A British man who struggles with a medical condition that affects the appearance of his face is hoping to raise awareness about facial deformities, after he was kicked out of a restaurant last August on the grounds that he was “scaring customers”.
“It’s a horrible thing to happen. I took it very personally that day,” lamented Briton Oliver Bromley in an interview with the BBC on Thursday.
Last August, the man who suffers from neurofibromatosis type 1, a genetic condition that causes non-cancerous tumors to grow on his nerves, was in hospital at King’s College Hospital in Camberwell, south London, when he allegedly left the medical facility to go get food.
It was in this context that he set foot in a restaurant for a few seconds, which he chose not to name to avoid reprisals, before noticing a “cash only” sign, he said. he told the BBC.
He then left the premises without speaking to the staff, before returning shortly afterwards with cash to order.
“They told me, ‘Please leave,’ because in their words I was ‘scaring the customers’ and there had been complaints. [Mais] there hadn’t been enough time […] so someone can complain […] The restaurant staff was unhappy with my appearance,” he continued.
At the time, the man did not contest and quickly left the premises, but he was sorry for the reaction of the staff which he attributed to a lack of education.
Because the face of the patient, who had an eye removed two years ago, is also dotted with small tumors “that they probably thought […] be contagious or something,” according to the one who is not embarrassed to explain his condition when asked questions.
Following the incident, the Briton reportedly filed a complaint with the restaurant, which did not deign to respond, then with the police for “hate crime”, but considered it “unlikely” that this would lead to a result, even if the London Metropolitan Police reportedly said they were taking the situation seriously, according to the BBC.
“Extremely disappointed” to learn of the way in which the man had been treated, the British charity Nerve Tumors would have joined forces with the professional catering association UK Hospitality to try to change mentalities, telling the British media that this This type of incident was “unfortunately not rare”.
This news puts a little balm on the wounds of Olivier Bromley who hopes that his story will lead to “awareness of facial deformations and differences”, he told the BBC.
