Muslim sisters distraught after being verbally abused at Mt Albert train station

Brian from New Lynn

While the rest of New Zealand is comforting the Muslim community, two women at an Auckland railway station were subjected to vile abuse today for wearing hijab. The two sisters were told to "go back to your f***ing country" in an ugly incident at Mt Albert train station. The women - who had assured their families it was safe to leave their home - found themselves trembling with fear from the abuse. Iqra, 21, and her sister say their family are now considering not wearing their headscarves in public. "For us, that is a deeply disturbing discussion to have," Iqra told the Herald, her voice shaking while she spoke. She wanted to speak out about the incident at 1pm today that had her fearing for her safety to warn her Muslim brothers and sisters to take extra precautions and always travel in groups. "The most shocking thing was there was no security in sight," Iqra said. She was with her younger sister Asma when they were approached by an "obviously drunk" man carrying a bottle of liquor. He started yelling "what are you looking at? I hate girls. Go back to your f***ing country" and edged closer towards them before walking away. She described him as middle-aged, short and wearing a grey T-shirt and black pants. Iqra said there was a European girl sitting next to them who started crying during the abuse. "She was really distressed so we moved closer to her. I looked over to him and he said: 'what are you looking at' and repeated that I should go back to my country," Iqra said. She said she couldn't believe that someone could be that inhumane after Friday's terrorist attacks in Christchurch. "I know this is only one man and most people have been supportive of Muslims but it was so distressing," Iqra said. She hadn't encountered abuse like that before. "It was terrifying." At one point Iqra said she got her phone out to ring the police when the man came back screaming "I'm going to film you, you f***ing ugly Muslims" before repeating for the third time to "go back to your country". In her head, Iqra said she wanted to yell back, "I belong here just as much as you". "But I didn't want to say anything back because I was scared I would trigger him especially given what's happened in Christchurch," Iqra said. Iqra said she had filed a police complaint and was told the man was known to the police. Police confirmed a complaint was received.
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