Teenagers called girl ‘terrorist’ when she asked if she could play with them
A 10-year-old Sikh girl was told ‘no you can’t play, because you’re a terrorist’ by a group of teenagers in a park.
Munsimar Kaur, shared her ordeal in a hearbreaking video on her dad’s Instagram account and said greater ‘exposure and knowledge’ was needed to fight racism.
She also said the mum of a girl she was playing with told her daughter to get away because Munsimar was ‘dangerous’.
The turbaned girl says she was batted away by racist teens after asking to play with them in a park last week.
She said: ‘When I asked to play the game that they were playing, and the queue was a mile long, they said, loud and clear: ‘No, you can’t play because you’re a terrorist.
‘This obviously broke my heart, but I kept my head up and I went away.’
The next day, Munsimar and her dad went back to the same park in Plumstead, south east London, where she made a new friend.
After playing with the nine-year-old girl for over an hour, her mum called her away and told her not to play with Munsimar because she was ‘dangerous’.
She added: ‘This experience has shown me the lack of exposure and knowledge some people have.
‘Sikhs are naturally caring and no matter what we will love everyone.’
In a message to any youngsters targeted with racism, she said: ‘Tell your parents and keep your chin up and it will work out in the end’.
People who saw the video on the sikhdad Instagram account praised Munsimar for rising above the hatred and for bravely sharing her story.
Munsimar’s dad Gurpreet Singh told ITV News: ‘When you hear those words as a parent, that breaks your heart as well.
‘It was so amazing her response. She had two options, she could have stood up for herself or she could have walked away.’
Jasveer Singh, from the Sikh Press Association said: ‘Racism against Sikhs – because of the hyper-visible appearance of practicing Sikhs – is incredibly common in the UK and across the Western world.
‘Sikhs have become so used to it most barely react to the comments, such as ‘Bin Laden’ and more.
‘However, the UK often overlooks the amount of racism against Sikhs there is here, possibly because it isn’t as bad as the US, where Sikhs are regularly violently attacked – sometimes fatally – for their appearance.
‘It is time we really addressed just how common racism against Sikhs is, including in the UK.’
Britain’s first turban wearing Sikh MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi has warned of an increase in Sikh’s being targeted with Islamophobic abuse by people who mistake them for Muslims.
He blamed the ‘Pandora’s box of hatred’ opened up during the EU referendum campaign.
Source: Metro
