the distorted version of what I had
just said.
The controller was
given my passport which he kept a long time, wrote lots of things, I
don't even know what they did against my name as it was not explained
to me. I must now waste a lot of my precious time to find out what
damage they created against me and sort it out as they did not even
give me any address to write to, or to complain or to follow my file.
Later on I asked an address where to complain to the information desk
of the railway station but as I have no name no number to report the
controller etc., one of my friends who is a French lawyer told me,
one can guess you will be sent from an office to another without end,
as they usually do to avoid compensating unsatisfied clients!
He advised me to
write to you, the President, instead, explaining that himself and
members of his family as well as members of the public had suffered
similar abuses at the hands of the SNCF employees and that certainly
the President of the company would need to know what is happening
behind his back. He deplored as many dissatisfied clients of the
SNCF, who are entitled to feel that some of the police working along
the SNCF seem badly trained nowadays into bullying clients rather
than protecting them because they seem to have developed a kind of
corporative silent code of conduct to protect each other along with
the members of SNCF, to protect their immunity as civil servants,
hence they don't seem to do their service in a fair neutral manner
but rather only reinforce “at gun point”, the abusive treatments
of clients by the employees of the SNCF, to serve their private
interests as a corporative body rather than customer service and real
justice.
This is precisely
why they don't write names on badges not to be accountable or take
any responsibility for their actions or abuses.
As for my husband,
he asked to speak to a policeman who spoke English and he finally
found one
who did accept to
speak English with him. They had a long conversation, as we thought
we had been picked because we spoke English, in a punitive racist
act.
The policeman said
he had foreign origins himself so he was not racist.
Then he looked my
husband in the eyes and told him if I see you again I will remember
you,
which my husband
felt was a direct threat to him personally.
As for me, I was
approached by other policemen since they were many and I had to
repeat all over again what happened saying it was disproportionate
that such fine should be paid for a two Euros reduction, on a paid
ticket, that clients should not be threatened by the police for such
thing, that such a huge amount of policemen should not be wasted on
two retired ill people,
who needed
assistance rather than bullying, this was outrageous and a mockery!!!
That it was
unacceptable! That all my life I had been involved in humanitarian
work, that I have letters of thanks from French ministers and
senators for reviving French culture abroad through organising
charity shows, that I will have to contact MPs to explain what we
suffered and that I will write this as well on the internet because I
felt it was outrageous and should be brought to the attention of the
media to avoid anyone else suffering such abuse in the future!
To that a policeman
said I was allowed to write how I felt but that right now I was
ordered to give my passport to be given a fine since I did not
have the money to pay the 35 Euros and if I refused
I would be
arrested!!!
Although they
could have all consulted their computer to check I did have my senior
card under my name which is valid, nobody agreed to do that. Since
the cards are nominatives, it is impossible to cheat, it is all on
their computers and this would have ended up this sinistre farce in a
win-win situation and mainly would have shown some customer care
rather than customer bullying to two distressed older people!!!!
However they
would rather waste tax-payer money to intimidate clients instead
of finding
amicable faster solutions to sort out such details in a human
charitable way
valuing their
customers.
They justify such
unethical behaviour saying they have a firm instruction to practice
zero tolerance for paying clients of the SNCF, such policy
being ordered by you, their head office. According to them, being
considerate to clients, excusing that errare
humanum est, isn't part of their upbringing and corporate
training any longer.
However we noticed
they seem to only pick on paying clients who appear to have
enough money on
themselves as they turn a blind eye to tramp looking individuals who
cant pay their tickets and use regularly the train without tickets
like the lady who explained such habit to us. As for the police they
come in force to threaten women and older innocent civilians and
terrorise them for trivial things which could be sorted amicably by a
good will company but seem to let dangerous criminals run away,
happily carry on their crimes!!! Times are now far where kind
policemen were respected as heroes for offering their arm to older
ladies helping them to safely cross the street!
In our case all
around 10 policemen kept very busy with our laughable case trying to
intimidate us
that we had to do as
we were told even if we considered this disproportionate and unfair!
Another policeman
who was talking for a while to the controller approached me rising
his voice telling me he was told by the controller “it is not the
first time this happens to you, this is why he fined you.”
I replied “I don't
know this controller and he is now slandering my name by lying about
me, so if it happened before let him show the proof. There is quite a
long time we did not take the train!!!”
I was told by
some French friends that it was known some controllers would fine
tourists in unethical ways and cash directly in their pockets the
fine without declaring it to the company.
I thought this might
have been his motivation at first and that's why he lied to save his
skin, later on,
as maybe he should
have only given us a warning first and if caught a few times more,
demand us to pay a fine.
We seldom take the
train because of employees like him, to protect our health from
stress we had taken a decision to avoid the train as much as
possible. We had mainly travelled with friends in their cars, in
buses, and in taxis for a long time!
But unfortunately
for us, that day we had no other solution than taking the train.
Another employee of
the railway company supported as echoes by a policeman added,
“If you don't
like it then don't use the train!
drive and don't
take the train!!!”
To which I replied
“We don't drive but we will make sure to follow your advice and to
give the same to all our friends!”
Unfortunately
your railway company has the monopoly in France and the members of
staff are civil servants who refuse the privatisation of this company
by striking erratically, hurting many poor French workers, who suffer
from their continual strikes preventing them to go to work very
often, or making them late to work, hence in a position to lose some
of their wages or their job all together but this body of staff from
the railway company are very selfish and don't care at all about
other workers than themselves.
For the least
little thing happening to them, or to get more money in their pay, or
more advantages for themselves, in brief, using the least little
excuse, they go on strikes and passengers, mainly workers, have to
get packed like cattle in reduced services standing in smelly trains,
with stinking toilets out of order the majority of the time, not to
forget that toilets have been suppressed in the majority of the
stations following a new despicable trend.
Because I said I
would write about it on the internet, one of the policemen insisted I
should give him my twitter account address, adding with a sarcastic
threatening tone, “Be sure we will follow you too!” To which I
replied, “I don't have to give it to you, I only give it to my
friends.”
This to me was
direct intimidation from a policeman reducing my freedom of
expression,
once again not
allowing us to defend ourselves!!!
Whatever argument my
dear husband and I were saying in our defence was immediately
conteracted by one of the many employees and policemen united all
around us, distorting our words, threatening us, blaming us and
telling us we should not use the train any more!!!
When you find
yourself two ill older people surrounded by men in black with weapons
at the service of employees who can openly bully you and lay down
their unfair diktat on you…
I call this
situation being taken hostage…
as no fair choice is
given to you but to endure the abuse!!!
I told them “This
railway company owes us and many many other clients like us a lot of
money, we can never claim back!
Because many times
we along with others were stuck waiting for the train or in the train
for hours because they were late, missing our important appointments.
Also because of
their continual strikes, it has been chronically making our lives
impossible!
I feel for younger
workers who have to go to work everyday paying a bomb to SNCF
to get a horrible
service and then if they dare to complain or if they forget anything,
clients are pinned down to pay disproportionated fines, to be abused
verbally and then threatened by the police!!
In the past we had a
few episodes of being unable to perform the archaic clicking
(composter) of tickets in old fashioned machines before boarding a
train which can be putting your life in danger if you have to run to
catch your train, especially if like us, you have a heart or lung
condition. Sometimes trains are not announced early enough but only
at the last minute, then we have to run not to miss the train. It
also happened in the past when I had to use crutches we did not have
time to click our tickets and I apologized to the controllers as soon
as I saw them, since sometimes they are not to be found, but they
harshly insisted we should pay a fine nevertheless! Maybe was it
hearing us talking in English as we heard from French friends that
some dishonest controllers use this way to get illegal tips they cash
without telling the company!
We get the strange
horrid impression that in the French railway company everything is
done to suit the civil servant employees and that clients are just
their submissive victims...captive audience…
to be kicked in the
butt!
If one is
fortunate enough to occasionally meet some polite kind employees,
they are the first ones to criticise the system they work for and say
openly they dislike their job because of the evil way they have to
treat the clients…Even some kinder policeman told us, he truly
hated his job nowadays and felt suicidal having to bully innocent
weaker members of the public for trivial human errors!
It would be too long
to tell all the bad experiences we or some of our friends lived on
the French Railways!!!
But there
is a second main occasion we must mention! Because things went as
absurd as in Kafka writings describing the overpowering
administration persecuting weak individuals in a disproportionate and
arbitrary all powerful tyrannical manner, reminding us nauseating
flavours of concentration camp trains where individuals were packed
in trains without toilets and beaten up for no reason…
I must tell you
now about this other main event.
This first event was
around two years ago. My husband and I spend a lot of money in
transport by train as we are travelling a lot and that day we were
coming to Paris with the train and had to take another transport
later on to go to the UK. Since we had a few hours in between both,
my husband was tired, he had a bad knee and could not stand up for
long and I had to do some shopping, I thought he would be safe on the
seats outside of the waiting room to quietly having his sandwich.
I went for around an
hour or two and when I came back I was really shocked to see my
beloved husband waiting standing up leaning against the wall in pain
waiting for me. I rushed towards him to ask him why he was not
sitting as many chairs were available in the sitting area in front of
the waiting room.
He was very upset
and told me that he had been bullied by members of the railway
company who told him he had no right to sit in this area. They had
asked him to show a train ticket which unfortunately I had with me in
my bag, as we did not think he would have to show one. Because he did
not have any ticket and although he did his best to explain himself,
explaining I had the tickets and would come back, that he had to wait
for me in the waiting room because I would not find him if he went
somewhere else in the crowd and that he was not well and needed to
remain seated, though he does not speak French the employee was
speaking enough English to understand what he was saying. However in
a merciless harsh manner the employee told him to stand up that he
was not entitled to sit without showing a proof such as a train
ticket.
My husband was
very angry and deeply shaken by such treatment. He was dizzy and he
could have fainted, at his age, falling on the floor could have
resulted in his death!
When I heard that, I
got really upset and deeply hurt at the bad treatment my husband had
been subjected to and I was determined to speak to a person in charge
to make a huge complaint.
However when the
employee saw me talking to my husband he rushed on me and although I
have shown him immediately the train tickets, he rose his voice
saying “That's the rule, your husband should have had his ticket on
him.” To that I replied, “How can you dare ask an older man to
get up when he tells you he is not well, his wife has the tickets,
and he needs to remain where he is, not to get lost as he does not
speak French, seeing that there are empty chairs all around, such
unethical behaviour is not acceptable, I need to have your name and
speak to a person in charge.”
He immediately
screamed louder approaching me with threatening gestures, purposely
hiding his badge, saying “Okay then I am going to call the police
and you won't be able to go to England today because you will be kept
in jail instead of going back home.” Although we were really
shocked at his abnormal comments and hateful attitude, my husband and
I replied, “Well, yes we want to see the police, please call them”
and I added “Actually I not only want to report that to the police
but I will write to my MP about it to make sure this will never
happen again,” to that he replied, I have to mention here this man
was visibly a Muslim and had a very thick Foreign accent when he was
speaking French, “I don't care about your President! Fuck the
President of France!”.
The fact for him to
call the President of France YOUR President whilst civil servants
working for the SNCF are supposed to be French citizens was already a
shocking statement by itself reinforcing with swear words was simply
not professional and a personal insult to the President of France!
Then he called the
police. A few policemen armed with machine guns arrived, one of them
was a woman. I was really shocked by all this absurd revolting
aggressive behaviour and suffering from emotional trauma, so I
approached the armed policewoman to explain myself a bit shaky, it
was noisy all around because of trains coming and going and crowds of
people as it was in Paris Montparnasse Station and I wanted to be
sure to be heard as I was outraged at the way we were treated,
however as soon as I started talking, the policewoman became very
aggressive and threatened me with her weapon saying, “Ah don't come
near me! Are you trying to aggress me? You are trying to aggress me
now!
To what even more
amazed, I replied “Of course not!”
She had only being
listening to the lying version of the employee of the SNCF but was
not prepared to allow me to tell my version, as I was more and more
desperately trying to break through to her
that the so called
employee had just insulted the President of France on top, she made
sure I got it that she would not hesitate to arrest me if I dared say
another word!!!
I simply added
nevertheless, “I just need to be heard as I am outraged at the way
my husband and I were treated”, to that the policewoman was
determined to show she had no time to hear what I had to say but only
wanted to repress us and she kept repeating louder than me “You
have no right to stay in the waiting room without train tickets”,
whilst I was desperately showing her our tickets, she pretended she
did not see and said, “If you insist I will have to arrest you.”
I then decided that
in this David and Goliath moment...that policewoman deliberately did
not want to hear what I had to say but only repress me to get rid of
the situation and the injustice of it was not her concern…
So that as we had to
go back to the UK the same day, I left the situation but nevertheless
added,
“I will tell all
that to my MP as such treatment of civilian passengers who spend so
much money to buy their tickets at hight prices is not acceptable!!!”
She then said “Do
what you want but go away now if not I will arrest you.”
My husband who was
really angry went to the information office and asked for the station
manager who spoke English, to his disbelief the station manager told
him “This sort of things happens everyday, people sitting in the
waiting room getting told they cant sit there and them complaining
about it!!!”
My husband replied
“Does that not suggest to you that there is something wrong with
the way your member of staff is handling things?”
To that the manager
did not reply……
We then had to leave
to go to the UK
I was shaking all
over and was not well for days …and neither was my husband.
I could not
accept the way older people are treated by the members of staff
supposed to serve them and the police supposed to protect them.
Just imagining my dear husband standing for two hours in pain was
making me ill with outrage! And to have been repressed on top and
threatened to be arrested for expressing it, was even more unbearable
and a frightening foreboding for the type of society we are living
behind to younger generations for whom I care very much and I will do
my best to help getting a better future until I die, following my
life long dedication to volunteer humanitarian work!
It really
affected my physical health as it was too much for me to comprehend!
My husband too
was very angry for days and this also affected his health as we
both hate injustice as many of our dear friends know, not only
against ourselves but against anyone on this planet!
The feeling of being
powerless and not to be allowed to defend ourselves is making it even
worse!
As in the
previous incidents, I did ask the members of staff in question for
their names or their number and they refused to give it, the man
actually removed his badge for me not to see it and I was powerless
to make any complaint about him and his unprofessional behaviour!
Is this really
becoming a reflection of the brainwashing of police and
administration to oppress civilians in stead of serving and
protecting them as they should, by their head office as some of them
say?
It is even more
inhuman when targeting older people, disables, children and women.
I was on crutches at
the time, but this did not prevent them to bully us and refuse us a
seat.
This hurt so much
that I decided not to speak about it any more to protect our mental
peace and I did not write about it for the same reasons.
2) RESOLVING THIS
CURRENT INCIDENT IN A DECENT MANNER
I called a friend
who is an international solicitor and he advised me to write to you
asking for your help to sort out our recent sad episode.
I am sending you a
photocopy of what your member of staff wrote as I don't know what it
means and what I am supposed to do about it. My maiden name is
Bellaiche but I use Levi, name of my husband, which you will find on
my senior card.
I am sending you a
photocopy of my senior card which you will find was valid at the
time.
We were so
terrorized that we did not even use our return tickets and lost the
money.
Please help to end
this sordid episode in a decent manner. I don't understand what your
employee badly scribbled on the papers he filled up. We never
received any more information about what to do and nobody told us
what to do next. Please help suppress any unfair procedure against my
name!
Since these senior
cards contain the names, date of birth etc., of each individual
buying them and are stored on the computers of the railway company,
so much so that when one loses it one can go back to ask for a new
one without having to pay again, it is then not acceptable to be
treated as a liar, a criminal for forgetting one at home or demanded
to pay disproportionate fines comparing to the price paid for the
trip in question, as precisely senior cards are designed to save
money for people who are struggling with low income and even at times
poverty!!!
The fact itself that
we were explaining the real truth, we were not well and going to a
doctor, given our age group and that I had forgotten my bag, should
have been followed by an act of compassion, a commercial gesture, and
not to put clients in a situation to aggravate their bad health and
put them in further danger whilst they were helpless to defend
themselves in front of a horde of armed men in black!
It is a pitiable
image which will remain as a solemn warning of dark times in store
for younger generations!
This sad episode
aggravated our health condition and causes us a grave financial
prejudice.
Also we now feel
terrorized to take the train and have to find other means of
transport.
It is abnormal
that members of staff of a train company having a monopoly
would terrorize clients and tell them not to use the train if they
don't like to be bullied by them and their friends policeman
reinforcing their bullying!
We ask that some
disciplinary action should be taken against the controllers who acted
rudely and harshly as we feel especially targeted by them for racist
reasons.
We are now deprived
of a major travelling means, to protect ourselves from bullying from
your members of staff, which is causing us a lot of damage, health
damage and financial damage…
Our solicitor
told us that we would be entitled to compensation in these instances.
3) REFLECTIONS AND
SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SERVICES
When asked why they
behave so harshly some members of staff and policemen say they are
just obeying orders coming from the top, of zero tolerance towards
clients and civilians.
Some who are kinder
say they hate their job and they are controlled by surveillance
cameras so they
can't afford to be
civil or compassionate to anyone if not they would be severely
punished by
the head office
themselves.
As much as one
understands that dangerous criminals should be apprehended, innocent
civilians and passengers travelling with valid paid tickets should be
served not bullied.
If some paying
passengers happen to forget some nominative cards or
be ill or sitting
in the waiting room, etc., some sensitive handling case by case
should occur creating a win-win solution towards customer care and
service rather than threatening clients by the armed police for
trivial incidents.
All this is
extremely strange and worrying for our society and deserves to be
brought to the attention of the media.
How can the members
of staff of the railway company in France pretend they refuse
privatisation because they give a Public Service???????
A private company
would demand their staff to be polite, accountable, fair to
customers, they would have to wear a badge on their uniforms with
their names on it for clients to be able to express their
dissatisfaction, instead of being taken hostage by them and the armed
men in black only paid to assist them in the bullying of clients!!!!
A paying client is not a criminal and all conflicts then should only
be handled by a civil court not armed police. In any case, criminal
law requires first a lawful judgement proving the offence to be
allowed to legally arrest a civilian!!!
I am now more and
more convinced privatisation would give a better service to all
clients.
The main service
anyone gets at the moment, are the employees who only serve their own
interest and treat tyrannically the poor clients!!!
Public service to
them means...the public at their
service!!!
They don't value
their clients and only fight for their own interest as a corporative
body…
On one occasion when
asking the name of an employee who was rude on the phone and refused
to do her duty, she replied sarcastically,
“My name is
Nicholas Sarkozi!”
They also make lose
the public railway company a LOT OF MONEY by their strikes and them
bullying clients who feed them, telling them bluntly, if you are
not happy don't take the train!!!
So we are entitled
to tell our dear friends...obeying the orders of the members of staff
of this railway company…reinforced by the police!!!
I am repeating their
own words...you better avoid taking the train when you come to France
as it is not safe for you…
and you could even
get heart attacks if you are older or in fragile health like
ourselves...and they won't care!!! to help you if you are not well!!!
Beware to forget anything as they will be no forgiveness, no mercy,
for you!!!
I am only repeating
their good advice..not to use their company and to find another way
of transport…
Although we don't
drive and don't have much money so we cant afford taxis...etc
we now pledged to
ourselves never never to take the train again..as they told us to..
instead of
apologizing or trying to be human, even just decent, that is the way
they feel allowed to talk to their clients…
because they feel
so strong for having a monopoly on the only trains in France…
This is what they
call public service!
So we all get
what public service means to them
it means the
public at their service…
and if the public
refuses to serve them their way
then the public
should be punished, put in jail
or not use the
trains at all!!!
As a French citizen
myself, I am sure you will agree with me if you have ever been in
England...you would know how kind employees of train stations and
even police are!!!
When one is
walking in London one is amazed at the number of French
people living and working there as well as in other parts of the
country! One never heard they suffer from racism! As a
French citizen myself I have made the UK my home for decades as I
always felt so safe and happy when in the UK…
paradoxically I only
started travelling again on the desire of my English husband
if not I would have
remained in the UK in my old age…It is only because I care for
the future of France, as I keep helping younger French people
within my artistic humanitarian projects, that I write this long
letter!!! It is only because of our humanitarian artistic projects we
keep travelling till the end as we don't know what retired means in
the spiritual humanitarian field!!!
Faithful to the
French tradition of enlightenment, with my last breath, I will fight
for freedom of expression, human rights, the right to dignity, the
refusal of oppression
and many know by
now, its not only because it was about us… I would do the same for
anyone else...
At an age where more
and more celebrate Heart Energy and Universal
Love on a global scale…
it is sad that in
France, a country I am citizen of through my grand mother and my
mother,
a country I always
tried to promote the deep values of freedom/equality/fraternity etc…
would perform so
poorly at a so strategic portal than the travelling industry!
Anyone with a bit of
psychology can state that these people are trained to suspect evil,
to despise civilians as being liars, thieves, etc, by nature...
This is all the
opposite from 1 Corinthians 13 definition of Universalove
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not
boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonour others, it is
not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres.
It is clear that
employees of this railway company are trained on the basis that
everyone is guilty unless proven innocent whilst the basis of a
healthy society is everyone is innocent unless proven guilty!!!
Unfortunately they feel allowed to terrorise their clients by
calling armed force to robotically, without any empathy, complete
their bullying job...
People who are
trained as machine guns and denied the right to basic normal human
emotions
can't grow healthy
in Universalove as they lose all empathy towards other human fellows
and are the most dangerous people on the planet!
It's sad that this
dehumanization brings travelling in France back (not everywhere else,
praise God,)
in the dark times of
Jean Valjean where an individual was mercilessly
sent to the prison
penal colony for having stolen a piece of bread out of hunger….
In any society, any
group, a total indifference to other's needs and lack of compassion
is the beginning of a dangerous turning point which leads to death to
any ethics as the backbone of society and brings about a gangrene
from inside destroying the root itself of civilization and any
decency in life!!!
Recently an Italian
Judge has decided that a homeless hungry person did not steal when he
just
took from a
supermarket what he needed to eat, although he could not pay for it.
When other countries
follow a more human trend, French SNCF seems to isolate in zero
tolerance
backward practices….
It is to keep a
loving attitude that I did not write about these bad treatments
before,
hoping it was just a
bad day for one employee...but since it kept on happening
repetitively and that we are told to denounce injustice...if one
wishes to see a positive change in our society...I am now writing...
How sad!
And I feel so sad
for younger policemen brainwashed to bully innocent civilians instead
of protecting them and chasing real criminals...at the way tax payer
money is wasted and misused…
I am also writing
this for younger people to help change this and create a better world
for their future…I know many of them bravely try...and so they
should keep trying…
We were all outraged
recently at the way a French top policeman CRS has publicly beaten up
a young French girl who happened to be in the middle of a
demonstration…
by
coincidence...although not part to it..Cowardly bullying females and
weaker members of society is not worthy of France true noble
identity!!!
All that happens
because as these people sadly say themselves, they are taught
fear/hatred/negativity about us human beings...civilians...instead of
being taught Universalove!!!
This is a very
unequal situation, bare hands civilians and armed forces directed
against them instead of FOR THEM!!!
We need to bring
awareness of such growing situations globally as recently I tweeted
also about an American policeman beating up a woman in handcuff for a
trivial motive.
Insecurity, fear,
inferiority, a training to distrust anyone instead of caring or
trusting or loving
is at the heart of
such psychotic aggressive behaviour…We live in a difficult world as
a new form of terror is used on citizens in their everyday lives in
the name of fighting a very rare and extraordinary one...sometimes
imaginary...or fake...
France used to be a
country I was pride of and following my mother and grand mother
patriotic love, I always tried to help and still do help French
people in the UK ...through a cultural French centre where I still
advertise to encourage young French artists etc. I am feeling deeply
disappointed that some seem to be turning this country of freedom and
human rights in a totalitarian dictatorial regime...crushing the
individual in general and the weak especially!
This explains the
massive exodus abroad of young French people who immigrate especially
in the UK and in the USA...Maybe one of your children?
Why do I write this
long letter to you?
As for being the
President of the SNCF, you can!
You can contribute
to change this terrible first impression of France for foreigners and
French citizens included!
De Gaulle was
speaking about an idea of France… Which idea do you wish your
clients do get of France? It is through your company they get their
first idea of France…. sometimes…
I am sorry to say
that my grand father who fought during the wars to liberate France as
well as my grand mother and my mother…..would not be proud of it!!!
I have been writing
in English out of courtesy for my dear English husband who does not
understand French and was one of the first victims of how sadly, your
member of staff see your company and our country!!!
According to my
French friend solicitor, privatisation of SNCF is an Utopia which is
not on the maps any more...Hence the best is to demand that NEW
PRIVATE RAILWAY COMPANIES should be allowed to run trains in France
along side the SNCF!
I will from now
on suggest in the media that new private companies should be allowed
to open up train travelling options to your dissatisfied customers!
Since we travel so
often, I have provided the address of one of our dear friends for
your reply, to avoid losing your mail.
Looking forward to
hearing from you soonest.
All Best Wishes
Lucy and Peter Levi
PS. photocopy of my
valid senior card, tickets of the day, papers badly scribbled by your
employee
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