Suong Nguyen was ‘scared’ of woman in niqab before racist attack, court told

August 14 2017 – 5:53PM

Stephanie Gardiner

Suong Nguyen was “scared” of a woman wearing a niqab when she banged on her car door, told her to take off her mask, and called her a terrorist.

The victim, Semaa Abdulwali, filmed the racist attack in the car park at Macquarie University on January 20, and the footage was watched by millions of people when her husband Ramzy Alamudi posted it online.

Nguyen was on Monday handed good behaviour bonds and a fine, after pleading guilty to intimidation and causing damage.

Magistrate Suzanne Seagrave said Nguyen displayed an “unexplainable prejudice that has no place whatsoever in our multicultural society”.

 

Suong Thao Nguyen during a racist rant outside Macquarie University in January 2017. Photo: Facebook

“It appeared to have been triggered by Mrs Abdulwali’s apparel, something that Ms Nguyen immediately resented and was angered by,” the magistrate said.

“The motive was prejudice against people of a particular faith.”

Nguyen’s lawyer, Andrew Tiedt, said the university had banned her from campus, and the incident had shattered her family life.

He said Nguyen wanted to express her remorse to the victims, who watched on as she banged on their windows, yelled, and paced around the front of their car.

 

Semaa Abdulwali filmed as Suong Thao Nguyen banged on her car door. Photo: Facebook

“She regrets what she did … and says she understands the distress and fear it would have caused,” Mr Tiedt said.

“She’s sure they’ve been through quite an ordeal through this process.”

Suong Nguyen covers her face as she leaves court on Monday. Photo: Supplied

Mr Tiedt said there was no excuse for Ms Nguyen’s actions.

“There’s an unjustified, but growing fear of the Muslim community and that isn’t in any way justifying what occurred.

“She was scared, she was afraid of them, then completely overreacted.”

He said Nguyen was recognised on the street after the video of the attack was widely shared.

“This has been a horrific six months for her and that’s by her own making.

“It seems everyone in Sydney has seen the video … that’s a stain on Ms Nguyen’s character.

“It’s unpleasant conduct to the extreme … she knows she did the wrong thing.”

Police prosecutor Ernest Chan said the victims were subjected to a prolonged and disturbing rant that was “unfounded racial and religious prejudice”.

Nguyen’s actions were motivated by hatred, he said.

“This is an incident that will have life-long impacts on both victims.”

Ms Seagrave handed Nguyen a two-year good behaviour bond for the intimidation charge, fined her $750, and ordered she be supervised by Community Corrections.

The magistrate said Nguyen must obey any directions to go into anger management counselling.

She was also handed a one-year good behaviour bond for the damage charge, to be served at the same time, and to pay $817 for damage to the couple’s car.

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WATCH: Woman Charged After Fkd Racist Tirade Against Couple At Macq Uni

Student sentenced over racist attack on Muslim woman caught on film

Woman’s Islamophobic rant on Sydney bus caught on video

Ashleigh Gleeson, The Daily Telegraph

June 4, 2017 4:31pm

FOOTAGE has emerged of a woman going on an Islamophobic rant about Muslims on a bus before she is captured slapping the driver after he tells her to get off.

The incident took place on bus route 185 which was heading to Mona Vale from Wynyard on Saturday around 3pm.

Footage of the woman’s rant on a bus to Mona Vale from York Street, Wynard was captured on video. Source: Islamophobia Register.

Witnesses say the woman was shouting on the bus making remarks such as “We can’t let them come in … they are going to bomb us all … F**k them, they are going to kill us”.

She is filmed saying “Everyone who is Muslim has a chance to be radicalised” before a passenger tells her they themselves are Muslim.

The video then shows the bus driver stepping in and saying: “Could you please get off my bus, or I will get the police now”.

The woman, who was asked to leave the bus, can then be seen slapping the driver.

The woman asks what she is doing wrong before beginning to walk off the bus.

She can then be seen slapping the bus driver across the face.

Officers from the Police Transport Command have confirmed they are investigating and have called for witnesses to the incident to come forward and assist.

Islamophobia Register Australia spokeswoman Mariam Veiszadeh said that they had been receiving an increase in reports about Islamophobic incidents — and they were also becoming more serious and severe.

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Racist anti-Asian rant on Sydney train caught on camera as stunned commuters watch on

By Riley Stuart and Ursula Malone

Posted Tue at 6:13am

The moment a woman racially abused an Asian passenger on a Sydney train has been caught on camera, as stunned commuters watched on during a minute-long rant.

The verbal attack occurred about 9:30pm on a service between Chatswood and Epping on May 11.

The video was filmed on a mobile phone by another passenger, who provided it to ABC News on the condition of anonymity.

“I feel bad I couldn’t help the girl but I am also Asian and I was worried I would also be attacked if I stepped in,” they said.

“I hope the video can make people aware of this issue and stop racism in Australia.

“There were about 15 people on the carriage but no-one did anything.”

They said the incident was sparked after the alleged victim noticed the abuser littering, and asked her to clean up the mess.

Trains boss condemns attack

Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins said there were 1.3 million journeys per day on the city’s trains “but one incident like this is too much”.

“The important thing I want every single one of my customers to know is if you see something like that, tell us straight away,” he said.

“The sooner we understand what’s going on the quicker we can get our police involved and deal with such people.”

PHOTO:  A witness claimed that a dispute about littering sparked the incident (Supplied)

Australia’s racial discrimination commissioner Dr Tim Soutphommasane said incidents like this were more common than you might think.

“If a perpetrator of a racist act has done so because of mental illness, you would hope that their wellbeing is looked after,” he said.

“But it doesn’t take away from the harm that’s done from someone on the receiving end of racism.”

He described the video as “the tip of an iceberg” and argued most incidents of racial abuse were not caught on camera.

PHOTO: Dr Tim Soutphommasane urged people to speak up if they witnessed racial abuse

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‘People must stand up against these things’: Man films racial tirade at Coburg park

January 6 2017 – 6:33AM

Emily Woods

Ahmed Abou-eid was enjoying a beautiful day with family at Harmony Park in Coburg on Wednesday when things turned ugly.

“My wife and friends frequent that park often, and the kids have a great time. It’s called Harmony Park for a reason – there’s so much friendliness in the park,” the Thornbury man said.

Racist tirade at Coburg park
Caution: strong language. An intoxicated man hurls racial abuse at a family enjoying a picnic at a park in Melbourne’s north.

“We had three female friends of mine with their children, and they probably had seven kids with them, the park was quite full and there were a lot of kids playing around.”

A man clutching a whisky bottle, hurling offensive language and racial abuse, quickly changed the mood from playful to frightening.

The man who racially abused several adults and children at a popular Coburg park on Wednesday. Photo: Ahmed Abou-eid.

“This man was sitting on his own, on a table, and there was a couple not far from him sitting on a table next to him, and he started hurling abuse at them, and telling them to get out of the country,” Mr Abou-eid said.

“And so they left and then he came over to the playground where the kids were and started doing the same thing to us.”

Mr Abou-eid said said the man was clearly intoxicated, slurring his words and wobbling as he approached and started hurling abuse at anyone within earshot.

The man walked back to the table, and then came back for a second round. Mr Abou-eid said that was when he decided to film him.

“I thought this is too close for comfort, I better film this,” he said.

“F— off you wog,” the man can be heard yelling in the video. “What are you going to do?”

“Nothing, go back to where you’re sitting,” Mr Abou-eid responds.

“Have you thought about my family? No you don’t even think about it,” the man says, in between expletives, repeating the words “wog” and “dago”.

Ahmed Abou-eid, back centre, with his family (left to right) Salma, Isra, Yasmin and Aladdin. Photo: Facebook

The man walks closer to Mr Abou-eid, realising he is being filmed, and says “you’re not allowed to take my picture”.

He walks around the playground, next to where the children are playing. “Oh you’re a macho man,” he says, inciting a fight.

He then turns on one of the women, “Go back to Greece you f—ing wog,” he yells.

“Have you thought about my family? No you don’t even think about it,” the man says, in between expletives, repeating the words “wog” and “dago”.

The man walks closer to Mr Abou-eid, realising he is being filmed, and says “you’re not allowed to take my picture”.

He walks around the playground, next to where the children are playing. “Oh you’re a macho man,” he says, inciting a fight.

He then turns on one of the women, “Go back to Greece you f—ing wog,” he yells.

The man eventually throws a punch at Mr Abou-eid, but Mr Abou-eid does not retaliate.

“Just go back, just go back,” he says to the man. At the end of the video the man sits down inside the playground, crosses his legs, and clutches his bottle of whisky.

Mr Abou-eid said after he stopped filming, several people around him decided to leave the park.

“Some families got their kids and got in their cars and drove off, and then about six or seven guys surrounded him and I think he got scared so he stopped abusing everybody,” he said.

Police were called several times during the altercation. Once they arrived the man was taken away, but Mr Abou-eid said he did not want to press charges as he didn’t want to relive what had happened.

“The police told me, they’ve had a few problems with him in the area, but not in the park, and not actually abusing anyone to the extent that he had that day,” he said.

“You think it’s the drink or the alcohol, but these people have this racism in them that comes out of them the more they drink.

“I would love to ask him why he has that much hatred towards people from overseas and what has someone done to him to make him feel like that.”

He said, by filming the incident, he hoped he could make people aware of the abuse, and urged people not to stay silent.

“These things are happening, they are real and people must stand up against these things. If they see something like that happen, don’t walk away, help out if someone needs help, step in,” Mr Abou-eid said.

Mr Abou-eid said he worried about how witnessing such abuse could affect his children in the future.

“My six-year-old asked me today if the man was still in jail. They’re still thinking about it, and they’re scared to go back to the park again,” he said.

“That park is a meeting point for a lot of friends and family, but now we will kind of think twice about whether we will go there.”

Moreland City Council mayor Helen Davidson said the behaviour was unacceptable.

“Moreland takes great pride in having such a culturally diverse community. This behaviour goes against what the community of Moreland stands for,” she said.

“Harmony Park was created by Moreland for people to come together; people of all ages, cultures and abilities. This footage shows that Moreland’s community does not tolerate this behaviour.”

Advice from the Australian Human Rights Commission about being a bystander to racial abuse is “if you see something, say something, if it feels safe to do so”.

“It doesn’t have to be aggressive, in fact it’s often more effective if it’s not. It could be as simple as saying ‘Why don’t you just leave him/her alone?”‘

Fairfax Media has chosen to blur the face of the man yelling abuse due to his level of intoxication.

 
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‘It’s disgusting that it happened’: Shopper goes on racist rant at Melton Coles

January 5 2017 – 12:05PM

Deborah Gough

A woman has gone on a racist rant against two shoppers at a Coles supermarket in Melbourne’s west, threatening them with a food tin and abusing staff as they tried to defuse the aggressive situation.

An account of the rant suggests the woman became aggressive when she thought two women of African appearance had pushed in front of her at the checkout at Coles in the Woodgrove Shopping Centre in Melton on Wednesday afternoon.

“I was here, I was here first,” the woman yells in the video.

As staff attempt to take her to another register she picks up what looks like a Milo tin and threatens to throw it at one of the two women.

The woman became aggressive while shopping at a Coles supermarket in Melton. Photo: supplied

“I’ll f—ing throw it at you, c—,” she rants.

“‘You f—ing go back to your own country, you piece of f—ing shit,” she can be heard saying on the video.

The woman, who is accompanied by a toddler girl, is eventually escorted away by staff.

The video appears on the public Facebook page Melton/Bacchus Marsh Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down where it was given the thumbs down by anonymous administrators.

“Thumbs down to this woman for her language, racist taunts and disgusting attitude. I am horrified to think this thing may live in OUR town. This is not how we act in Melton. Shame on anyone who thinks her behaviour is acceptable,” the administrator wrote.

Many commented that the racist and aggressive behaviour was particularly upsetting because the woman was with a little girl at the time.

Speaking to Fairfax Media, the administrator said the original post described the video as a “classic day in Melton” but the administrator said this did not reflect the suburb.

“This is not an everyday occurrence in Melton and, if it was, no one would have made a video of it because it would be happening all the time,” the administrator said.

“It is disgusting that it happened.”

The administrator said Woodgrove Coles staff who subscribed to the Facebook page confirmed the rant had occurred on Wednesday but said the two women who were the subject of the rant had not “pushed in”.

The administrator said initial reports suggested staff were the subject of the rant but the video and eyewitness accounts show they were not the target.

Coles has been contacted for comment.

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‘Invading our country’: Racist rant on Adelaide public bus caught on video

 

Sarah Muller

A woman has been caught on camera delivering a racist rant on an Adelaide public bus on Saturday afternoon

The video, filmed by a commuter on the bus, shows a woman yelling obscenities at a mother and child of Asian appearance, and two other passengers who came to their defence.

The couple, Jenny and Clive Starr, told Channel 9 they comforted the victims afterwards and confirmed they were okay.

SA Premier Jay Weatherill has criticised the racist remarks, saying: “This is not us, this is not who we are.”

SA police have declared the incident “not acceptable” and confirmed they will investigate the incident, asking any witnesses to contact police.

The woman could face charges of disorderly behaviour.

Police encourage anyone who witnesses or is the victim of similar behaviour to contact police.

 

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Asian woman racially vilified on Gold Coast tram and told “speak (expletive) English” in video

 

ANDREW POTTS, Gold Coast Bulletin
October 29, 2016 1:00am

A WOMAN has been filmed racially abusing an Asian passenger on the Gold Coast light rail and screaming at her to “speak (expletive) English”.

The disturbing vision was uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday and shows a blonde woman screaming at a nearby passenger.

A woman filmed racially abusing an Asian woman on the Gold Coast Light Rail. SCREEN GRABS FROM YOUTUBE

“See. Australian, thank you. You need to (expletive) speak English, mate,” the woman said.

The Asian woman responded saying, “I do”.

The older woman hit back saying, “(expletive) speak it …. you’re (expletive) in Australia, speak English”.

The woman who was the target of racial abuse from a caucasian woman on the Gold Coast Light Rail. SCREEN GRABS FROM YOUTUBE

While she was yelling, several passengers on the tram can be heard telling her to stop.

The video, which runs for a little more than a minute, was filmed at night while the tram was stopped at a station.

It appears to have been filmed by a group of students from Merrimac State High and has been watched more than 60 times.

The woman’s actions have been condemned by tram operator, GoldLinQ.

The woman was booed and shouted down by fellow tram passengers. SCREEN GRABS FROM YOUTUBE

A GoldLinQ spokesman urged passengers who were on the light rail at the time to come forward.

“It’s disappointing when we see this type of behaviour within the community and we encourage people to contact QPS or a member of our staff for assistance,” he said.

“Tram passengers can use the emergency help points located at each tram door and at stations when staff are not in the immediate area.”

It is unclear when the incident took place and it has not been reported to either GoldLinQ or the police.

GoldLinQ have since passed the video on to the Queensland Police Service for investigation.

Gold Coast district Superintendent Craig Hanlon condemned the attack and said it would “certainly” be investigated.

“We mostly definitely will be looking into this,” he said.

“I believe in an inclusive and holistic society in which people respect each other and this does not meet community standards so police will certainly be investigated.

Superintendent Craig Hanlon said the abuse featured in the video was unacceptable. Picture Glenn Hampson

“People should be able to move safely through to their destination without having to be subject to this kind of behaviour.”

Surfers Paradise police station officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Jim Munckton urged witnesses of the incident to come forward.

“I have reviewed the footage and it would appear on the information provided that this incident has not been reported to police,” he said.

Senior Sergeant Jim Munckton urged witnesses to come forward.

“Should any person wish to report the matter they can contact Policelink 131444 or contact their local police station.”

It is the latest incident of racial abuse on public transport in Australia in the past two years.

In April last year a Muslim woman was verbally attacked on a Sydney train while in December another Sydney woman was abused for speaking to her mother in Spanish.

In September last year NSW police arrested a Sydney woman for hurling racial abuse at an Asian woman on a bus.

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Razer-sharp – Helen Razer nails the bigots

Helen Razer is a well-known writer and newspaper columnist.

Like so many of us she has Muslim friends, mostly women, who were targeted and harassed by hateful bigots. So she wrote a response.

We loved her powerful response to the tide of Islamophobia that is both encouraged by and threatens to overwhelm social media.

And we remind people that there is an enormous gap between critiques of all religions and vicious, ignorant and violent attacks on the adherents of minority faiths. We also note that attacks on Islam by bigots are usually gendered attacks by the same cowardly morons who would figure as perpetrators of misogynist attacks on women generally.

 

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SBS guide to dealing with anti-Muslim arguments

‘Go back where you came from’: Racist rant captured at Brisbane bus stop

July 27 2016 – 7:21PM

Drew Creighton

A Brisbane man who captured video of an “unfortunate conversation” at a suburban bus stop wanted to remain calm when confronted by a woman who he described as a “little bit racist”.

Jerome Forbes, 19, said he walked up to the Mount Gravatt Plaza bus stop, in Brisbane’s south-east, where the older lady was sitting when he tried to strike up conversation on Monday.

Watch this teenager deal with xenophobe
A teenager is accused of being a foreigner and told his father should ‘pack up and go back to New Zealand’ by a woman at a Brisbane bus stop.

“We were waiting for the same bus so I tried to create conversation with her to see how her day was or see what she was up to,” Mr Forbes said.

“She sort of smirked at me in a way and it got me wondering why she would look at me like that, so I was just trying to be friendly to her.”

The Mount Gravatt Plaza bus stop Photo: Supplied

That was when the situation started to go downhill, according to Mr Forbes, who recorded the exchange.

“She started saying racist comments and then that’s when I pulled out my phone and started recording her,” he said.

The video was posted on YouTube on Tuesday. It had been viewed more than one million times and attracted more than 5000 comments by 6pm on Wednesday.

The camera is focused on the teen during the entire exchange, with viewers only hearing the unidentified woman’s voice in 1.54 minute clip.

She asks: “What do you think you are?”

Jerome Forbes recorded ‘racist’ woman at a Brisbane bus stop. Photo: Supplied

He replies: “What do I think I am? I was born here, what are you talking about?”

She responds: “”I don’t believe that you were but if you say so, okay.”

The woman questions where his father was born and he responds “New Zealand”.

“Well, it probably would be advisable for him to pack up and go back to New Zealand,” she said.

His father also posted the video on Reddit under the headline: “Today my 19 yr old son taught me how to respond to bigotry with tolerance and integrity. Must take after his mother.”

Mr Forbes said he was “just started trying to have a normal conversation with her, trying to understand where she was coming from, like trying to understand what she had against me or foreigners in general, what her problem was”.

“It just went from there and the video explains the rest,” he said.

After the video stops, Mr Forbes said the bus arrived and the two went their separate ways.

“I think she was just ignorant, I don’t think she was trying to attack me personally or have a personal go at me, trying to bring me down,,’ he said.

“I think it was just more her personal views on, I guess, race, I guess you could say she was a little bit racist.”

Mr Forbes said his prior experience with situations that would have made others lash out helped him remain calm during the conversation.

“I’ve talked to enough people and had enough experience to know this lady wasn’t trying to bring me down as a person, she was just having a go at what she believed and what she stood up for,” he said.

“There wasn’t much I could do, she was an elderly lady, I don’t want to start having a go at her and bring her down because it just puts me in the same boat as her.”

His advice for others that may run into a similar situation was to stay cool and try to reason with them

“If that situation comes across just try and understand where they’re coming from and I guess don’t hype them up, don’t try and get them abusing you,” he said.

In a separate incident, Brisbane City Council is investigating a complaint that a bus driver made a racist remark toward a passenger.

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Goodbye Pauline goodbye…

Image – Independent Australia

Sung to the tune of Botany Bay (composed and arranged by Wilhelm Meyer Lutz)

You don’t have to listen to Han$on
When you hit the mute on the remote
It works for the radio or telly
Just think -a protest post-poll vote

Don’t read her bilge in the mass media
Don’t look at her racist mean face
Laugh when the Senate turns on her
And wait for her tumble from grace

But we’ll love watching people do sendups
We’ll chortle at all of those memes
We’ll cheer at Huw Parkinson’s mashups
Clarke and Dawe will bring more joyful screams

Look out for our media cartoonists
Dog, Brown, Kudelka and Pope
Moir and Cook and Kautauskas
Bringing some humorous hope

Stick up for our people of colour
And those of the Islamic faith
Gays, lesbians and the transgendered
Whose voices will be choked by this Wraith

Deny her a privileged platform
Turn your backs when she spouts all her junk
Rip her to shreds on the media
And her fact-free “opinions” debunk

So bring on our own Pauline Pantsdown
Get hell-mad with comical Shaun
Watch for The Chaser to stalk her
And wake to a Han$onless dawn!

-theantibogan