American couple visiting Ghanaian friend in Amsterdam share ‘racist encounter’ at Wok Inn

Wok Inn staff accused of racist behaviour

An African-American woman, Gifty A. Rockson, who recently visited a friend in Amsterdam, Netherlands, has shared her bitter experience at Wok Inn, a Chinese restaurant in the Red Light District area.

She narrates:

On Monday, June 25th, my husband (also African-American) and I arrived in Amsterdam from the United States as part of 2 weeks vacation in honor of the second anniversary of our marriage. Accompanying us on this trip was our host and childhood friend of my husband’s, a Belgian resident by the name of Kwaku.

Kwaku stays in Belguim over years had familiarised him with neighbouring nations. In the last few days of our vacation, our host recommended a visit to the Netherlands(Amsterdam to be precise). After a few hours of touring, we parked our vehicle at a parking lot in Amsterdam Central and followed our host as he took us on a tour through the city of Amsterdam. At approximately 11pm we arrived at a local WOK INN  restaurant on this address OUDEBRUGSTEEG 4, 1012 JP AMSTERDAM NETHERLANDS where our story begins.

On Monday, June 25th, my husband (also African-American) and I arrived in Amsterdam from the United States as part of 2 weeks vacation in honor of the second anniversary of our marriage. Accompanying us on this trip was our host and childhood friend of my husband’s, a Belgian resident by the name of Kwaku. Kwaku stays in Belguim over years had familiarised him with neighbouring nations. In the last few days of our vacation, our host recommended a visit to the Netherlands(Amsterdam to be precise). After a few hours of touring, we parked our vehicle at a parking lot in Amsterdam Central and followed our host as he took us on a tour through the city of Amsterdam. At approximately 11pm we arrived at a local WOK INN restaurant on this address OUDEBRUGSTEEG 4, 1012 JP AMSTERDAM NETHERLANDS where our story begins. Upon arriving, Kwaku and I approached the counter to order our food. My husband (who stood a few feet behind us) then asked the man behind the counter (pictured left) to use their restroom. The attendant then replied that the restaurant did not have a restroom. It seemed strange to me that a dine-in restaurant with over thirty seats occupying 2 floors did not have a restroom but, I didn’t think much about it.After receiving our food, Kwaku and I, along with my husband (who was still undecided about what to order) sat down to enjoy our meal. Half way through my meal, I proceeded to the counter where I ordered a plate for my husband. While I was at the counter, I asked the attendant if I could use the restroom with the thought in mind that perhaps, my husband had been denied service because the attendant did not consider him as a customer at the time. I was then told by the attendant that the restroom was “broken” and inaccessible to customers. That seemed like a more likely scenario so, I once again took his word for it and proceeded back to my table as we waited for my husband’s order to be prepared. A few moments later, two caucasian women walked into the restaurant as my husband proceeded to the counter to pick up his order. One of them (who was clearly drunk)  immediately asked to use the restroom and while they ordered their food

A post shared by Ameyaw Debrah (@ameyaw112) on Jun 26, 2018 at 2:58pm PDT

Upon arriving, Kwaku and I approached the counter to order our food. My husband (who stood a few feet behind us) then asked the man behind the counter (pictured left) to use their restroom. The attendant then replied that the restaurant did not have a restroom. It seemed strange to me that a dine-in restaurant with over thirty seats occupying 2 floors did not have a restroom but, I didn’t think much about it.After receiving our food, Kwaku and I, along with my husband (who was still undecided about what to order) sat down to enjoy our meal.

Half way through my meal, I proceeded to the counter where I ordered a plate for my husband. While I was at the counter, I asked the attendant if I could use the restroom with the thought in mind that perhaps, my husband had been denied service because the attendant did not consider him as a customer at the time. I was then told by the attendant that the restroom was “broken” and inaccessible to customers. That seemed like a more likely scenario so, I once again took his word for it and proceeded back to my table as we waited for my husband’s order to be prepared.

A few moments later, two caucasian women walked into the restaurant as my husband proceeded to the counter to pick up his order. One of them (who was clearly drunk)  immediately asked to use the restroom as the other stayed behind and ordered her food. Without hesitation the attendant directed her to the restroom upstairs.

Needless to say, my husband was baffled. We sat there stunned as he reported what he’s just encountered. Kwaku then proceeded to the counter to speak with the attendant about what just happened but, was met with complete outrage. Within seconds the situation seemed to escalate as the attendant (who was at this point yelling) insisted that there was no bathroom in the restaurant and called on his fellow employees to verify his story.

At this moment the woman who went upstairs to use the bathroom was making her way back downstairs so, we asked her if she indeed did just go upstairs to use the bathroom and she confirmed our suspicion. The attendant then insisted that they’d simply misunderstood him and that he stated that the bathroom was only for the staffs. I then walked over and reminded him that I’d just asked to use the bathroom only a few minutes ago and he denied me access.

At this point the attendant and the rest of the staffs were visibly upset, even suggesting that we leave the restaurant if we didn’t like it and threatened to call the police to have us escorted out. Kwaku welcomed them to do so, certain that the officer would side with us but the employees then changed their narrative and offered that we call the police instead. In an effort to de-escalate the situation, I tried to have a conversation with the employees in order to bring their attention to their wrong doing.

I made sure to remain calm throughout my exchange with them, hoping for an apology of some sorts. I looked around at disapproving costumers who silently shook their heads at the employees behaviour but, not a single soul spoke up for me or my husband. Kwaku then took out his cellphone in outrage and recorded the video above.

My husband later went back and took pictures of the employees so we can get the word out. Notice the lack of remorse as he called them out on their discriminitive behaviour and even suggesting to expose them of their racist behavior. I could not agree more. Please help me put out this notice about this restaurant. This is completely unacceptable in today’s world. No one should be denied service or even subjected to such behaviour simply due to the color of their skin. This is shameful behavior and I don’t want another soul to fall victim to such blatant racism.