An Indian woman has shared an account of an alleged racist harassment incident in the UK, saying she and her friends were targeted by a group of teenagers during an outing near a lake. The woman, who shared her experience on Instagram, said the incident was partly captured on camera because she had been recording herself and her friends while they were spending time outdoors.
She said five or six teenagers, who seemed to be about 13 or 14 years old, were swimming nearby when they allegedly started throwing mud at the group. The friends initially ignored the behaviour, believing the children were just fooling around. But the situation reportedly escalated with the teens continuing to taunt them, making comments about their race and religion.
The group eventually asked the teenagers to stop and warned them that they would contact the police if the harassment continued. "Please don't do this. We are not disturbing you, so please don't disturb us. Otherwise, we'll have to call the police," the group told them.
The woman said the children instead allegedly made remarks identifying them as Muslims. She clarified that she and her friends were not Muslim but stressed that the incident was upsetting because they felt they were being singled out and harassed.
After they didn't stop, her husband reportedly called the police. The woman said the officers were able to hear some of the alleged remarks during the call and asked the group to remain at the location while they sent someone to assist. However, she claimed they waited for close to an hour without seeing any officers. During that time, the teenagers allegedly returned and mocked the group about the police not arriving.
Here's the video:
The group eventually decided to leave the lake. Later that night, at around 10 pm, they received a call from the police.
"We went to the lake. We identified the children. We spoke to their guardians and gave them a strict warning. We are so sorry for whatever happened to you," the cops told the woman.
According to the woman, police offered the group a choice between pursuing formal charges, which could have resulted in the matter going to court, or allowing officers to issue written warnings to the children at their homes.
The group chose the warning, she said, explaining that they did not want revenge or to see the teenagers punished severely. Instead, they wanted the incident to serve as a lesson that racist abuse and harassment can have consequences.
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