A former paratrooper and his colleague are fed up with what they say has been years of racism they’ve faced in the British Army.
Lance Cpl. Nkululeko Zulu, of South Africa, and Private Hani Gue, who is from Uganda, are suing the British Army after reporting that even an officer used racial slurs with them.
At a hearing before an employment tribunal Tuesday, the men listed several examples of discrimination and racial insensitivity they faced, according to The Telegraph.
Soldiers reportedly decorated their barracks with Nazi flags and pictures of Adolf Hitler.
Gue said swastikas, Hitler mustaches and the words ‘f— off’ were drawn on a photo of he and Zulu.
Gue even said he heard Kenyan forces and locals referred to as ‘n—–‘ and ‘African idiots,’ while his 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment was on assignment in Kenya.
When that happened, he said he confided in Zula about the incident and he described similar experiences.
“He told me about the time that he was referred to as a ‘black c–t by Sergeant Andy White, and that the Army never seemed to take any action against this, which infuriated me,” Gue said in The Telegraph.
Both Gue and Zulu told The Guardian they have taken their complaints to the British Ministry of Defense several times and nothing has been done to prevent discrimination.
Gue told the tribunal that racial slurs were often passed off as “banter” and that most of the abuse happened while he was with the parachuting regiment’s ‘A Company’.
A spokesman for the department released this statement to The Guardian:
“Our personnel should be able to work in an environment free from harassment, intimidation and discrimination and we take all complaints very seriously.”
Gue said while presenting evidence to the tribunal that he left the City University London to join the army in October 2012, according to The Telegraph.
“I wanted to join the parachute regiment in particular, as I was inspired by the Regiment’s history of fighting the racist Nazi regime during World War Two,” he said.
“Unfortunately, my experiences of racial harassment and discrimination during the course of my employment have led me to realise that the Army is not the honourable institution I once thought it to be,” Gue later added.