NearlY Fatal
Iranian girl hit by Prez ban, had meds stolen
THE WHITE House travel ban delayed a 12-year-old Iranian girl’s trip to the U.S. for emergency eye surgery, and when she finally got to New York, thieves stole her suitcase with her life-saving medicine inside.
Alma Kashkooli, who has a rare genetic condition that affects her eyesight, skin, development and movement, went more than two weeks without her anti-seizure medication after landing at JFK Airport on Feb. 6.
She was slated to undergo surgery, but those plans fell apart after President Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order.
Alma’s luggage — which included medicines, a walker and a tablet computer — never showed up so her mom started making phone calls, both to Turkish Airlines and to the airport’s lost and found.
“I was on the phone all the day and night. I contact them, and in a very poor and low manner, they didn't respond properly,” she said of the airline staff, accusing them of laughing at her distress.
On Feb. 9, concern turned to panic, after Alma had a seizure. She had a small supply of emergency medicine she was able to carry on the plane, but her mom feared she would run out.Port Authority police soon learned that two Brooklyn men slipped into the Turkish Airlines baggage office at JFK on Feb. 8 and made off with the luggage, rolling it out of the airport without the airline noticing, officials said Wednesday.
Cops tracked down both men, Abdul Rahim, 67, and Juneab Hashimi, 55, and the suitcase on Feb. 21.
But Alma’s mother, Fahimeh Kashkooli, is still fuming at the airline, for letting the pair leave with the baggage, and for not taking her panicked calls trying to find it seriously.
“Between the people who stole my luggage and the airline, there is no difference,” she said. She plans to file a personal injury suit against the airline.
In a twist, the two alleged thieves said they’ve also been wronged by the airline.
Rahim said the airline lost two pieces of his luggage when he flew into New York from Pakistan on Aug. 3, and he and Hashimi told the Daily News that they thought they were grabbing one of his suitcases.
“Turkish Airlines, it’s unbelievable. Six months they had our bags. We called and emailed. Nobody answered. Nobody responded,” Rahim said.
Both men are charged with felony grand larceny and free on their own recognizance. Turkish Airlines did not respond to a call for comment.