Londoner speaks out after confronting racist on tube train

The London Evening Standard and the Independent report on the courage of a young Muslim woman who stood up to a man who allegedly made Nazi salutes on a tube carriage while shouting “this is our country, go back!”

Arifah Farooq was travelling home on Friday 2 July on the eastbound district line when a man got on the train with a friend at Aldgate East station. Ms Farooq told the paper the man was drunk and when he sat opposite a young Muslim woman in a headscarf he spoke loudly on the carriage saying “this lot lost the election”, “this is our country, go back” and made Nazi salutes.

Ms Farooq said the young lady in hijab was “clearly terrified.”

She said that a female passenger told the carriage to ignore the man, but Farooq decided to speak up and challenge his racist abuse.

As the man shouted “this is our country, go back” she stood up to him, saying “it’s my country too, where do you want me to go back to?”

A male passenger also intervened telling the abusive drunk male that he was “a disgrace”.

Ms Farooq said she had reported the incident to the British Transport Police.

She told LES: “I don’t think the UK has become suddenly really racist, but I just think the racists think half the population agrees with their views so they have more confidence to say stuff.”

Explaining her decision to relate her story, Ms Farooq said witnesses to racist abuse should not remain silent when faced with such incidents. Referring to the passenger who told travellers to ignore the man’s abuse, Farooq said: “If anything that lady annoyed me more – somebody’s got to say something.”