Train conductor removes passenger who racially abused fellow passenger speaking Hindi

A young girl allegedly yelled at a fellow passenger and said, ‘go back to your country, don’t speak that language here’, according to an eye-witness.

Source: Pixabay

A train conductor in Wellington, New Zealand has been applauded by city’s mayor and New Zealand’s Human Rights Commission for standing up to a passenger who allegedly hurled abuse at a fellow passenger.

The alleged incident took place on a train after it had left the Wellington Railway station for Upper Hutt on Thursday evening.

The train came to a halt after the train conductor, identified as JJ, tried to stop the alleged offender from hurling abuse at another passenger who was talking to his wife in Hindi over the phone.

A young girl allegedly yelled at a fellow passenger and said, ‘go back to your country, don’t speak that language here’, according to an eye-witness who spoke to NZ Herald.

The train conductor saw this and asked the girl to get off the train, to which the girl allegedly replied she was getting off at the next stop.

‘No, you can get off at this one, I am not putting up with that nonsense,’ JJ purportedly said.

When the girl refused, the police was called in.

The conductor, a staff member of Metlink, was applauded for her stand by Wellington Mayor, Justin Lester.

In a Facebook post, Mr Lester called it a ‘shocking example of racism’.

“A teenager abused and berated a fellow Wellingtonian, who was politely speaking Hindi on his phone to his wife.

“They shouted at him: “Speak English or else go home.” A stream of abuse followed. It was a shocking example of racism, made worse by the fact this teenager had clearly learned these views elsewhere - from friends or family.

“But what happened next makes me incredibly proud to be Mayor of this city. Other passengers intervened and came to the man’s defence.

“A Metlink staff member stopped the train because the abuse continued. They called the police and the offending person was taken away,” he said.

Mayor Lester said he would like to nominate the train conductor for a civic safety award and invite her over for morning tea.

“Can the public or Metlink: On Our Way please let me know who the individual is because I want to nominate them for a Civic Safety Award and, most importantly, shout them morning tea,” he said.

“To every ethnicity represented in our city, you are a big part of who we are and you make our city much richer for your presence. Thank you for being here and thank you for being you,” he added.

JJ was also applauded by the New Zealand Human Rights Commission.

Tune into SBS Hindi at 5 pm every day and follow us on Facebook and Twitter