Yasmin Seweid, an 18-year-old college student at Baruch College, was verybally and physically abused while riding the subway home from school this past Thursday, December 1st. Three men who appeared to be intoxicated shouted racial slurs at the Brooklyn-born woman, and the situation escalated when they tried to forcibly remove the hijab from her head. Seweid fled the subway car at Grand Central Terminal and notified police who say that the investigation to find the attackers is still ongoing. Later that night, Seweid took to Facebook to share her experience, shock, and disappointment:
“I initially was not planning on making a post about what happened yesterday, but you will probably be seeing stories about it on the news & in the newspaper tomorrow. I take the train every single day going to & coming from class, but yesterday, something happened that I never thought would happen to me. I was harassed on the subway last night and it was just so dehumanizing I can’t speak about it without getting emotional. Three white racists ripped the straps off my bag & attempted to yank my hijab off my head. They yelled such disgusting slurs at me, I was so helpless and felt defenseless. “Look it’s a fucking terrorist”, “go back to your country”, “take that rag off your head”, and so many more. Trump’s name was repeatedly said & it finally clicked in my head. No matter how “cultured” or “Americanized” I am, these people don’t see me as an American. It breaks my heart that so many individuals chose to be bystanders while watching me get harassed verbally and physically by these disgusting pigs. Trump America is real and I witnessed it first hand last night! What a traumatizing night. Please stay safe everyone & never let anyone take your rights away. Just thought I should share that with you all tonight.”
Her father told New York Daily News, “Nobody offered to help an 18-year-old girl. That means something. Her phone was dying. You offer help — it doesn’t matter the race, religion, or the country.” He’s absolutely right and it’s heartbreaking that fathers across America now worry that nobody will stand by their daughters when they’re out in public. It’s also horrifying that nobody helped Seweid – not one single person had the courage to say “enough.”
“People were looking at me and looking at what was happening and no one said a thing, they just looked away,” she told the Daily News.
This incident does not mean that these are the characteristics of all Trump supporters nor does it suggest that Trump endorses such behavior but there is no denying that similiar hate crimes have spiked since the election. The incident does paint a very real scene rife with for concern for people like Yasmin Seweid, especially who belong to more than one minority group. It reminds us once again that now is the time to join in solidarity for all humans and never give in to the bystander effect and be silenced.