6 men came to Doma Wang's restaurant and shouted racist slurs
Kolkata:
Her momos are famous in Kolkata which 50-year-old Doma Wang, originally from Kalimpong in West Bengal, considers home. But on Thursday night, staff at her restaurant, which includes her daughter, faced racist abuse from a guest who appeared drunk and spewed venom against "Nepalis".
"He called me a non-Bengali. He called me a Nepali. He called me an outsider and that really hurt," said Ms Wang who has been in Kolkata for the last 30 years. "I have never faced such abuse in Kolkata ever. Kolkata we thought was safer for people from the north east."
"They kept shouting, you Nepalis come and take away jobs here, then throw your weight about," said Siddharth, her manager.
A student from Sikkim, Ambika Pradhan, was eyewitness. She saw six drunk men come to the restaurant at Salt Lake. They were noisy. Other diners objected. The waiters first asked them to be quieter and then asked to leave.
"One particular youth turned a restaurant brawl into a communal, racist thing. You Nepalis are taking away our business, he said, and kept shouting abuses," she said.
Ms Wang's daughter, Sachiko, who has been working at the restaurant for the last two years said, "A lot of these cases are happening in Kolkata. There has been a steady rise. I thought if we don't talk about it today, it will happen to somebody else tomorrow."
Police were called, one person arrested and later released on bail.
The incident has left a bad taste in Ms Wang's mouth but Kolkata prevailed.
"I wrote about the incident on Facebook and so many people messaged me, people who don't know me. And they have said sorry on behalf of those youth," she said. "So I am not letting one person or one incident make me leave Kolkata. I am staying."
"He called me a non-Bengali. He called me a Nepali. He called me an outsider and that really hurt," said Ms Wang who has been in Kolkata for the last 30 years. "I have never faced such abuse in Kolkata ever. Kolkata we thought was safer for people from the north east."
"They kept shouting, you Nepalis come and take away jobs here, then throw your weight about," said Siddharth, her manager.
A student from Sikkim, Ambika Pradhan, was eyewitness. She saw six drunk men come to the restaurant at Salt Lake. They were noisy. Other diners objected. The waiters first asked them to be quieter and then asked to leave.
"One particular youth turned a restaurant brawl into a communal, racist thing. You Nepalis are taking away our business, he said, and kept shouting abuses," she said.
Ms Wang's daughter, Sachiko, who has been working at the restaurant for the last two years said, "A lot of these cases are happening in Kolkata. There has been a steady rise. I thought if we don't talk about it today, it will happen to somebody else tomorrow."
Police were called, one person arrested and later released on bail.
The incident has left a bad taste in Ms Wang's mouth but Kolkata prevailed.
"I wrote about the incident on Facebook and so many people messaged me, people who don't know me. And they have said sorry on behalf of those youth," she said. "So I am not letting one person or one incident make me leave Kolkata. I am staying."
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