A university student and her parents had a harrowing experience at a bus stop in Launceston, Tasmania when an altercation with two women turned ugly.
17-year-old architecture student Kaushalya Ilangkovan and her parents were subjected to an unrelenting attack during which the two women allegedly hurled abuses at them, reports.
Their harassment began when the family arrived at the bus stop in St John Street on Tuesday evening and one of the two women said Kaushalya was staring at them.
“We just kept quiet. We didn’t want unwanted problems,” Kaushalya said.
The family’s ordeal lasted nearly an hour with one woman trying to pour a bottle of Coke on Kaushalya’s mother, Geetha, while the other woman filmed the incident. As Kaushalya sprang to her mother’s defence, she ended up being drenched in Coca-cola.
Kaushalya and her parents arrived in Australia from Sri Lanka on 18th February, and the incident has occurred in her first week at the university.
“I felt not safe – after that incident, I don’t think (Launceston) is a safe place for people to stay. I had to catch the bus again (on Wednesday) and I was really scared to go outside,” Kaushalya told .
Launceston mayor Albert van Zetten told Fairfax Media it was important to call out the perpetrators of such incidents.
“We all have a responsibility in holding perpetrators to account to ensure our city remains a fantastic place to live,” he said.
Launceston police are investigating the matter.
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Face Up To Racism # with a season of stories and programs challenging preconceptions around race and prejudice. Tune in to watch Is Australia Racist? (airs on Sunday 26 February at 8.30pm), Date My Race (airs Monday 27 February at 8.30pm) and The Truth About Racism (airs Wednesday 1 March at 8.30pm). Watch all the documentaries online after they air on.
