A train employee in New Zealand is winning hearts online after she decided to take a stand against racism. As it happened, a passenger on a local train had been hurling abuses at another passenger for speaking Hindi asking him to go back to his own country if he can’t speak English. The driver intervened and stopped the train asking the abuser to get off, something that was not only supported by fellow passengers but was also appreciated by the city’s Mayor.
As a Metlink train headed from Wellington to Upper Hutt, a sixteen-old-year girl started yelling at an Indian-origin man who was “politely speaking Hindi on his phone to his wife”.
“[She was] saying ‘go back to your country, don’t speak that language here’,” another passenger on the train told RNZ Checkpoint.
According to the report, the conductor identified as JJ Philips was boarding the train when one of the passengers alerted her about the berated remarks. She approached the coach where the obnoxious event took place and tried to know what exactly happened.
“The Indian passenger was just minding his own business, talking to his friend in their own language,” the passenger told Philip. “It appeared this teenage girl had an issue with him talking in his own language and she was being racist and abusive towards him,” the report added.
When the girl’s tirade continued despite warnings and her mannerism didn’t change, the conductor asked her to get off the train.
“I thought to myself, ‘no, I’m not carrying you on this train. You’re off.'” When the teenager refused to leave, she told her she was calling the cops and the girl shrugged and said “fine”.
After the March Christchurch attacks that shook the nation to the core, the conductor said she had no reservations about stopping the train. “When it comes to something like this, not at all. After what we’ve been through, in March, there’s still tender feelings out there.”