PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2019
Contact: Homayra Yusufi Sahid (619) 363-7535 homayra@panasd.org
SAN DIEGO - A 17-year old high school student beaten in an unprovoked, anti-Arab hate crime while riding MTS trolley Tuesday afternoon.
A San Diego minor and Syrian Refugee was returning home from school on the trolley during the 3pm hour on October 15th, when he was approached by a man, and asked “Where are you from? Are you Mexican?” The minor victim responded, “No, I am Arab.” The male responded by cursing and using anti-Arab, Islamophobic language, and then proceeded to violently attack the minor and continued to make racial slurs during the physical attack. The minor victim sustained injury to his face and eye. There were several witnesses, but no one intervened. The attacker, described as a male, in his 20’s, with a goatee, wearing a grey shirt and black shorts, exited the Trolley at the 62nd Street station in Encanto and is still at large.
The victim promptly reported the hate crime to the San Diego Police Department (SDPD). However, SDPD officers informed the victim that due to the location of the incident, the report would be filed as a gang related crime rather than a hate crime.
In response to the incident, PANA Legal Director, Geneviéve Jones-Wright, Esq. stated “We are very upset to learn of the incident. All children, of any ethnicity or faith, should be safe when traveling on San Diego’s public transportation. The Islamophobic and hate-filled rhetoric used against this child is unacceptable, and is, unfortunately not surprising given the rising tide of hate-based crimes in San Diego County. We call on anyone in the community with information about the incident or the attacker to come forward.”
Jones-Wright also noted, “It is problematic and troubling that this will not be classified as a hate crime when the victim was clearly physically attacked after being questioned about his race/ethnicity, and it is equally concerning that it will be reported by law enforcement as a gang crime.”
In PANA’s 2018 San Diego Refugee Experiences report, when refugees were asked about perceptions of welcome and belonging, 74% of participants reported feeling unwelcome in their housing complex, 80% reported feeling unwelcome in their surrounding neighborhood, 78% say they feel unwelcome at school, and 80% said they feel unwelcome while doing day-to-day activities.
“This hate crime occurred a week after three Muslim women wearing hijabs were attacked in Little Italy. Hate crimes like this and the growing anti-refugee sentiment and policies which limit and restrict resettlement impact our whole community. No one should be afraid that they will become targets of hate crimes and islamophobia because of who they are, where they are from, and how they worship.” Hatem Mohtaseb, Regional Organizer.
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Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA) is a research, community organizing, and public policy hub dedicated to advancing the full economic, social, and civic inclusion of refugees and Muslims in the region.