Huddersfield teacher asks man if he needs help and then faces torrent of racial abuse
A Huddersfield teacher has spoken out about the racism she has experienced recently following an attack while she was working.
The teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, was at work when she was informed about a man camping on a school play area. She approached the man and asked if they needed any help or assistance, before saying the children were unable to come out for safeguarding reasons.
At first, she asked if he needed any help, or if they could call someone from the school desk to help him.
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However, the man responded by becoming angry and launching a racist attack on the teacher.
She said: "So, when I explained that to the man in the tent, he started swearing, he called me an 'F'ing P', and he said that it was because of people like me, I'm Asian, I'm British Pakistani, and he said it's because of people like you that I'm homeless and I'm in this situation."
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"It was shocking. I am of that age where I remember, I grew up in the 70s, so I remember the time of the National Front and those sorts of people and that kind of very direct racism. But in recent years I haven't heard that, it's been more indirect or systemic racism that I might have experienced, through my career and that sort of thing.
"But not such overt racism, not in a long while, and then obviously, there's a lot that's gone on in the recent elections. There's been people saying various things, blaming immigrants for this, that and the other, but I think my point is that that kind of language, that politicians or individuals use at certain times, because they don't go into the detail of it, a lot of people don't understand the nuances within that argument," she added.
The teacher said that she understood why some people have concerns about immigration, and the impact it might have on public services, and that, as a public sector worker herself, she sees why people might see this as an issue. However, this should never turn into attacking or abusing people for the colour of their skin.
Housing remains an issue for many, but housing provision is down to government decisions, and local council plans, not down to the teacher.
She said: "This man, he was so angry. He didn't know me, and he repeated these racist terms.
"He said he was going to smash my face in and it was just frightening."
In addition, the teacher was born in the UK, and says that many times, people just see her skin colour and decide where she is from. Now, the teacher is worried for the future, particularly for the children she teaches, who have to grow up in this environment.
When the teacher was growing up in the 1970s, she said she experienced a lot of "overt" racism, where people on the street would just see your "skin colour". Over time, this decreased and the teacher instead experienced "instituionalised" racism throughout her career.
But with the recent riots, and with language from politicians, she fears this is returning. She added: "It was really upsetting to know that it was right next to the place where I work, where I serve my school community and many of my children."
"So if that's what that individual thinks about me, without knowing me, without really even looking at me, other than to recognise that I am Asian, so I'm different to him. Then the children in this community, they too will surely experience that," she said.
The teacher then said: "I would like individuals like that to reflect on where the problem really is and, in their comments, for those individuals to try and get change, positive change, rather than really scare people or upset people, or judge people."