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Your support makes all the difference.A Muslim woman who was racially abused on the Metro in Newcastle has thanked the "Geordie angels" who defended her and her sister.
Ruhi Rahman, 23, from Newcastle, said sh had been travelling on the train with her sibling for about ten minutes when a man approached them and began shouting at them.
Describing the incident on Facebook, she said the man "started coming out with racist threatening comments like ‘Get out of this seat now this is my country. Your [sic] bombing different countries and don’t deserve to be here or in this country’."
She told the Chronicle Live that in any other situation she would have responded herself - but that she did not need to as fellow passengers stepped in to demand he leave them alone.
“Before I even got a chance to react to his comments the women beside me supported me and helped," she wrote.
"After a while most of the people on the Metro came over and spoke up for us and were being so supportive."
I just wanted to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart, every single one of you who supported me on the metro and...
Posted by Ruhi Rahman on Monday, November 23, 2015
The man reportedly asked the other passengers if they wanted the two women to “bomb this train”.
According to the Chronicle Live, a group of men told the offender to leave the train at the next station, and the whole carriage applauded when he did.
Miss Rahman said: “There was no violence or anything, they just made it clear he had to leave. I’d never seen anything like it. I have never felt more proud of being a Geordie. It was lovely that everyone came together to help us and I can’t thank them all enough.”
The event was recounted from another passenger’s point of view on Facebook, shared by British Gas worker Omar Haider Bhatti.
The original author, who is unknown, spoke of how “everyone from mams to students to nanas were telling this kid to leave the lasses alone” and how proud they were of Geordie people.
About time we start hearing these stories!
Posted by Omar Haider Bhatti on Saturday, November 21, 2015
Managing director of DB Regio Tyne and Wear, which operates the Metro on behalf of Nexus, Sharon Kelly said: “We urge anyone with information about this incident to contact the police.
“The safety of our passengers is paramount. I can assure customers that incidents of this nature are rare on the Metro and they will not be tolerated.
“A police investigation into this matter is now underway and we will work with them to help trace those responsible.”
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