An ordinary day out in the playground turned into a life-altering experience for a 10-year-old schoolgirl in London, whose offer to play was batted away by a bunch of kids, who dubbed her a ‘terrorist.’
But instead of being bogged down, Munsimar Kaur took to Twitter to share her encounter with the world, so other victims of racism could learn from her harrowing experience that “obviously broke her heart.”
In a video message posted by her father, the braveheart recounted the incident which took place in a south-east London park, earlier this week.
Reading from a notebook, Ms Kaur relayed how she was “greeted not very nicely by four kids and a mother of a young girl.”
"On Monday, two boys who looked like 14 to 17 years old and two girls who looked like they were in their late teens - when I asked to play the game they were playing and the queue was a mile long - they said, loud and clear, ''no, you can't play because you are a terrorist''," she said in the video.
Ms Kaur said that even though it broke her heart, she kept her head up and returned to the park the following day and made friends with a nine-year-old girl.
“After an hour her mum called her and said she can’t play with me because I was dangerous. She said “sorry,” so I knew it wasn’t her fault,” said Ms Kaur in defence of the girl.
With a glint in her eyes and attention on her notebook, Ms Kaur then followed her account of her experience with an inspiring message for those who have dealt with similar incidences.
"This experience has shown me the lack of exposure and knowledge some people have. And Sikhs are naturally caring and no matter what, we will love everyone.
"But I need to speak out about this because not everyone is strong enough to walk away or has suitable parents to talk to and handle this racism. I will hang out with the right people,” she added.
She ends her video with simple yet impactful advice, “Chin up,” said the young girl who believes “it will all work out in the end.”
'Education is key'
Gurpreet Singh's daughter was called a 'terrorist' in a playground in London. Source: Instagram
“The key thing is to educate people and that way others will think twice before doing things like this maybe because they will realise we have a voice, and we’re not afraid to use that voice,” Mr Singh told inews.
Truck driver Grant Moroney with Councillor Sunny Singh. Source: Supplied
"Elders of the community must investigate the real problem behind the racist ideology. In line with my personal experience, I would like to say that countries like the UK or Australia have given us so many opportunities so it would be wrong to appropriate everyone," said Mr Singh
"Turban tying events are no longer enough. We need to initiate simple conversations with people to make them understand the significance of why Sikhs tie turbans or look different," he added.
In October 2018, the 32-year-old was made the target of a racial tirade by a local truck driver, Grant Moroney, who posted a video on a trucking page on Facebook with a corflute of Mr Singh, introducing him as “Sundrop Zahid Khwaza”, a “457 immigrant” filling in for his regular companion, before jumping headlong into a racist diatribe.
Mr Moroney later apologised for the slur over a text and also met Mr Singh in person to express his remorse and to congratulate him over winning the council election.
Amar Singh (R) at the Turban Fest. Source: Supplied
“Migrants are being verbally abused pretty much every second day especially Sikhs who look different. There is an urgent need to accept and preach about Sikhism because incidents like these prove how much ignorance there still is in the world,” Mr Singh told SBS Punjabi.
